Rain delays championship

NEW ULM -- Fans huddled under the roof at Johnson Park and players wearily watched a river of water run past the Rochester A's dugout as they waited for the rain to stop.

The A's were up 6-4 over New Ulm Gold in the Legion Central Plains Regional championship Monday night and had two outs on Gold in the bottom of the ninth when torrential rain halted play.

Gold had runners on first and second with Eric Austvold, the number three batter at the plate. He was up 3-1 in the count when the pitcher walked off the mound, and umpires stopped the game.

Play will resume at the point of interruption at noon today at Johnson Park. Because the game is the championship, the game must go a complete nine innings.

Players and officials waited until midnight for the rain to let up and the field to dry out, with little success.

New Ulm fan Joey Geistfeld, a junior at New Ulm High School, along with many fans, didn't want the game to be postponed.

"I think it is dumb they called it," Geistfeld said. "It took away from our momentum. The pitcher called the game by walking off -- he made the decision."

Geistfeld and his friends, along with a group of fans from Rochester, wanted to stay until officials either postponed the game or allowed it to continue. Officials did not postpone the game until midnight.