The wait for the American Legion Baseball Senior Division Playoffs to resume continued on Thursday.
For the second consecutive day, wet weather forced the postponement of the second round of bracket play. Greenfield Post 81 will try again to play its Bracket A game against Northampton Post 28 tonight at Arcanum Field in Florence (5:30 p.m.).
“These guys are ready to play,” said Post 81 coach Kyle Phelps of his team. “We’ve had a fun, good season and they all get along and have been playing together for years so now they just want to get out there and see what they can do. They want to win.”
Greenfield (11-8) won its opening round game against Longmeadow Tuesday, advancing to play Northampton (17-1) in a contest that was slated for Wednesday. But two straight postponements has the entire Legion playoff slate backed up.
“The way we’re looking at it, our pitchers are getting extra days’ rest,” Phelps offered. “We know it’s going to be a tough game against Northampton.”
Several Post 81 players managed to get some batting practice in on Thursday at Vets before the game was postponed. On Wednesday, the caravan to Florence was halted about halfway there when rains came pouring down.
Regardless of Post 81’s result tonight, the team will turn around and play another game on Saturday at noon. Should Greenfield lost to Northampton, it would host the winner of tonight’s game between Monson and Westfield. If Post 81 beats Northampton, it would play the winner of the Agawam and Ludlow game.
Saturday has been shifted into a doubleheader day due to the consecutive wash-outs. Teams will play at noon before turning around and playing in the next round, likely at 5 p.m. That could make for a lengthy day of travel for some teams, depending on how earlier games wind up.
The double-elimination brackets will continue with single games on Sunday.
The Junior Division postseason is also scheduled to kick off tonight, as Greenfield Post 81 will host Belchertown Post 239 at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field. Post 81 is seeded second in the seven-team field, with Belchertown the No. 7 seed. Greenfield has won the district tournament the past three years. Pittsfield is the top seed and received a first-round bye. The two teams split a pair of regular-season meetings.