STANDISH – Steady rain Monday forced postponement of the third day of play at the 2007 state American Legion baseball tournament.

Periodic rain began at mid-morning at Mahaney Diamond on the campus of Saint Joseph’s College, host site for this year’s tournament.

Tournament officials got the first of three scheduled games under way, with Zone 4 runner-up Fayette-Staples of Saco leading Zone 4 champion Nova Seafood of Portland 6-2 in the sixth inning before play was suspended.

Under the revised schedule, the tournament resumes today at 11 a.m. with the conclusion of the Fayette-Staples vs. Nova Seafood game. That will be followed by a second elimination game at 1:30 p.m. between Zone 3 champion New Auburn and Zone 3 runner-up Bessey Motors of South Paris.

Zone 1 runner-up Bangor and Zone 2 champion Monmouth, the two remaining undefeated teams in the double-elimination event, square off at 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s schedule will feature three contests under the revised slate, with game times at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

If that 6 p.m. game does not produce a champion, a title game will be played Thursday at a yet-to-be-determined time, according to Saint Joseph’s coach Will Sanborn.

Bangor (22-5) has amassed 30 hits while defeating Nova Seafood 12-7 Saturday and New Auburn 15-1 Sunday.

While the Comrades have outscored their opponents 27-6, Monmouth (25-0) has outscored its foes by a combined 26-5. Monmouth defeated Bessey Motors 16-3 Saturday and Fayette-Staples 10-2 Sunday.

Bangor is expected to throw righthander Kyle Leeman against Monmouth. He last pitched July 30, working a nine-inning four-hitter as the Comrades beat Brewer 6-1 in the Zone 1 tournament.

Monmouth is expected to counter with Maranacook of Readfield standout Justin Denbow, a Zone 2 first-team all-star.

Hackett, Edwards sharp combo

One of the most versatile players in the Zone 1 baseball tournament now finds himself playing one of the most important positions.

Bangor’s Scott Hackett, who has played virtually every position on the field this summer, now is the everyday shortstop for the Comrades, who are seeking the program’s first state championship since 1979.

Hackett played much of his senior season at Bangor High at first base. He caught the popup to clinch the Rams’ 4-3 victory over Portland in the 2006 Class A state championship game.

He played several positions last summer for the Comrades before moving to the University of Maine, where he redshirted.

Hackett is back in the Legion ranks this summer, where he has spent much of his time as a middle infielder – initially as a second baseman with Ian Edwards working at shortstop.

“Scotty played shortstop during the regular season when Ian pitched, and in some games early on when we were trying to rest Ian’s arm we’d use Ian as a DH and Scotty at short,” said Bangor coach Fred Lower.

“He’s played every position for us now except center field. He’s just a very versatile player who’s a great athlete and does a great job.”

Hackett’s more permanent move to shortstop came during the Zone 1 tournament, after Hackett played shortstop while Edwards pitched nine innings – allowing just three hits and no runs – in what was a 2-0, 11-inning loss to Brewer.

“Ian had pitched a great game and I didn’t want to put him at short and have him have to make a throw across the infield, so I put him at second,” said Lower.

Edwards made two strong defensive plays in the game.

Hackett has been at shortstop since, save for one game at catcher, while Edwards has been the second baseman when he hasn’t pitched.

“They’re a good combo there, they’re making good plays, so I’ve just left them alone,” Lower said after Bangor’s win over Nova Seafood in its state tournament opener.

Hackett showed solid shortstop play during in that game, working with Edwards to turn a 4-6-3 double play and later ranging deep into the shortstop hole to track down a grounder before launching an accurate throw while still moving away from the play to get Nova Seafood’s Jack Heary at first base.

“I knew that I had to get rid of it fast,” Hackett said. “It was a backhander deep in the hole so I just got it out of my glove as fast as I could and tried to make a strong throw over.”

Such infield versatility runs in the Hackett family. Scott Hackett’s older brother, Brian, was a strong defensive third baseman at Bangor during his high school days but was the starting shortstop at the University of Maine last spring.

“During the year I probably played a few games at shortstop,” said Scott Hackett, “but I played there during the zone and played pretty well and just stuck with it.

“I feel pretty comfortable anywhere. It’s just ground balls with a little more of a throw, really.”