Rain halts Texans’ march Final game in pool play canceled for safety reasons

BANGOR – For the second time in as many games, Mother Nature rained on the Tyler, Texas, Senior League World Series team’s parade.

Only this time, lightning was in the mix, making its World Series pool B matchup with Niles, Mich., impossible to play.

With Texas leading 4-0 in the top of the third, and with thunderstorms rolling into the Bangor area, Thursday night’s game at Mansfield Stadium was canceled.

With semifinal play starting today, the game won’t be made up.

Tourney director Mike Brooker cited the heavy rains moving into Bangor, as well as Texas having already clinched a spot in the semifinals and Michigan eliminated from semifinal contention as reasons for halting the contest.

“Since this game didn’t have a bearing on the results of pool play we’ve decided to cancel it,” he said. “It’s for the safety of the kids, we can’t put them out there in the lightning.”

He added that Texas, which plays Cartersville, Ga., today at 2:30 p.m., wouldn’t want to risk having key players injured.

“If you look at it from a Texas point of view, why would they want to put somebody out there with potential to get injured when they have a game that really means something [today],” Brooker said.

U.S. Southwest champ Tyler, Texas, was 3-0 coming into Thursday’s action while the U.S. Central representatives finish their tourney run at 1-2.

Texas took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, with Heath Mayo scoring on an error and Justin Copeland’s two-run double.

Tyler added another in the second, as Mayo scored his second run on as many innings, on another error, this one by left fielder Ricky Braind.

When the game was called, Niles had runners on first and second with nobody out.