Saturday night's series opener between the Chattanooga Lookouts and Tennessee Smokies at AT&T Field never had a first pitch.
Mother Nature made sure of that.
Heavy rain scratched Saturday's contest, resulting in a pair of seven-inning games this afternoon, beginning at 2:15. It also marked the third altering in Chattanooga's 10-game homestand.
"It's been a challenging homestand for sure," Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo said. "We've played most of them and done the best we could, but it has been a deterrent to fans coming out and catching some baseball."
The Lookouts had last Monday's series opener against Biloxi at AT&T shortened by rain, resulting in a six-inning win for the Shuckers. Tuesday night's game was suspended in the second inning and had to be completed Wednesday before the regularly scheduled game.
Saturday's game was scheduled to include entertainment from the inflatable Zooperstars, a popular act that makes annual trips to Chattanooga.
"We've had some really good Most Improved Student nights," Mozingo said, "but even on those, we haven't had a day when we didn't have to pull the tarp. It's tough, because when you're driving home and it's raining, baseball is kind of the last thing on your mind.
"We've been very weather-affected, but I still think we've had a pretty decent start."
Chattanooga is averaging 3,357 fans a game at AT&T Field, which is ahead of last year's 3,193 average for the season. Yet last season's average was the lowest in AT&T history, and the Lookouts have historically done significantly better the first two months of the season compared to July and August.
The Lookouts are playing 15 of their first 20 games this season at home.
"If the weather is nice, it's great to be loaded early in April and May," Mozingo said, "but the weather has to be your friend, too, and the weather has not been our friend."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.