The Ooltewah baseball tournament was backed up 90 minutes because of the rain that pelted the Chattanooga area Thursday.
Games scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Ooltewah and Central were pushed back to 5, and games to start at 6 were moved back to 7:30. The 8:30 games — Soddy-Daisy vs. Central and Ooltewah vs. Grace Academy — were shifted to 10 a.m. Saturday.
“Looking at the forecast, it looks like we’ll be all right Friday and Saturday, but the championship game Sunday may be a little iffy,” host coach Brian Hitchcox said. “I just want to make sure all the teams get their four games.
“We may not be good at anything else, but we’re expert tarp-pullers. We have had plenty of practice.”
It has paid off. The Owls were one of the few teams that were able to play Monday despite heavy rain earlier in the day.
Holland whiplashed
Central catcher Michael Holland was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after the Purple Pounders’ 2-1 win over Red Bank.
Holland took a foul ball off the helmet under his mask and was reportedly suffering a headache and blurred vision and wanted only to go to sleep.
“His parents took him to the hospital, and he could have a mild concussion,” Central coach Glen Carter said. “It was a fastball that was tipped straight back, but Michael seemed to be OK. The doctors told his parents that he probably had a slight case of whiplash. We’ll rest him a day or two and see how he is.”
Hixson tourney revised
Hixson’s softball team is hosting six others in the Lady Wildcat March Madness tournament this weekend.
Rain on Thursday, along with one team pulling out, forced some changes from the original schedule. Four pool-play games are set for today at Hixson starting at 4 p.m. Play is scheduled to resume Saturday morning at 9.
Three games are also slated at East Ridge on Saturday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. The final pool-play game at Hixson is set at 5:45. The teams with the best pool-play records are scheduled to play in the final at 8:15.