Can AAABA Tournament Weather The Weather?

Day 3 of this 81st AAABA Tournament arrives Wednesday with a new theme song, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”

Just when things were going swimmingly Tuesday for Johnstown’s entries – Mainline Pharmacy rallying to thump Youngstown in Pool C and improve to 2-0 and Martella’s Pharmacy outlasting Altoona-2 to even its Pool D record at 1-1 – Mother Nature is about to throw the event a curve, or is it a change-up, regarding weather.

Pre-tournament rainfall had forced some game location changes already in the tournament, but the games were played on days one and two without incident. That figures to change in the near future.

Accuweather.com and Weather.com do not agree on the percentages of unfavorable weather in coming days, but they do agree that most days will be punctuated with showers and thunderstorms, beginning today and running into Sunday.

With all 16 teams still alive, and today’s slate of games necessary to thin that field to eight, weather has become the tournament topic. There is little to be done to solve the potential problem, beyond crossing fingers and toes and maybe some manipulation of rosary beads.

The weather looms as an unwelcome interruption of a tournament that saw Mainline trailing 6-4 going into the bottom of the eighth at Point Stadium Tuesday, only to throw an eight-spot on the board in its half of the inning.

Colin Dinyar’s three-run homer, a titanic shot that surely traveled more than 400 feet as it disappeared over the center-field fence, was the highlight of the breakout inning.

The win, weather permitting, sets up a game tonight vs. Cleveland, also 2-0 in Pool C. With other pool members, Youngstown and New York City, each 0-2, the top two finishers who will advance to knockout play seemingly are set.

It’s not as clear in Pool D, where Butler is 2-0, Brooklyn is 0-2, and Martella’s and Altoona-2 each are 1-1. Martella’s is scheduled to play Brooklyn in its final game of the pool play this afternoon most likely needing to win to further its chances to advance out of the pool’s round-robin play.

Accuweather.com puts the chance of rain at 88 percent today, 89 percent Thursday and 88 percent both Friday and Saturday.

Weather.com is more encouraging, but far from sanguine on the matter, predicting a 38 percent likelihood of rain today, 39 percent Thursday, 75 percent Friday, and 66 percent Saturday.

Now we sit and wait, hoping the weather people are wrong.