Sals, Cape have fun before baseball suspension

Cape Henlopen’s pitcher Noah Clifton (4) sends a pitch in the 1st inning against Salesianum.

Salesianum’s Joseph Cautillo (8) watches the third base runner after he grabs a infield hit in their game against Cape Henlopen.

Cape Henlopen’s second baseman Zachary Gelof (11) jumps in the air for the ball as Salesianum’s John Andreoli (2) slides safely into second base.

Salesianum’s Dante Cautillo (13) runs to third base after Cape Henlopen’s Zachary Gelof (11) missed a infield hit.

Salesianum’s Beck Million (35) tries to control the ball as it bounces off his chest and allows Cape Henlopen’s Connor Thompson (17) to slide safely back to first base.

Cape Henlopen’s Drew Mulcahy (10) makes contact with the ball in their game against Salesianum.

Cape Henlopen’s Austin Elliott (8) slides safely into third base in their game against Salesianum.

Salesianum’s John Andreoli (2) make a grab on a ground ball in their game against Cape Henlopen.

37 3rd Salesianum’s Daniel Mersman (37) throws the ball to first base in the 3rd inning against Cape Henlopen.

Salesianum’s pitcher Nicholas Robino (20 throws a pitch in their away game against Cape Henlopen.

Cape Henlopen’s pitcher Zachary Gelof (11) tags out Salesianum’s Joshua Patrick (4) out at second base.

Salesianum’s Dante Cautillo (13) waits in the rain for the umpires to decide if their game will continue against Cape Henlopen because of the local rain showers.

Salesianum’s John Andreoli (2) runs to his dugout after scoring in their game against Cape Henlopen to take the lead to 2-1.

Salesianum’s Joshua Maguire (6) looses grip on his bat in their away game against Cape Henlopen.

Cape Henlopen’s pitcher David Erickson (21) reaches for a ground ball in their home game against Salesianum.

LEWES – Salesianum and Cape Henlopen weren’t able to finish their baseball game on Saturday.

But they had some fun until it was suspended.

The teams passed the time through a 35-minute rain delay with a series of increasingly hilarious games.

First it was tic-tac-toe, lobbing a baseball between dugouts to make the next move. Then it was golf, with a Sallies shot rolling to the left of a Cape bucket set up as a hole. Then it was jousting, with a player from each team carrying a catcher in full gear into battle.

Oh yeah, they played some baseball, too. The game was suspended in the top of the seventh, after Salesianum had taken a 3-1 lead. It will resume at a date to be determined, with the top-ranked Sals having the bases loaded with one out.

“We’re going to have to just pick up exactly where we left off,” Sallies coach Ted Godfrey said. “… It’s a great game. They’re a very talented team, and we’re happy to play those guys. We’ll just finish it at another time.”

The pitchers’ duel between Cape sophomore Austin Elliott and Sals senior Nick Robino lived up to its billing. Elliott allowed three hits and struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings, while Robino allowed three hits and fanned eight through six innings.

The Vikings (7-1) scratched out the first run on three singles in the second, with Zack Gelof’s two-out hit driving in Connor Thompson. The Sals (6-1) tied it without a hit in the third. Dante Cautillo struck out but reached on a wild pitch, moved to third on an error and scored on Zack Miller’s groundout.

Rain began to fall in the top of the fifth, and the precipitation intensified in the top of the seventh with the game still tied at 1. With the teams located 90 minutes apart, both sides wanted to get the game in the books.

The umpires allowed play to continue in increasingly sloppy conditions, and it cost Cape Henlopen. Elliott gave up a leadoff single to the Sals’ John Andreoli, then struck out the next batter. Then, clearly having trouble gripping the ball in the rain, Elliott walked the next two batters to load the bases.

The Vikings went to reliever Will Jarrell, but he fared no better. The right-hander also struggled to hold the ball firmly and find traction on a rapidly deteriorating pitcher’s mound, and he walked the next two batters to force in two runs for a 3-1 Sallies lead.

Then, after a five-minute conference between the umpires and both coaches, play was halted.

“It totally didn’t work in our favor,” Cape coach Ben Evick said. “Now it’s a suspended game, we’re going to pick it up from where we left off with bases loaded, one out and a 3-1 game, and it’s unfortunate. Because now, we’ll pick it up in different circumstances. They’re not going to deal with the same conditions we dealt with in that half inning.”

It was an unfortunate set of circumstances, and phone calls were made and rulebooks were consulted until the decision was reached to suspend the game.

“That was a weird situation,” Evick said. “It was a quality baseball game. And then when the conditions went south, it got really tough on our guy.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.