WIAA state baseball: Lodi’s Division 2 semifinal game delayed as storm hits Appleton area – Madison.com

Rainy weather struck the Appleton area a little after 5 p.m. Wednesday, forcing a postponement in the start of the WIAA Division 2 state baseball tournament semifinal between second-ranked Lodi and top-ranked Milwaukee Lutheran.

The tarpaulin was pulled onto the field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute shortly after the second Division 3 semifinal ended, a little after 5 p.m. Heavy rains followed, perhaps lasting a little longer and stronger than weather projections hinted.

It’s really raining hard at state baseball tournament. Lodi game was supposed to start at 6:00. Will be much later. 

— Travis Houslet (@TravisHouslet) June 15, 2016

Driving rainstorm now

— Jon Masson (@JonMassonWSJ) June 15, 2016

And now it’s time for some major squeegee surgery in Appleton… pic.twitter.com/opr28SRXPg

— Bob Brainerd (@BobBrainerd) June 15, 2016

The WIAA had earlier announced a projected time of 7 p.m. for warm-ups and a 7:15 starting time, but the strength of the storm — which ended a few minutes before 7 p.m. — led the WIAA to suggest that an 8 p.m. start time was the new target.

…and baseball? …seriously, who thinks diving into those puddles would be awesome? pic.twitter.com/BdQRn5G2a0

— Nate Beier/GX3 Media (@NBGX3Media) June 15, 2016

The dugouts at Fox Cities Stadium reportedly were flooded to the point of bringing in amphibious wildlife.

@WIBallCentral Frog in the dugout pic.twitter.com/HYHxmLGdTJ

— Nathan Klein (@PanarinBread72) June 15, 2016

Another Division 2 semifinal, between West Salem and Waupaca, is scheduled to follow the Lodi-Lutheran game.

Assuming the Lodi-Lutheran game takes two hours, with no delays or extra innings, plus 30 minutes to prepare the field and take infield, the final game of the day wouldn’t start until 10:30 p.m. and would be likely to run past midnight.