CHICOPEE -- And it's still not over.
The Mount Greylock baseball team has to come back to Szot Park this afternoon to finish its MIAA state Division II semifinal with Central Massachusetts champion Auburn.
The Western Mass. champions were trailing 3-0 after 41/2 innings when heavy and steady rain forced tournament officials to put a stop on the festivities for the night.
"This is just dragging out more," Greylock first baseman David Jones said with a laugh. "We just want to get this game over with. This is dragging it out more.
"We'll stick together," he added. "It'll be fine. It'll turn out good."
The game will be picked up in progress here at 4 p.m. The winner advances to LeLacheur Park in Lowell on Saturday to play defending Division II state champion Plymouth North at 3:30.
Of course, if the Mounties manage to rally today, it'll mark the second time in this school year that a Greylock team will play for a state championship in Lowell. The Mounties won the Division II soccer title there in November.
"We're going to use the time to settle back a little bit and collect ourselves, and come back ready to go," said Greylock coach Steve Messina.
The Rockets scored two runs on three hits and an error in the first inning, and made it 3-0 with a run in the fourth. Dylan Dethier gave up seven hits in five innings, walking one and striking out three.
The story of the game, until 8:30 p.m, was sophomore right-hander Tyler Beede. The
"I heard he was throwing 86, 87 miles an hour. That's faster than anything we've ever seen," said Jones. "In Berkshire County, we don't see too much of that. It's pretty tough to deal with."
The Mounties may not be done dealing with the sophomore, because after the game was stopped, Auburn head coach Eric Swedberg said Beede would be toeing the rubber again this afternoon.
"Tyler's got the green light, still," said Swedberg. "He threw 57 pitches. He's in very good shape. It'll obviously be up to him. Like I said, he has the green light. We're going to do what we can to get him a quick turnover ... making sure he's loose and ready to go."
Messina said that he wasn't sure who would pitch this afternoon.
"I think we're feeling pretty good," Dethier said before boarding the bus. "It's a close enough game. We're definitely not out of it. They said he's coming [today], but we'll see. We'll see if it's the same game."
The Rockets, who beat Hoosac Valley in last year's state semi, started their day off well as Nick Natoli and Steve Wallace opened the top of the first inning with singles.
The first run scored when Greylock catcher Chris Koch's pickoff throw to first went into right field and Natoli scored from second. Jon Leroux, who quarterbacked Auburn to a Super Bowl win over Wahconah Regional in December, drove in the second run with a single to left. He was thrown out 7-5-4 for the second out as third baseman Keith Martin cut off the throw from Cary White and pegged a perfect strike to Hayden Kuhn at second.
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