Braves 'lights out' versus Cardinals

While Mother Nature did her best to throw a damper on the game but to no avail, Pacific Gas & Electric had other ideas in Corning on Tuesday.

With visiting Hamilton High holding a 4-0 lead after four complete innings, the lights on half of the light standards suddenly went off, leaving the right side of the field in the dark.

Unlike Super Bowl XLVII, there were no shifts in momentum or offensive explosions by the Cardinals once the lights came back on, because after waiting through 10 minutes of darkness and with rain beginning to fall, the game was called.

Cooper McCoy took the mound for the Cardinals - who were playing with a limited roster due to players still involved with Corning's state playoff run in basketball - and battled some early control problems.

The Braves scored two runs in the 1st inning without benefit of a hit, as four walks and a pair of errors resulted in Theron Fumasi and Adolfo Diaz both crossing the plate.

After hitting Corning leadoff man Tarren Dahlgren with his first pitch, the Braves' Andrew Shippelhoute found his zone to strike out the side in the bottom of the 1st. Shippelhoute struck out six in his four innings.

Shippelhoute was hit by a pitch leading off the 3rd, and after a pair of stolen bases, came home on Shea Shull's run-scoring single. Shull moved to third on an error and a wild pitch, before scoring on an infield grounder by Brad Hall that resulted in a Corning error.

The Cardinals' only scoring threat came in the bottom of the 4th, when with one out, Tristan McIntyre dropped a double just inside the rightfield line.

He was erased on the ensuing play, when McCoy popped the ball up in the infield. With the third baseman in to possibly make the play, Shippelhoute instead made the catch, and when McIntyre saw third base unoccupied, he made a dash for it. Shortstop Fumasi joined McIntyre in his race toward third, and Shippelhoute hit him in stride with his throw, with Fumasi making a quick tag on the sliding McIntyre for a rare 1-6 double play.

Then it was lights out for the Cardinals.

Hamilton (3-2) plays in Live Oak on Wednesday.

Corning (0-1) is in tournament action this weekend in Oroville, and plays at Gridley March 12.

CONTACT Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.