An exciting high school baseball game was brewing between Moniteau and Union Tuesday afternoon before Mother Nature intervened.

And she's done so far too often this spring.

Rain and lightning delayed the contest, which was played at Pullman Park, for 45 minutes with one out in the bottom of the first inning.

After the skies cleared, both teams took the field once again, only to have heavy rains and wind return in the top of the fourth inning.

The umpires had seen enough, suspending the game with Union at the plate and trailing 5-4 with two outs.

“We play Moniteau at our place (May 9),” said Union coach Doug Kriebel. “We could finish this game that day as well, but that's going to be up to both athletic directors.”

Postponements and cancellations have played havoc with all of the area's high school baseball teams, including the Warriors and Golden Knights.

Not counting Tuesday's suspended game, Moniteau has played just six of its 11 scheduled contests to date and the Knights (2-3) have had three games rained out.

In the first 18 days of the season, which started in late March, Union managed to play just one game, a 15-8 loss to Clarion April 7.

Since then the team has played four games, though two of those came on very poor field conditions at Keystone and Redbank Valley high schools.

“We've been taking batting practice in the gym,” said Kriebel. “That's pretty much all you can do. At this level, you can't stretch arms out in a gym.

“Right now, I'm sending to the field the kids who I believe can do the best for us,” he added, “but it's hard to evaluate players when you're not getting on the field that often.”

Moniteau coach Ross Martin has been involved in high school baseball for 14 years, including his days as a player at Mohawk High School in Lawrence County.

“We've had some bad springs since I became coach at Moniteau (in 2006), but it's never been like this,” said Martin. “By far, this is the worst I've seen it.”

Despite the poor weather, Pullman Park has hosted many games this spring.

“If the scheduled games get in between Wednesday and Saturday, we'll be up to 58 games this season, including 38 in April,” said Pullman Park operations manager Dess Schnur. “It's getting to a point when I'm trying to find windows within a day when we can get a game in. It's not enough to simply know that it's going to rain, you also have to know when it's going to rain.”

Time slots at Pullman are precious, as teams from all over are trying to book the facility.

“Clarion High School called me the other day,” said Schnur. “They want to play a doubleheader here, but we'll see what happens.”

Moniteau (2-4) has not played a game outside of Pullman Park this season.

“Pullman Park is saving District 9 baseball this year,” said Martin. “We're supposed to play A-C Valley at their place Thursday. I'd like to see if that game can be moved to here.

“It's tough to simulate things in a gym,” he added. “Right now, we're getting stale. The guys just want to get outside and play.”

Game not official, suspended with two outs in top of fourth inningUnion 002 2xx x — 4 4 2Moniteau 500 xxx x — 5 4 1Pitchers: Moniteau (Josh Stockert 3X\c IP, 4K and 0BB; Union (Kane McCall 22/3 IP, 3K, 3BB)

Union (2-3): Brandon Stitt 1B R, Kaden McGregor 2B 2RBI, Rich Corle 1B R, Trent Corle 1B R, Brody Shick RBI, Jake Gezik RBI, Kane McCall R

Moniteau (2-4): Colton Cumberland 1B R, Dave Campbell R, Heath Lominski 2-1B RBI, Joe Holfelder R, Braydon McCorry 1B R RBI, Justin McNeish RBI, Hayden Grasha R

Thursday: Moniteau at A-C Valley; Venango Catholic at Union