April showers bring May ... doubleheaders?

That may be the case for several Butler County area baseball and softball teams.

The relentless rain that has covered the county this week has wreaked havoc with schedules and has frustrated high school — and even college — players from Slippery Rock to Wheeling, W.Va.

Fields are drenched. Skies have opened up. Puddles have seen more time in the infield than second basemen and shortstops.

For the Karns City softball team, the rain has put an epic delay on their season.

The Gremlins have yet to play a game in 2015.

“We’re really anxious to play,” said Karns City senior catcher Clara Stoughton, “especially since we’ve been practicing every day for a while now.”

Karns City has been able to practice outside — on the school’s football field.

“We’ve only been able to utilize our (softball) field twice,” Stoughton said. “We try to get outside any chance we get as long as it’s not storming.”

The Butler softball team already had four games scheduled for this week. The first three have been postponed.

For senior slugger Rachel Rebmann, the sudden stoppage in the schedule has been particularly loathsome.

“It’s definitely frustrating having just about a whole week of rainouts,” Rebmann said. “But we’ve been working harder and harder in the gym.”

Rebmann said just as frustrating has been thinking they’ll get the game in only to have it postponed mere hours before the scheduled first pitch.

Still, she said, she and her teammates have tried to turn that into a positive.

“It stinks to think we’ll play and we end up not, but I think that kinda helps us at practice because we already have game-time mentality,” Rebmann said. “And that doesn’t go away.”

The Slippery Rock High baseball team has been able to dodge the rain better than most with five games — all wins — already under their belt.

However, junior shortstop Ryan Lauster said the weather variable just goes with the territory in Western Pennsylvania.

“We’re definitely fortunate to have played five games already, and mentally it’s not that hard,” Lauster said. “You just have to prepare like you’re playing a game, and if you get the cancel call, you just deal with it and go to practice and get ready for the next game, whenever it may be.”

Rockets’ junior first baseman Cody Lawniczak said no matter how much practice time a team gets indoors, it is no substitute for playing games and practicing outdoors.

“A team can solely work on offense inside, which often results in poor defense early in the season,” he said.

Rain can also dampen the mental aspect of the game.

The Karns City baseball team had its rivalry game with Moniteau postponed earlier in the week.

For Gremlins’ senior third baseman Alessandro Marotto, it was particularly difficult.

“Worst part is being excited to play and getting it cancelled,” Marotto said. “To stay sharp, we continue to grind it out at practices and getting down to the football field to practice whenever we can. It’s been tough.”

Even college baseball teams are having trouble getting games in.

Knoch graduate Cullen Hinderliter, a fifth-year senior on the Wheeling Jesuit baseball team, said the bad weather has hampered his team’s season.

But he’s been able to roll with it.

“Bad weather for us just means more mental toughness,” he said.

The forecast for next week is better. Players are hoping the sun brings sighs of relief.

And the cries of, “Play ball!”

“We cannot wait to get out on the field and prove to those other teams that we’ve been working just as hard in the gym,” Rebmann said. “We’re ready to show it.”