OK, so maybe we’re tempting fate here. Maybe we’re teasing the baseball gods a little.
But the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament begins Wednesday at Lee-Hines Field, and if our friends at the National Weather Service are correct, we should should be in the clear all week.
Here’s the forecast for Baton Rouge, from Wednesday through Sunday:
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Thursday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 88. Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 88.
The last time the SWAC baseball tournament came to Baton Rouge, rain suspended play on the third night of the tournament, and a day later, Southern needed 4 hours and 32 minutes to outlast Grambling in a 12-inning thriller. The Jaguars had to make a quick turnaround for Sunday’s championship game, when they defeated Alcorn State.
The year before, in 2008, a storm blew through town on the first day of the tournament, forcing organizers to play catch-up on the second day (they considered using Pete Goldsby Field or the old Alex Box Stadium, but ultimately didn’t use either).
This time, it appears that the gods have spared Lee-Hines.
Of course, it’s south Louisiana, so you never know for sure.
ALSO …
In case you missed it, here’s the schedule for this week’s tournament. You’ve got two double-elimination brackets, followed by a single-game championship on Sunday:
BRACKET A
Grambling, Alcorn State, Misssippi Valley State, Southern
BRACKET B
Alabama State, Prairie View, Texas Southern, Jackson State
Wednesday
Game 1: Grambling vs. Alcorn State, 9 a.m.
Game 2: Alabama State vs. Prairie View, noon
Game 3: Mississippi Valley State vs. Southern, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Texas Southern vs. Jackson State, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, noon
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 3 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Friday
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 5, 9 a.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8, noon
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 3 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Game 11A: Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, noon, if necessary
Game 12A: Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 12, noon or 3 p.m., if necessary
Sunday
Championship: Bracket A winner vs. Bracket B winner, 1 p.m.
