O'FALLON - Fatima sure knew how to make its first Final Four in 17 years exciting. Or, at least the weather did.
Hallsville led Fatima 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh of Thursday's Class 3 semifinal game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark when the game was suspended due to heavy rain.
The game will resume where it left off, with Hunter Hennier on third base with one out representing the tying run at 9:30 a.m. today. The third-place game will follow immediately after, with the championship game to be played after that.
Of course, that is all weather permitting, as rain is in the forecast today.
The game was delayed in the top of the sixth due to heavy rain, but resumed shortly after. The rain picked up again in the seventh and became too heavy to continue play.
Also working against the teams was an O'Fallon city ordinance stating the lights at the stadium have to be shut off by 11 p.m.
Both starting pitchers were on their game, as all three runs scored were unearned. Hallsville's Brendan Beatty allowed six hits and seven strikeouts while Fatima's Seth Lehman struck out three and allowed five hits.
The Indians got a run in the second after Nathaniel Katz reached on a three-base error and came around to score on an RBI groundout. They took a 2-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Blake Stone.
Fatima rallied in the sixth after Patrick Schnieders reached on an error. He stole second and went to third on a bad throw by the catcher. Schnieders came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Mebruer.
Fatima made a big defensive play in the fifth to keep the score 2-0. With a runner at first, Jesse Fudge hit a shot down the line. The Indians tried to score the runner from first, but a perfect throw to the cutoff from Hennier nailed Sam German at the plate.
The Comets missed an opportunity to score in the second with two outs after the runner at second retreated back to the base thinking there was one out. The centerfielder dropped the ball and Fatima ended up leaving the bases loaded.
Thursday's game was originally supposed to be played Wednesday, but was pushed back a day because of rain.
It was rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. to try and beat the rain, but didn't start until 7:40 p.m. because of delays earlier in the day.