OMAHA, Neb. — With its seeding as the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, the ASU baseball team was already slated to be one of the final two College World Series teams to take the field at Rosenblatt Stadium.
But the Sun Devils didn't expect to have to wait like this.
A full day of rain and lightning showers washed away ASU's scheduled CWS opener against Clemson on Sunday, pushing the contest to Monday morning.
ASU, which was supposed to begin its first game in Nebraska at 6 p.m. on Sunday, spent some of the afternoon sitting on a bus, anxiously awaiting word as to whether it would be able to take the field.
ASU coach Tim Esmay said he doesn't expect the delay cause problems for the Sun Devils, the only returners from last year's CWS field.
“You can’t worry about things that are out of your control, such as the weather,” he said. “We have faced weather issues and adversity all season, and this is just the latest example of something we need to battle. Whether we have to play at 3 a.m. or 10 a.m., the Sun Devils will be ready to play.”
The rains began early Sunday morning and caused the delay of the day's first scheduled game between Oklahoma and South Carolina.
After a delay of more than four hours, the Sooners and Gamecocks finally took the field. But after the two teams cruised at a brisk pace through 5 1/2 innings, Mother Nature made her presence felt again. A lightning strike close to the stadium forced a required pause in the action.
Once the rains began pour down again during the stoppage, the NCAA made the call to push the ASU game to Monday, a contest that will be broadcast on ESPNU at 10 a.m. (8 a.m. in Arizona)
After two hours of delay for the nearby lightning, bringing the waiting around time for OU and USC to more than six hours on the day, the teams resumed what turned out to be a thrilling contest, even if there weren't many people left to see it.
Leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth when the lightning delay struck, Oklahoma held on for a 4-3 win in front of a small portion of the game's initial 22,835 fans.
South Carolina loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth, and after reliever Ryan Duke retired Whit Merrifield on a pop out in foul territory, he walked Jackie Bradley Jr., forcing home a run and cutting the lead to one.
But Duke recovered and got Adrian Morales to fly out to center, preserving the win in the soggy, marathon affair.
The Gamecocks also loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, but designated hitter Brady Thomas lined out to right field to end the threat.
Garrett Buechele hit a towering solo blast through driving rain in the bottom of the frame to provide what turned out to be the winning run.
Some fans didn't seem to mind the weather, many of who were donned in plastic ponchos with their favorite team's logo.
More rain is scheduled during the next two days in Omaha, so Monday's triple-header may not be the tournament's last. If the games go as scheduled, though, ASU will play in back-to-back games, with its opponent on Tuesday benefiting from an extra day's rest.
ASU President Michael Crow and Athletic Director Lisa Love, were among those in attendance hoping to watch the Sun Devils play on Sunday.
