Barrington Major All-Stars leading Riverside/EP Central in Darkness Suspended Game. To be finished Tuesday night.

Riverside/EP Central major division little leagues battled once again Monday night with Barrington jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. After Barrington extended their lead to 3-0, a tenacious Riverside/EP team rallied back to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the top of the sixth inning Barrington mounted a rally but it was stopped when Jose Figueroa made a running catch of a deep and very high fly ball to left field to end the inning. Riverside/EP Central failed to score in their half of the sixth and the game went to extra innings as darkness began to creep in.

After a scoreless 7th for the RIV/EP squad, the game then moved on to the top of the eighth inning in an umpire's decision which surprised much of the overflow crowd anticipating the game would be called for darkness. Umpires, coaches and District Administrator Bob Walker held numerous conversations as the evening got darker. There are no lights at Forbes Field. By extra inning rule, a Barrington runner was automatically placed on second base to start the inning. Barrington broke through with two runs to make the score 5-3 and as the inning ended, there were more discussions about continuing the game as it neared 8:30 pm.

Riverside/EP clawed back with a 4th run and with the tying run on second base, players told umpires they could no longer see the ball and after yet another discussion with District officials and umpires, the game was suspended. It will resume tomorrow (Tuesday) from the exact point where it ended. There will be two outs and the same 2-2 count on the batter. The bases will be loaded.

Fans from both sides were not happy as the game took somewhat of a raucous tone. Barrington fans wanted the game to be finished regardless of the darkness that had set in and Riverside/EP fans were upset that the game wasn't called at the end of the seventh inning with a tie score and things getting extremely dark.

Veteran little league observers thought that the game should have been suspended when tied with field conditions deteriorating fast. The umpires have the final say in a case like this and they tried to finish the game but darkness forced their hand. Needless to say Manager Vin Enright, his coaches and team were not happy at the turn of events.

The suspended game will be played tomorrow at 5:45 pm at the Forbes complex. It could last for one quick out or EP could rally and the game go on until someone wins. The winner goes on to the RI State LL Championship tourney TBD.

The Riverside/E.P. Central Major All-Star roster includes: Jose Figueroa, Jake Sousa, Tristan Lawton, Tristan Tysvaer, Josh Shanty, Jaydon Alford, Owen Richards, Alex Enright, Aiden Martins, Jonathan "JJ" Renaud, Parker Andrews, Chris Charbonneau and Wyatt Andrews.

(For those wondering about the name Riverside/EP Central; roster numbers are dropping across the area causing leagues to merge. Pawtucket, once featuring 4 and 5 different leagues, are now down to just two. Many other towns are combining. There are only three major division teams in EP Central, Riverside & Rumford - combined. Accordingly, Riverside/EP Central have combined in some respects. A future article will discuss this issue in much more detail in the Reporter.)