Rain postpones sectional softball games for Jasper, Southridge, Forest Park teams

Heavy rain pushed Dubois County’s sectional softball schedules into a backup plan Tuesday, changing when Jasper, Southridge, Forest Park and Northeast Dubois would have to play and how much rest each team would get.

At Southridge High School, which is hosting Class 3A Sectional 31 at 501 W. Sunset Ave. in Huntingburg, Jasper was shifted to a 6 p.m. Eastern matchup with Vincennes Lincoln on WQKZ, with Gibson Southern and Washington set for the 8 p.m. game. The sectional championship remained scheduled for Thursday, keeping the bracket on a short turnaround once the field dried out.

The Southridge bracket had opened with Vincennes Lincoln against Southridge at 4 p.m. Monday and Gibson Southern against Princeton at 6 p.m. Monday, followed by Jasper against the Game 1 winner and Washington against the Game 2 winner Tuesday. Heavy rainfall on Tuesday, May 26, knocked those games off their original slots and turned what had been a two-day opening into a compressed three-day stretch.

That compression mattered most for pitching plans. Teams that were expecting one more day to map out their arms had to reset quickly, while whoever advanced out of Wednesday’s games would still be headed straight into a Thursday title game. Jasper, which was waiting on the winner of the opening Southridge game, lost the benefit of its original timing and had to stay ready for a later start. Southridge, as host, also had to absorb the logistical hit of moving the bracket around its own site.

Forest Park’s Class 2A Sectional 48 was also knocked back, though the new date was still to be determined. That left the Rangers in the least certain spot of the local teams, with travel, pitching and pregame preparation all hanging on when the bracket gets reset.

Northeast Dubois, meanwhile, was moved into Class 1A Sectional 64 at Springs Valley in French Lick. The Jeeps were scheduled to face Springs Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 28, with Wood Memorial against Cannelton at 8 p.m. The championship was set for Friday, May 29, giving that sectional a clean finish after the delay.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association’s sectional structure still held firm through the weather, but the rain changed the rhythm of the week for Dubois County’s biggest public-school softball programs. For Jasper, Southridge, Forest Park and Northeast Dubois, the opening round became as much a test of patience and roster management as it was of hitting and defense.