Written by Kathleen Szmit
 
 
Fans hoping to catch Monday night’s home game in Hyannis were surprised to find an empty field and closed concession stand. They were even more surprised to learn that the game had been cancelled due to rain.

The blue sky dotted with only a few high thin clouds left most people baffled. A closer look at McKeon’s right field, however, revealed the real reason for the cancellation.

“Welcome to Lake McKeon,” quipped Hyannis Athletic Association Vice President Peter Scarafile as he pointed to a sizeable puddle smack in the middle of right field. Several other smaller puddles were nearby.

While the bird taking a dip found the water enjoyable, Scarafile and others on the HAA found it frustrating since it made playing ball on Monday night impossible.

Ironically, the game that was cancelled between Hyannis and Harwich was a rescheduled game from a previous rainout.
“Certainly you want everything to go perfectly,” said Scarafile of Hyannis summer baseball. “But this is very unusual. We’ve had water problems before but nothing like this.”

The HAA has several theories surrounding the cause of the drainage issue, the latest being that the drainage pipes underground might have been somehow damaged by the heavy trucks on the field during the installation of lights and other field renovations.

“But we really don’t know,” said Scarafile. “We’re looking around. We’re searching and looking at everything. We’re on top of it.”

Scarafile said the HAA hired someone to examine and clean out the pipes on Tuesday. If water problems continued, Scarafile said that using a tarp to cover the area during rainstorms might be a possibility.

When such cancellations occur, Scarafile noted that it’s handled in the same manner as a rainout.

“It’s just like a rainout,” he said. “This is a weather problem. We just plan around it.”

The Hyannis-Harwich game will now take place on July 14 at 7 p.m.