Potomac, Lynchburg Tripleheader Turned Into Doubleheader

UPDATE: After talking with the Indians and Nationals front offices, the Carolina League, Lynchburg and Potomac have agreed to switch from a tripleheader to a more normal doubleheader with the third game being made up on May 9 at 6 p.m. Tonight’s suspended game will begin at 5 p.m. with a seven-inning game to follow its completion.

In order to explain what was originally scheduled. The original story about the plans for a tripleheader is included below.

ORIGINAL STORY: If you go to Lynchburg’s Falwell Field on Wednesday, you’ll get three games for the price of one.

After rain forced the teams to suspend their Monday game with high Class A Potomac (Nationals) leading Lynchburg (Indians) 4-2 in the fifth inning, they were supposed to finish that game and then follow with a seven-inning nightcap on Tuesday. But more rained washed those games away on Tuesday, forcing a catcher’s worst nightmare–a Wednesday tripleheader.

If the games do not go into extra innings, it will be only one inning more than a traditional big league doubleheader–19 scheduled innings. The teams are scheduled to pick up at 3 p.m. Eastern with no outs in the top of the fifth, and they’ll play four more innings to complete the suspended game. Once that game is over, they will play two more seven-inning games.

Minor league tripleheaders are extremely rare but not unheard of–with no players’ union in the minors to veto such marathons, teams have more leeway.

Since it’s the final game of the series, the P-Nats will look forward to a thankfully relatively short (180-mile) bus trip home after the game, and they’ll play host to Frederick on Thursday night.