Oklahoma's Class 6A-3A fast-pitch softball state tournaments will start one day late after heavy rainfall.
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, that quarterfinals originally set for Thursday will begin Friday, Oct. 16, at FireLake Ball Fields in Shawnee, Fox 25 reported. Semifinals move to Saturday, Oct. 17, and championship games shift to Monday, Oct. 19.
The delay hits several OKC-area programs. In Class 6A, Moore faces Choctaw at 10 a.m. Friday, Mustang takes on Southmoore at 2 p.m. and Piedmont meets Enid at 4 p.m., according to brackets published by The Oklahoman.
In Class 5A, Carl Albert opens against Guthrie at 10 a.m. In Class 4A, Blanchard draws Fort Gibson at noon.
Saturday's 6A semifinals pit the Choctaw-Moore winner against the Broken Arrow-Bartlesville winner at 11 a.m. The Mustang-Southmoore winner faces the Piedmont-Enid winner at 12:30 p.m. The 6A championship is set for noon Monday.
The postponement comes as record rainfall hit central and western Oklahoma. The National Weather Service office in Norman said Oklahoma City had surpassed its daily rainfall record by more than an inch as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the most rain the city had seen in more than two years, The Oklahoman reported.
Rain gauges around Oklahoma County likely showed between 4 and 5 inches by Wednesday morning, The Oklahoman reported. Elk City recorded 8.5 inches over 24 hours, and Hinton measured 9.26 inches, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet.
Closer to home, Yukon saw nearly 6 inches of precipitation. Coltrane Road near Edmond was impassable, and authorities reported high-flowing water along subdivision streets in southwest Moore.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department said it responded to 35 vehicle accidents, 14 power line calls, five water assists and two lightning strikes on Wednesday morning, News 9 reported.
"We can't let our guard down because we do have more rain coming in all the way into Thursday," Oklahoma County Emergency Management Director David Barnes told Fox 25. "So areas that we know we're subject to flooding, we need to avoid if at all possible."
A flood watch remained in effect for the Oklahoma City metro through 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. Quarterfinals at FireLake Ball Fields in Shawnee begin Friday, Oct. 16.
