The consistent rainfall the area received Wednesday and Thursday coupled with the threat of rain forecasted for Friday evening was enough for the Demopolis High baseball program to move its scheduled double-header against region foe Carver to Saturday.

“We were checking the weather forecast,” DHS head baseball coach Ben Ramer said as he and his team were prepping the field Friday afternoon. “We checked the field (Thursday). We know that our field can’t hold a whole lot of water. We know there’s supposed to be more storms (Friday evening). And we knew that if Carver came over here and we got more rain tonight, then they would have to go back to Montgomery and then turn around and come back.”

Ramer and his staff opted to move the double-header to a 1 p.m. start time on Saturday.

“We gave ourselves some time tomorrow, with the game being at 1, to move it back if we need to do that,” Ramer said.

The second-year Demopolis head coach said he did not believe the game’s postponement would have an effect on the way his team performs. However, he did note that the extra day of rest could prove valuable for senior hurler Shelbe Speegle.

“I don’t think it matters as far as an extra day of prep,” Ramer said. “Something I do like is that it give an extra day of rest for Shelby Speegle. He would have been throwin on two days rest (Friday). Now he gets that extra day of rest and that should make a big difference.”

Speege started Tuesday’s game when the Tigers dropped the region opener on the road against the Wolverines. That loss has DHS 0-1 in the area and facing a dire situation.

“Its kind of like being in a tournament,” Ramer said of the philosophy with which he must manage his pitching staff during its current stretch. “When we’re in a situation like we are in the area, we’ve got to win. We’re down 0-1 and we can’t afford to play for the next one. We’ve got to win.”

That approach dictates that Ramer must use his best arms Saturday rather than considering his need for fresh pitchers Tuesday when his team hosts region foe Chilton County.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Ramer said. “We’ve got to come in with a mindset (Saturday) that we’ve got to win two ball games. We haven’t been in this situation all year because we haven’t been in area play. We’re still waiting to find out what the identity of this team is. We’re down to crunch time now.”