“The tarp didn’t come off the field, nobody made a move, we knew it was going to be a late start at best,” said Walter Fay of Tuscon, Arizona.
On Wednesday night mother nature made it hard to play ball.
“Everytime a lightning strike hits we start a new thirty minute delay,” said Ron Prettyman.
Managing Director of Championship and Alliances for the NCAA, Ron Prettyman says as a safety precaution each time lightning strikes within eight miles of the field, the game must be delayed.
“It got so late that we wouldn’t have been able to start a game close to 11 and then we would’ve been having a championship celebration in the middle of the night and that wouldn’t have been good for anybody,” said Prettyman.
Fans would have to wait another day to see a champion be crowned.
“We were kind of mad," said Nancy Fay.
Hotel stays had to be extended and flights had to be changed.
“We called Delta Airlines last night to change our flight and they said it would cost $900 so we said hey we had to go home. So we headed to the airport this morning and when they got there they said they will put us on a flight tomorrow for no charge,” said Coastal Carolina fan Craig Pelletier.
Many weren’t as lucky.
“We know lots of people who had to head home and couldn’t make it today,” said Nancy Fay.
Others shelled out cash to stay.
“Heck yah, it’s worth it,” said one Arizona fan.
Even thought the first pitch was in the middle of the day, many still made it to Thursday’s championship game.
The Pullen’s of San Francisco got in late Wedsnesday night for an Omaha vacation and were ecstatic to find out they hadn’t missed all the CWS action.
“I’m super excited because I’ve never been to a big game like this,” said nine-year-old Quinn Pullmen.
It will definitely be a College World Series for the books.
“It’s been exciting. It will definitely be one we will remember for a long time,” said Prettyman.
Coastal Carolina won their school their first national championship with Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Arizona.
