The Bershire Eagle is reporting on something many have seen before. A “little discussion” during a high school softball game. This one is in Minnesota.

“An umpire’s decision to continue a softball game despite weather conditions that one coach described as a threat to her players’ safety has the athletic director of St. Joseph’s High School crying foul.

After a bitterly cold wind made two pitchers’ hands so numb they lost their ability to control the ball, St. Joseph’s softball coach Jessica Bazinet ended Monday’s game against Wahconah in the fifth inning, with the Crusaders trailing 14-2.

She had been asking the umpire, who was unidentified at press time, to end the game since the second.

By the third inning, the girls were treated to a rotation of rain, sleet and snow, in addition to a stiff wind and decreasing temperatures, both coaches confirmed.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in Pittsfield Monday declined from 43 degrees when the game started to 40 degrees by 6 p.m., with wind gusts to 26 miles per hour, and 73 percent humidity.

The umpire agreed to end the game in the fourth, but Wahconah coach Ken Pease disagreed with the decision and, after a lengthy discussion, the umpire delayed the game for about 10 minutes to see if the weather would change.

“Ken Pease definitely bullied (the umpire) around, followed him around the field making a huge stink, and swayed his decision,” Bazinet said.

Pease said he did express his opinion to the umpire about continuing the game, and added that he had “no reaction” to Bazinet’s description of the events.

Wahconah athletic director Bob Powell said he did not want to comment until he’d talked to all the people involved.

By the time play resumed at Doyle Field, players were even colder than before, Bazinet said.

The score was tied in the second inning at 2, Bazinet said. By the fourth inning, when the game was delayed, it was 6-2 Wahconah. When Bazinet called her girls off the field in the fifth, the score was 14-2.

Pease and St. Joseph’s athletic director Pete Ellsworth both said they were uncertain whether the game would be marked as a forfeit, finished or if it would need to be resumed or re-played.

The game was approaching, but not at, Berkshire County’s mercy-rule, which ends a game when one team is leading by 15 runs after five innings.”

Does this story sound familiar? More in The Berkshire Eagle.

Photo from Mount Arlington Recreation.