Updated: Lights Go Out on Woodbury Baseball

On a cold and dreary Thursday night, the baseball team could not protect a 5-1 lead against Tartan, but were spared a potential non-conference defeat when the game was suspended because of a problem with the lighting at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. 

Up by four after the first inning, the Royals held that lead until a disastrous third when the Titans scored seven runs.

Yet after four complete innings one set of field lights in the St. Paul Saints' stadium failed. Woodbury was down 9-5 at the time.

Woodbury coach Kevin McDermott said he's been involved in plenty of contests where rain stopped things. He even played in a game in college that was called because of a bench-clearing brawl. "The umpires just split," he said.

But this was the first time he's been in a game called by lights going out.

"(The groundskeeper) said, 'I can't do anything about it,' and put his hands up in the air," McDermott said. "It was disappointing, but it was certainly not a good night for baseball."

It was the first trip to Midway Stadium for these players, McDermott said, and he hoped the experience reduced some of the "awe factor" should the team win a few playoff games and head back to the St. Paul ballpark later this year.

"The rain probably took some of the excitement away," he said. "But we gained some things from this experience and I hope to do it again."

The coaches are still trying to figure out the exact ruling, but he assumes the game will pick up where it left off. The game will likely be finished on an upcoming Saturday, he said.

Tartan rented the field for the game, and McDermott said he expects the team will get some sort of discount.