Friday, April 13, 2001
Curfews play havoc with high school schedule
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Curfews made for some quick high school games, postponed some others and left at least one in suspended animation Thursday.
“We — umpires and coaches — all agreed if we didn't get our game finished by 7:30 p.m. (Thursday), we were quitting,” said Steve Zimmerman, who is coach of the softball team at Norwood and the school's athletic director. “We (Norwood) rallied in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game with Wilmington at 4-4 but had a runner at second base with none out and couldn't get her in — and that's how it ended.”
Norwood, like Cincinnati, has an 8p.m. curfew because of the civil unrest of the last few days.
That softball game will be picked up in the top of the eighth inning at a later date, which probably will mean a long trip to Wilmington for what could turn out to be a very short game.
Norwood had gotten a later start than normal because it had to pick up a previously suspended game with Wilmington in the fourth inning. Norwood won, then started Game 2 at 5:15 p.m.
“Our field is behind our school,” Zimmerman said. “Those are two busy streets back there. A coach said the other day, "You've got a lot of distractions at this place.' Well, (during Thursday's game) there were two or three ambulances, two or three police cars with their sirens going. It got your attention. My kids understand the seriousness of it, and they were anxious to get home.”
Vince Ward, who is coach of the Woodward baseball team, said his players felt similarly. They hurried through their game (a defeat) at Anderson so they could be home and off the street by 8p.m.
“The kids aren't into that stuff (the violence) that is going on,” said Ward, who coaches a summer RBI team (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City). “They don't come out here and play baseball and then go out and cause unrest.”
Ward said a game that was to have followed his — Hughes at Anderson — had to be postponed because of the curfew. Ward said his team will start today's game at Western Hills a little early so his players can be home before curfew.
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Curfews play havoc with high school schedule