The William Penn baseball team is waiting out the rain in Joliet, Illinois, today at an NAIA region tournament. The Statesmen opened the tournament on Wednesday with an 8-2 win over Purdue-North Central and are scheduled to play host St. Francis this evening if the weather cooperates.

All of the games have been delayed due to steady rain and Penn coach Mike Laird says if all the games are postponed the tournament could put a strain on pitching staffs. He says they have a lot of seniors who have picked up the pace in pitching, and while they don’t dominate, he says they know how to pitch.

Lairs says St. Francis is well coached, but is not a big power hitting team. He says they play great defense and get their bunts down. Grand View and Iowa Wesleyan also have had games delayed at the tournament.