Mother Nature found a way to do something opposing pitchers could not do -- put a silencer on Hamline's hot baseball team.

Wet fields have forced postponement of the Pipers' scheduled April 3 doubleheader with Bethel. As it developed, it has forced a change of sites.

The teams will now aim for opening conference play on Thursday, April 4. The games will be moved from Midway Stadium to Hargis Park on the Bethel campus. Hamline will still be the home team for both games, the first of which is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start. 

Whenever the teams do get on the field, it will be a matchup of two teams off to remarkably similar starts.

Hamline (13-3) has belied the coaches early season prognostication of an eighth place finish and is riding a school-record 10-game winning streak. They have hit the ball at a solid .317 pace and have a commendable 3.01 ERA.

Bethel is merely a half-step behind with a 13-4 won-loss mark. The Royals, picked for third by the coaches, has hit the ball at a .314 pace with an equally noteworthy 3.24 ERA. 

The only major differences: the Pipers have been more proficient at little ball (29 stolen bases, 25 sacrifice hits) while the Royals have bashed the ball a bit more (29 doubles, 13 triples). 

All in all, it's matchup worth waiting for. Both teams, however, hope the waiting will be over Thursday afternoon.