By JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

TOPEKA — Larned’s baseball team and the Hoisington-Central Plains softball team will be delayed until Sunday.
The forecast of heavy rain caused officials to postpone Class 4A-Division 2 baseball and softball until Sunday at Topeka’s Hummer Sports Complex.
The eighth-seeded Cardinals (13-9) will meet top-seeded Girard (21-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Girard has qualified for eight state softball tournaments and has finished runner-up twice.
In other games, it’s Jefferson West (17-4) against Goodland (16-4) at 3 p.m.; Clearwater (17-3) versus Chapman (15-7) at 1 p.m.; and Prairie View (19-4) against St. George-Rock Creek (15-6) at 3 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday.
The third-place game has been canceled. The championship game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.
Larned’s baseball team (18-3) will meet 13-time state champion Kansas City Ward (11-8) in a scheduled 5 p.m. Sunday, although it’s unlikely that game will start at the scheduled time because the bracket allows only two hours per game.
Top-seeded St. George Rock Creek (19-2) meets Colby (10-12) at 1 p.m. followed by Baxter Springs ((17-4) against Iola (14-4) and Concordia (19-3) versus Clearwater (10-10).
Monday’s Class 4A semifinals are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The final is scheduled for 2 p.m., but it’s unlikely that game will start as scheduled.
The National Weather Service in Wichita predicted several rounds of widespread showers and storms beginning Thursday in Topeka.
The second wave of rain is forecast overnight into Friday morning. The third wave is forecast late Friday into early Saturday morning. Localized heavy rainfall and flooding is possible with each round. Also, a few storms could be strong with hail and wind.
A dry period starts late Saturday and lasts through mid-week.