It is finally time to bust out the bats and mitts and warm up the throwing arm.

After weeks of waiting, the baseball fields are now ready for playing softball. League play was delayed for several weeks because of the effects of bad weather on the fields.

RecSports softball was originally scheduled to start at the beginning of the second block, with each team playing one game per week.

To make up for lost time, each softball team played two extra games last week, making up for their short regular season.

The tournament to decide who will be crowned as champions begins April 11.

“This tournament will be single elimination, and will use competitive scheduling,” said C.J. Rinke, a senior from Rexburg, and student director of RecSports.

This means teams will be matched up with other teams that have the same or similar records and strengths. For example, teams with a 2-0 winning record will be matched up with other teams with the same win to loss ratio.

If there are teams that don’t have records that match perfectly, the RecSports officials will decide which teams are the most closely matched in terms of skill levels.

The delay for softball this season was caused by the wet, rainy weather Rexburg has experienced.

The RecSports officials had hoped to start earlier, but Rinke said the fields were still muddy and wet with puddles up until this week. They didn’t want to run the risk of tearing up the field and causing more damage than necessary.