Last week’s arrival of a heat wave in town impelled two of the better local youth baseball teams to put their rivalry on the back burner, so to speak.

A South Durham Little League team and the Long Ball club had intended to play a double-header last Friday evening in a rare meeting of the two programs, but the tremendous heat that lingered past sundown prompted a truncated showdown. Neither team wanted to keep their kids out on the broiling field too long.

They played just one game, won 27-6 in five innings by Long Ball.

Long Ball will be back in action Saturday at Durham Athletic Park, playing teams from Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, beginning at 10 a.m.