This summer's weather has been unusual in Hannibal. Above average rainfall, very mild temperatures, extremely hot temperatures ... the city's nearly seen it all over the past couple months. Because of excessive rain and even some flash flooding, the Hannibal Cavemen have worked extra hard to keep the field in playing condition, and the ballpark open to the public.

Clemens Field Flooding in June
Deron Johnson
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"We are managing about as well as we can," said Deron Johnson, Director of Marketing and Operations for the Hannibal Cavemen. "The rain has simply been relentless. We've had not just one, but two flash floods from Bear Creek. The first one did some pretty significant damage as we lost some concession product and team store merchandise. The second one we were better prepared for and didn't lose anything. We've had Mississippi flooding as well. We've spent an extraordinary amount of time cleaning, flood-fighting, relocating concessions, etc. It's been very demanding. We have a very small group of people managing the operations and our resources have worn pretty thin. We do it because we love this team and we know how important it is to our city."

According to Johnson, the team and staff have been doing their best to enjoy the season, despite less than ideal playing conditions. "The team has struggled on the field and we've had numerous off-the-field issues as well. But nothing beats walking around the stadium on game day and seeing people having a good time at the ball park. I remember one night a storm rolled through during a game and one of our best fans, a gentleman who is in a wheelchair, got caught in the rain. Another fan and our staff covered him with an umbrella. I went and talked to him for about 15 minutes during the rain delay. He has a great story and I made a friend right there. That makes this all worthwhile."

The 2015 season for the Hannibal Cavemen continues through early August. The final home game of the year will be August 5 at Clemens Field, and the Cavemen will wrap up their regular season schedule the next night in Quincy.

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