HANCEVILLE — Michael Chandler and Mitch Witcher might not share the same school colors, but the two baseball coaches have been teaming up like Batman and Robin so far this season.

The common enemy? Unreasonably miserable weather.

Heavy rain, snow, sleet and ice have all reared their ugly heads during the past couple of weeks, putting a cold and gloomy damper on the start of spring sports all across the state.

On Saturday, however, Hanceville and Good Hope were finally able to take the field under sunny skies and warm temperatures — much to the delight of the players, coaches and fans.

Chandler’s Bulldogs outlasted Witcher’s Raiders 10-7, but the contest was more about the time on the field than the results on the scoreboard.

“It was great,” Chandler said. “We were tired of practicing in the gym. You could tell the guys were excited to be out here. We hit the ball well, pitched it great. After three games, we’re worn out. Happy, but tired.”

Added Witcher: “It’s refreshing, let me tell you. I was tired of being all stuck in my house. Not many teams have had a chance to practice. That was pretty evident today. They helped us out, we helped them out. I am glad to be out here, though. We just need to play more games.”

Good Hope (1-2) struck first in the second inning, loading the bases on two hits and a Purple and Gold (4-0) error. A fielder’s choice and miscue made it 2-0 before a wild pitch and back-to-back base knocks by Nathan Doss and Mason Johnson extended the Raiders’ lead to 6-0.

The experienced Bulldogs bounced back in the bottom half of the frame, though, scoring five runs thanks to RBI hits by Alex Armstrong and Isaac Hardin — along with a sacrifice fly from Austin Coker.

The score remained the same in the fourth inning, when Hardin poked himself a two-run single to right field to secure his team a 7-6 advantage.

“Being in the gym and missing the whole first week, it was spectacular and awesome to be out here,” Hardin said. “To get three wins, too, is an awesome thing. We didn’t know how we’d hit the ball against some live pitching, but we played well. I think everyone batted like .500 today, and that’s good. Good Hope had us, but we just kept working because we all wanted three wins today.”

Added Chandler: “It just shows how old we are. We didn’t panic. Isaac had a big hit, and we got some big outs down the stretch. Pitching was a really good thing today.”

That “really good” pitching shone in the final two innings, as Coker got the Bulldogs out of a bases-loaded mess in the sixth with a huge strikeout and popout. Mark Kubia picked up the save with a solid outing in the seventh after Hanceville tacked on three insurance runs.

It was a tough, albeit not unexpected, way to watch things unfold for Witcher, who’s in his 12th season with the program.

“They’ve got a good team,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of potential. We just have to work to live up to it. It was about what I thought. We have not picked up a baseball since last Tuesday. This weather has been nuts. All in all, I feel pretty good. We’ve just got to step up in those spots and we’ll be OK.”

Mason Johnson, Matt Hancock, Preston Calvert and Ross Bailey each had hits for the Raiders.

% Hanceville 5, Decatur Heritage 4: The Bulldogs opened up the first of three Saturday bouts with a tight win over the Eagles.

Coker, Hardin and Dant’e Reese each had two hits for Hanceville, while Isaac Weissend, Hayden Loggins and Branen Hurst all had one.

% Hanceville 8, Decatur Heritage 4: Chandler’s squad completed a solid sweep with a six-run fifth inning to take command of the second matchup.

Weissend, Coker, Hardin, Loggins, James and Reese opened the decisive frame with consecutive hits to garner the lead and, ultimately, the win.

The former three had two hits each, while Hurst and Armstrong notched one apiece.