One way or another, clocks control our lives.

We are always rushing to get to a meeting, to work or to pick up the kids from school.

Always, somewhere there is a clock ticking telling us where we are supposed to be or what we are supposed to be doing.

Well, almost always. It seems one of the only exceptions to that rule is baseball, which operates with no clock.

To some, that is the beauty of the sport. You have to earn every out you get, and can’t be saved simply by the clock running out.

There are no stalling tactics or prevent defenses in baseball.

However, sometimes the lack of a clock is maddening. Games can stretch for hours at a time, especially if there are a lot of walks and errors.

And unfortunately, that was exactly the situation on the first day of the Natchez Dixie Youth 10-year-old Sub-District Tournament Friday night.

Because it is a six-team tournament being played on one field at Duncan Park, there needed to be three games played on the first night of the tournament.

Those games were scheduled for 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The Natchez team, expected by many to win the tournament, was scheduled to play in the 9 p.m. game against Franklin County.

As anybody who has followed just about any baseball tournament can attest, baseball tournaments rarely keep to the schedule.

Take a look at the 2009 SEC Baseball Tournament as an example.

There were four games played on the first day of the tournament. The final game was supposed to start at 9 p.m. local time.

However, the first game ran long, forcing the second to start late. Then that game ran long, forcing the third to start even later.

And the third game took almost four hours to complete, causing the final game of the day, which was supposed to start at 9 p.m., to start at almost 11.

That game didn’t end until after 2 a.m., which led to a lot of tired fans and players.

A similar situation occurred here in Natchez Friday.

The second game of the night ran extremely long, causing the Natchez game to start at approximately 10:15 p.m.

Natchez then lost the game, and tournament director Porky Smith immediately found himself at the center of much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The truth is, he was in a no-win situation. Natchez lost, so they’re the ones complaining about the late start time. If Franklin County had lost, they would have been complaining just as loudly and probably would have accused Smith of some home cooking.

The truth is, there is really no way the situation could have been avoided.

You could play one game on Thursday and two on Friday, but then the two teams that played on Thursday would have an extra day to rest their pitchers.

Another idea is to begin the first game at 4 p.m. instead of 5, but starting a game that early would most likely prevent some parents from attending the game due to work responsibilities.

So I suppose the lesson learned here for everybody is to just deal with it.

Sure, it’s not ideal to begin a game at 10:15 and conclude it after midnight, but if that’s the hand you’re dealt, that’s the one you’ve got to play.

It didn’t seem to affect Franklin County that much, and they had to travel over half an hour to get to Natchez before sitting around and waiting for the game to start.

I’m sure a similar situation will happen next year, and when it does, I have some advice for everyone.

Just leave your watches at home and enjoy a few hours without the clock running your life.

Jeff Edwards is the sports editor for The Democrat. He can be reached at sports@natchezdemocrat.com.