Riverhounds game at Charleston bumped up due to Hurricane Elsa

Looking to avoid the brunt of Hurricane Elsa, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds will kick off a few hours earlier than originally scheduled Wednesday.

The Riverhounds will play the Charleston Battery at 4 p.m. in a game closed to spectators at Patriots Point Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The game was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast online via ESPN3.

The forecast for Charleston calls for 2-4 inches of rain and wind gusts of 30-40 mph with the worst conditions occurring between midnight and 8 a.m. Thursday.

“We prioritized the safety of the fans, our partners and the players in the decision to play (Wednesday’s) match earlier and without fans in attendance,” Battery executive chairman Rob Salvatore said in a press release. “Working with the league, delaying the game to later this week or rescheduling to later in the season were unfortunately not options due to an already extremely condensed schedule the remainder of this season.”

The Riverhounds (6-4-2) have won four of their last five matches and are coming off a 1-0 victory over Charlotte on Saturday. The Battery (3-3-2) is coming off a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Friday.