SJU baseball makes first cuts amid pandemic

After starting last “season” 7-1 to much fanfare, Johnnie Baseball suddenly found themselves sidelined by the ongoing pandemic.

Although the MIAC and NCAA have committed to a full 40 game baseball season this upcoming spring, nothing in 2020, or 2021 for that matter, can be described as certain.

“We are used to dealing with adversity at this point having lost almost our entire season last spring,” Assistant Coach Jason Spohn said.

The Johnnies only got the opportunity to play eight games in Florida last spring, defeating Alvernia (PA) 16-6 in the final game of their cancelled season.

The team lost only one matchup, a close 7-5 defeat at the hands of North Central (IL). The coaching staff has been faced with the challenge of preparing for the 2021 season and making roster cuts in an environment marred by improvisation and adaptation. Spohn made it clear that environment doesn’t change the roster process.

“I think everyone is coping fine with the COVID-19 precautions. The precautions have not had any impact on evaluating players,” Spohn said.

“We’re fortunate to work with a great coaching staff that has an incredible ability to adapt to these weird circumstances,” Assistant Coach Josh Bungum said, “It has been a challenge at times, but we have done our best to find the right balance in giving our players an opportunity to get better.”

Building the roster, however, is only part of the challenge.

“The most difficult aspect of dealing with the pandemic is uncertainty. We just take things day by day and don’t try to look too far into the future,” Spohn said.

Most of the difficulties faced by the coaching staff are related to keeping athletes safe while getting them ready for the approaching season.

“With COVID-19 being something we continuously learn more about, there have been several roadblocks to running practices in any sort of normal format. We have needed to break up into smaller groups and find a way to still give our guys an environment where they have the ability to effectively learn,” Bungum said.

“It’s nice to see how all our teammates are coming together through this tough time. We’re getting our work and fun in while abiding by the rules,” junior pitcher Peyton Yurek said.

Spohn also sees positives in the new situation.

“We know there will be new challenges related to the pandemic, we see the bright side as well with classes now being online athletes should be able to fully attend class even though they may be doing so on a bus,” Spohn said.

The 2021 season will ostensibly include 2 games against each MIAC opponent. Whether or not it will include the usual tournament in Florida is less certain. In Florida, the Johnnies face off against a whole host of out-of-state schools ranging from the United States Coast Guard Academy (CT) to Finlandia University (MI). These games serve the Johnnies well by giving them looks against potential NCAA tournament opponents.

“Our goal and expectation is to get a spring schedule locked in in the near future and some more clarity as to what it will look like,” Bungum said.

While Johnnie baseball fans across the country wait to see what the 2021 season will look like, the team still has to make one more round of cuts. The team will continue to evaluate their players each day.