Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Bay College’s Jeff Allen hits a pitch during a game against the Northern Michigan University club team at Wells Sports Complex last season. The National Junior College Athletic Association announced Monday that the rest of the spring sports season has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Norse finished their season 4-8 after playing 12 games in Florida last week.

ESCANABA — When the Bay College baseball and softball teams made their trip to Florida on March 6, they had no idea their seasons would end in the same place they started.

After each team wrapped up its road trip with a win last Friday, the National Junior College Athletic Association announced all games would be suspended until at least April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak. By mid-afternoon Monday, that turned into a cancellation of the entire season.

“I was probably a little ignorant in hoping we still had a chance to keep going. I was initially grateful when they decided just to postpone so we had some hope,” softball coach Heidi Charon said. “When they decided to cancel, it was a shock. It was tough to hear. We have a few sophomores that have been really important to the program, so that was hard to see them go so abruptly.

“It’s shocking because you just don’t realize it’s possible. You just don’t think something like that can happen. But when you think about the reason, it makes it a little easier to take.”

The Norse went 6-6 on their Florida trip to finish their season 7-7 after splitting a pair of games at the Superior Dome in Marquette back in mid-February.

The abrupt end to the season was a tough pill to swallow after all the hard work that goes into it. One bright spot is the NJCAA is offering an extra year of eligibility to all spring sports athletes, although the details have yet to be finalized.

“It makes a little more disappointing when you’ve been working hard at it almost every day since August. You’re excited to see how that work might pay off, so it’s just tough,” Charon said, noting she was still thankful they got to play out their Florida trip. “Luckily, we’re all still healthy. I’m doing my best to focus on what we do have than what we don’t have. I’m thankful they’re offering an extra year of eligibility. Some may choose not to use it because they’re graduating and moving on with their life, but I’m hoping to have a couple take advantage of that.”

Charon also noted she like what she saw from the team during its short time on the diamond.

“Our hitting was exceptional and our pitching improved immensely from the first day to where we were at the end of the week,” she said. “To see those girls be on the upswing in just a week was very exciting. We probably focused on hitting more than anything in practice and it showed against extremely good pitching. Every single pitcher challenged us, so to have as many hits and home runs as we did is pretty awesome.”

Baseball coach Mike Pankow shared an equal amount of disappointment. The Norse had 11 sophomores, including two who had just transferred in.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of disappointment. We’re at the point where we’ve put in a whole year’s worth of work, we just got rocking and rolling and then we got shut down. It’s disappointing that with all the work we put in, we’re not going to see the fruits of our labor,” he said. “There’s kids who are going to miss out on an opportunity with the season coming to an end after just one week of play. It’s disappointing from that standpoint. It was tough news to get.”

The Norse went 4-8 on their Florida trip.

“I was a little disappointed with the results,” Pankow said. “I thought we were kind of up and down defensively and on the mound. Guys had some disappointing outings and those guys will tell you that themselves. When our pitching and defense held up, our offense gave us a chance in almost every game. It was up and down, but we shown a ton of promise and a ton of potential for this year. It’s tough we won’t get to see how far this team could come together and gel.”

Despite the losing record, Tanner Halvorson threw two complete-game shutouts, including the first no-hitter in program history March 8.

Pankow also noted he was thankful for the experience.

“It was a positive experience,” he said. “It’s great spending time with these kids. People act like it’s a vacation, but we’re playing 12 games in seven days. It’s a grind. There’s not a lot of time for Disneyland and vacation, but we’re doing what we love. After being stuck inside and working for all that time, it’s nice to get outside and enjoy time with those guys. It’s a treat to spend time together and bond with each other and see what we’ve been working for. If this thing went down a week earlier, we’d be even more disappointed. I’m grateful we at least got to play some baseball.”

Both coaches noted they were proud of their team, and there are much bigger things in life than baseball and softball.

“As far as our kids go, we have sophomores that are going to have some questions to answer and this could be their last taste of baseball. We’re disappointed that we can’t play our season, but there are things that are more important than baseball,” Pankow said. “As disappointed as we are, it’s a situation I completely understand. I’m supportive of decisions made. I’m hoping and praying our elected officials are going to help us move on from this virus and come out on the other side ready to go.

“In the grand scheme of things, losing a baseball game is not as big of a deal as it really feels like right now. As hard as this hit us, there’s bigger things in life. Hopefully, everyone can come out on the other side of this safe and healthy.”