Late season snow has buried baseball and softball fields across the Northland, causing most games for most schools to be cancelled.
In fact, in Polar League baseball only Esko and Barnum have played and that was against each other in a doubleheader when they split games inside the Metrodome on April 19.
Fast pitch softball is no better. Only Barnum and Moose Lake/Willow River have played against each other and that was April 29. Otherwise no other teams have taken the field this year.
To date, neither the Cook County High School girls’ softball team nor the boys’ baseball team has played a game, and with two-thirds of the season wiped out, it will be interesting to see how many games will be played before playoffs start mid- May.
Track and field hasn’t fared much better, but they had one indoor meet and have had to practice much of the time in the halls at school. As of press time on Thursday, May 2, the team was competeing outside in Two Harbors for the first time. This was a make-up meet because it was canceled earlier due to snow, but snow was falling throughout the day.
Meanwhile, with the new gym under construction for the YMCA and only two gyms available and being used by softball and baseball, the tennis team has had to practice outside, a chilling prospect. Still, the boys played two matches in Virginia’s indoor facility, which is a bonus. Head Coach John Muus said that St. Scholastica had played one of its college matches in Virginia and that Grand Rapids High School and several other high schools were using the Virginia facility for practice and matches.
Should it keep snowing, maybe the nets can be taken down and some ball games can be played there, because time is running out for baseball and softball. Meanwhile, the kids keep practicing, hoping to see the green grass of a ball field before the season ends.
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