by Bart Moss for the FCT

Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on the spring sports this year.  Baseball and softball teams that would normally have about fifteen games at this point have played less than a handful.  Between snow and ice storms and daily rainfall the spring sports are struggling to figure out how to stay sharp and focused and get enough games in to be at full strength when tournament time begins.

“We had some of the best weather I’ve seen for pre-season,” said Russellville softball coach John Smith.  “But our in-season weather has been the worst I’ve seen in my long career.  We can’t get any games in.  We’ve lost a big moneymaking tournament that helps fund our program.  We can go indoors to hit and do some things but it can’t replace live action on the field.”

Not only have games been a problem but practicing has been a challenge as well.
“We have been able to hit indoor some,” said Tharptown baseball coach Griffin Harris.  “Our pitchers haven’t hardly been able to pitch off a real mound this year.  It’s tough to find any kind of rhythm especially for pitchers.”

The weather has been frustrating to players and coaches alike.

Laken Bragwell, senior pitcher for the Belgreen Bulldog softball team, summed up the frustration best on Facebook when she said, “Rain please go away, I want to play…You’re washing my Senior year away!!!”

Belgreen coach Chris Scott said, “there are a lot of things we need to fine tune that you just can’t get done in a gym.  We haven’t been on the field to practice in three weeks.  To put it mildly our girls are hungry to play.”

Vina baseball coach Greg Hamilton said, “it’s very frustrating for me and our players and our parents.  Everyone wants to play but we can’t control the weather.  We start days thinking we are going to play and then we have to cancel games and notify everyone.  We are to the point now where we are calling around to see if anybody can play.  We tell our players to bring both sets of uniforms to school everyday and be prepared to go play somewhere if we can.”

Baseball is feeling the brunt of the weather right now.  Mandatory area games begin this week and the playoffs begin much sooner than softball which will limit the amount of shuffling coaches can do to the schedule.  Some games will not be rescheduled.

Although its been a major inconvenience to the varsity teams the junior high teams are suffering even more because their season is typically half over by now and some teams haven’t played a game this year.

“Junior high season has been tough,” said Red Bay baseball coach Richard Maggerise.  “With varsity taking priority it’s been hard to reschedule games for both teams.  We’ve tried to help keep kids focused by allowing them to play whiffle ball inside.  Whiffle ball may not seem like it serves a purpose but we structure it to resemble a real game and incorporate what we do in practice.  Kids love it and it gives them a way to compete among each other.”

It’s not just baseball and softball either.  Spring sports such as golf, tennis and track & field have been affected as well.

“Our golf team didn’t practice for three weeks,” said first-year golf coach at Russellville.  “We only had two matches cancelled.  The biggest impact has been practice to develop consistency in golf.”

Tharptown junior slugger, Kaitlyn Vandiver, commented on the matter in one of her Facebook posts Saturday as her team was getting ready to play their first game of the year.

“It’s finally here! Game Day!  It’s time to play!”