The Spring That Never Came

It was an abrupt ending but I’m totally supportive of the decision. I don’t feel comfortable jeopardizing the safety of our players, staff and their families. I’m heartbroken for this team, especially our seniors because we were playing great, and we all felt destined to win the championship.

“The one thing that I take away from our shortened 2020 season is the way in which our team responded from adversity early on and used it in a positive way to grow and improve. Following a tough four-game stretch that culminated by getting swept at East Carolina, I think our players took it upon themselves to play with a stronger sense of urgency and respond in a positive way. As a result, we won eight of our next nine games including a seven-game winning streak when the season ended highlighted by a three-game midweek series sweep of number 3 nationally ranked Georgia. We were playing beautiful baseball, guys were playing very hard, playing together, and really clicking on all cylinders. Although much of the 2020 season remained, there was a real sense among our team that we could accomplish some special things together. Unfortunately, we did not get to complete the season and see exactly how the journey would play out.

Adversity is something we talk about a lot within our program. We all see now that there is a much bigger challenge facing our world today with the COVID-19 Virus. The approach is the same in that we must face this adversity head on and most importantly together as a team. We must all stay positive and encourage one another and we will get through this together. I am confident that, in the end, this experience will only strengthen our young men. We will grow and I have no doubt we will truly appreciate the opportunity to get back on the field and compete. Often some of the most rewarding things in life require the most patience. This team will be back together in the future and I am excited about being a part of that journey with such a special group of young men.

I think at a time like this, it’s very important to realize that everyone will handle this differently. We are doing what we can to stay connected, support each other, and stay the course on making progress on our long term goals and progressing on continuing to fine-tune our team culture. We talk about #EagleFamily and have used that for years when we post. But this is really making it even more clear that these relationships and connections are so important and mean so much. The team is figuring out how to manage their time with academics, spend time with their families, and continue to make progress with their health, fitness and golf games. We haven’t talked a lot about golf - we just want the team to feel loved and supported during this. We feel fortunate that we are able to spend time with loved ones, and are doing everything we can to stay safe and healthy.

I don’t know if we’re peaking at the right time. I think we’re just good and just figuring out how good we are.

It felt like we were in a movie, very surreal. At the time we were told to stop competing, we had only competed in six events which is roughly half of our season. We were fortunate enough to win two of those six events and were starting to play our best golf heading into the meat of our spring schedule.

It’s sad to finish the season in the manner in which we did, but ultimately it’s nothing we can control. Since the first time back in February when Coach started telling the team about the Coronavirus, we knew it was something that could happen but we didn’t think too deep into it. We had a goal in mind and we were on track to accomplish our goals. Once the Sun Belt and the NCAA announced that our season was canceled indefinitely, everything felt like it was a nightmare. The team stayed together throughout the tough days and especially the American girls helped the international teammates a lot. We all really rely on each other, our coaches, and staff for support.

It was an unexpected and super-fast end to the season. None of us anticipated it but I believe in the team and in our sporting and competitive nature and the mental ambition we all work so hard on. We will fight through this and therefore will come back stronger and hungrier to accomplish what we originally set out to do when we get back.

Our season was a whirlwind of emotions. It was one that I didn’t want to see end because of not only our success, but the atmosphere we created with each other. To have our season end so suddenly in circumstances out of our control is heartbreaking. We are a family and we had to say goodbye a few months earlier than I wanted too. That’s one day of my college career I will never forget. We will be back and stronger than ever. This set back has only strengthened us. We can’t wait to get back to Statesboro.

I don’t think any of us anticipated the way in which our season ended. I watch the news quite a bit and noticed that some things might have been on the horizon in regards to the virus at some point in late January...but never really thinking it would have a direct impact on our season. We tend to oftentimes operate within a bubble during our competitive season. It’s how we operate and help our team stay on point. All I could do was make sure the team was as prepared as possible to face any challenges. We made sure we were still extremely focused on our classwork, staying involved in the community, being present and available to teammates, and focusing on our game. But then in a blink of an eye, everything changed. Luckily I have had to deal with a few situations in the past that helped prepare me on how to help my team deal with circumstances outside of their control. I am certain that this virus, and the challenges we are all facing right now, will bring about a newfound level of appreciation and dedication to how our program moves forward. We chose to use this time as a positive reflection point. We have a great deal of unity and love within our team and a great deal of dedication towards our university. We will most certainly come back stronger.

I was really proud of how we were playing at that point. We were playing some of our best softball and it was exciting to witness. The team always found ways to celebrate each other and never stopped smiling. Without a doubt, we had found our identity and knew we could take on anyone. I truly believe we were on a path to do some serious damage in the Sun Belt and make all of Eagle Nation proud.

I was pretty shocked and the news came very rapidly but I also believe it is very necessary to keep everybody safe. Our staff and our athletes were very disappointed that they weren’t able to compete but at the same time everybody understands that the health of the community and the welfare of the nation at-large is bigger than sports.

It’s the right thing to do; it’s something that we wanted to do. Dr. [Kyle] Marrero and everyone on our leadership staff was very supportive of ensuring that these seniors, these young men and women, have the chance to come back and truly have a fitting senior year.