Baseball bats go silent in wake of coronavirus

Flomaton High School's baseball team was scheduled to begin its 'real' season today (Thursday) when the Hurricanes were to host Bayside Academy to kickoff area play.

When and if those games will be played is questionable at this time as all school activities have been canceled until at least April 6 due to the coronavirus.

Flomaton head baseball coach Keith Nall said he's been told there will be no practices or games until April 30 but realizes the time frame can change at any time.

"The state said they had a have a plan but we haven't seen anything," Nall said.

Flomaton (6-6), Bayside Academy and St. Michaels were scheduled to battle for the area title. Under the original schedule the teams would play three games. The first two were area games and the third was a tiebreaker.

Whether those games are played or whether there's an abbreviated schedule is still not known.

"It all depends on if and when we get to come back and play and the contingency plan," Nall said.

He said the three games could be played or those games may come down to one game.

There's also the possibility that the rest of the season may be canceled.

Nall said he was able to tell his squad a little of what was going on at the end of this past Friday's loss to T.R. Miller. He said he continued to text and contact his players as he got updates. The state suspended sports contests as of this past Tuesday.

"I feel sorry for the seniors with all the work they've put in over the years," Nall said. "It's tough to tell them their season will be cut short or canceled."

Flomaton's seniors are Alex Cash, Jackson Steele, Sam Smith, Dalton Kent and Chance James.

Alabama High School Athletic Association Executive Director Steve Savarese sent out a memo Monday to state superintendents, principals, athletic directors and spring sports coaches outlining some rules for the sports suspensions.

In the memo he said member schools can not play games against each other and student athletes are prevented from practicing, weightlifting or conditioning under a coach's supervision.

"The mandated closure is a 'dead period' for all athletic activity, even in small groups," Savarese wrote. "A coach is not allowed to have contact with nor work with students during this time."

He also said school-owned facilities will be closed and should not be used by students during the shutout. He did say individual groups of students could work on their skills in a setting outside their school with parental approval.

He also said the AHSAA has created a spring sports contingency committee to study and provide a plan or plans regarding regular season and championship play if the seasons are able to continue next month.

"The date schools return to a regular schedule will determine what plan is implemented for the remainder of the school year," he said.