When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools and their sports programs to close down, the EvCC men’s baseball team was one of the programs canceled just 12 games into their 42 game season. Now they return more than a year later and are welcoming fans back into the stands.

How is COVID still affecting the team?

Although the team is expecting to play a full regular season this year, there will be no conference championships. In a normal year, the team would play 40 to 42 regular-season games and six to eight playoff games. The season usually begins late February but didn’t start until April 3. This means there were no practice or exhibition games for the Trojans. 

“In the fall we typically have eight exhibition games or so and all of those were canceled,” said the team’s head coach JoJo Howie. “We had to cancel games against Central Washington and Seattle University, a great chance for the team to go against Division I and II schools. There were no scrimmages, no team activities or anything to get us tuned up for the upcoming season. It was a lot to deal with and it hasn’t been fun.” 

Juggling the roster 

The team roster is built of 30 to 32 players and six red-shirt freshmen. Every season the team loses around 15 players to graduation, transfer or in some cases the Major League Draft. The team had many extra players this year because the Northwest Athletic Conference allowed an extra year of eligibility, forcing the team to move on from eight of its players unexpectedly. 

“We had to find other teams and schools for these players so they could continue on with their baseball career. We also had a lot of injuries to our incoming freshmen class, so there have been some challenges filling our roster,” said Howie. 

One of those players who had to leave the Trojans early was Ocean Gabonia, a former right-handed pitcher. He was signed after the cancelation of the season by the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent in June of last year. 

How can fans safely attend games?

“There is no gate fee, and all games are free to attend this year,” said Howie. ”We also play outside in large stadiums, so reaching capacity shouldn’t be an issue.” 

The team is currently having mandated temperature checks and are required to wear masks when they are not on the field. Fans will go through a similar process, where their temperatures are taken upon gate entry

and masks are to be worn along with social distancing throughout the duration of the game. 

Everett is off to a 9-3 record with a doubleheader scheduled on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday May 2 against Skagit Valley. Both of these games will be played at Edmonds Community College, with the first game beginning at noon and the second scheduled for 3 p.m..

For more information about the team, and its upcoming game for the season, visit https://athletics.everettcc.edu/sports/bsb/index