Baseball copes with lost Gulf Shores trip

Among the many sports cancelations over the concerns of the coronvirus in the last week, one of the toughest to swallow may have been for the Siloam Springs baseball team.

The Panthers were scheduled to play in the Gulf Shores (Ala.) Classic this week.

Siloam Springs baseball

2020 schedule

Date^Opponent^Time

Feb. 25^at Pea Ridge (benefit)^W, 21-3

March 2^vs. Rogers Heritage%^L, 9-6

March 3^vs. Mountain Home%^W, 6-5

March 6^vs. Rogers Heritage%^L, 8-3

March 7^vs. Watson Chapel%^L, 18-11

March 10^vs. Huntsville^W, 5-2

March 12^vs. Harrison^L, 14-0

March 12^at Farmington^L, 10-0

March 13^vs. Sallisaw, Okla.+^ppd

March 16^Gentry^ppd

March 17^at Beebe (DH)*^ppd

March 20^at Gravette^ppd

March 23-26^at Gulf Classic^canceled

March 31^at Alma (DH)*^ppd

April 7^Greenbrier (DH)*^ppd

April 9^Springdale^ppd

April 13^Shiloh Christian^ppd

April 14^at Greenwood (DH)*^ppd

April 21^LR Christian (DH)*^4:30 p.m.

April 23^Tahlequah, Okla.^4:30 p.m.

April 28^Russellville (DH)*^4:30 p.m.

May 5^at Vilonia (DH)*^4:30 p.m.

May 7^Rogers Heritage^5 p.m.

May 14-16^Class 5A State Tournament^TBA

May 22-23^State Finals^TBA

* 5A-West Conference games

% Arkansas Select Tournament

+ Played at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale

"It's just unfortunate," said head baseball coach Alan Hardcastle. "It was going to be a big team-building trip. I was looking forward to it, being around the seniors and the rest of the players."

A trip during spring break has been a mainstay for the SSHS baseball program since Hardcastle became head coach in 2015.

The Panthers played in a tournament in the Springfield (Mo.) area his first season and have competed in the Best of the West Invitational in the Memphis, Tenn., area the last several years.

"The Memphis trips have been a great experience for the team," Hardcastle said, adding the team had plans for a family night its first night in Gulf Shores. The Panthers were originally scheduled to play one game on Monday, two on Tuesday and one more on Wednesday.

Of course those games were canceled and the rest of the season is on hold for the foreseeable future.

The Arkansas Activities Association announced Friday that its dead period would be extended through April 17.

This was in conjunction with Gov. Asa Hutchinson's Thursday announcement that restricted Arkansas schools to online learning through at least April 17.

"There's not a whole lot we can do," Hardcastle said. "We can't meet. Whatever they do now is on their own. We're encouraging them to follow all regulations passed down by AAA, school district and state. To think we would be where we're at right now and not playing baseball, it's tough."

Hardcastle said his new plans for spring break this week include going up to James Butts Baseball Complex and trying to continue work on the playing field, which has had some drainage problems.

"I'm trying to figure out ways to keep myself occupied," he said. "It's the first time in 18 years I haven't down anything baseball related on spring break."

The Panthers are 2-5 on the season and have yet to play a home game.

Siloam Springs went 1-3 in the Arkansas Select Tournament on March 2-7, losing twice to Rogers Heritage and once to Watson Chapel while defeating Mountain Home.

The Panthers defeated Huntsville 5-2 on March 10 before losing its final two games to Harrison and Farmington on March 12.

Sports on 03/22/2020