COVID-19 keeps Northview from taking the field

Thursday, May 28, 2020
Gavin Morris fires a pitch against Avon in last year's sectional. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Knights haven't played a game since.

Sitting at home over Memorial Day weekend, Northview baseball coach Craig Trout let his mind wander.

He knew what he and his team were supposed to be preparing for in the coming days.

He’d been a part of so many, the time of year had become engrained into his body clock.

It was sectional week.

Starting Wednesday, the Knights would be taking the field in an attempt to make another long postseason run.

Had the coronavirus not swept through the state and the first five months of the year were as they normally are, Trout said his group would use the same strategy Northview’s baseball teams have become known for around the Wabash Valley – good pitching backed by good defense with some timely hitting sprinkled in between.

“[The] plan come sectional time would be the same formula we've had for a while: play defense and get timely hits,” Trout said. “We had big hitters that would've been great for those situations. I would've loved to have our No. 1, 2, and 3 pitchers in tournament time. I think we had the best No. 1, 2, 3 [pitching staff] in the state, honestly.”

Northview certainly had the top of the rotation arms it takes to win a sectional championship, which was scheduled to take place on June 1.

And by the way they put in their work during the winter months, Trout was anxious for them to showcase their talents during the spring.

“I really loved the offseason this team had. I felt like with our pitching staff [of] Gavin Morris, Dylan Zentko, Kade Roembke, and Coy Edwards, we had a great combo going,” he said.

To go along with the arms, the Knights had four seniors they could lean upon for leadership on and off the field.

Before the season was canceled, the quartet, as well as the remainder of the team, were in the midst of building a cohesive group that worked together in harmony.

“We had a lot of good senior leadership with Tyler Timberman, Kade Roembke, Griffen Stewart, and Parker Johnson,” Trout explained. “I was really excited to see this team gel on the field the way they did in the offseason. We had a great amount of talent.”

The only place the Knights may have lacked a bit was in the experience department.

But that was what the regular season was for.

“Experience was the No. 1 thing we needed,” Trout pointed out. “We needed to get battle-tested. We needed to learn to win tight games. We needed to lose to harden ourselves in big games.”

He was confident that would have happened.

“We had the horses for it,” Trout said.

Unfortunately for the Knights and the other teams residing from the Hoosier State, as well as many others around the country, never had the opportunity to put their best nine against the opposition’s best nine to figure out what they were truly capable of.

Trout said he speaks regularly – virtually through technology – with the members of his team, but does his best to shift the conversation away from what could have been and more towards the great memories they made together in their time donning the maroon and black.

He hopes, as Indiana’s state-at-home order restrictions continue to be loosened, that he will be able to gather everyone together and thank the seniors for the contributions they gave to the Northview baseball program.

“I'll message the guys [and] check-in with them,” Trout said. “I know they like to talk about what would've been, but that's hard.

“I want to try and get them together soon just to talk and enjoy what time we've had together. I think these seniors will have great info for the younger guys.”

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