Spring sports season suffering deflating season

Jake Rinehart looks into the brutal, weather-altered season the spring sports teams have had to suffer this season

Jake Rinehart
Staff Writer

This Spring has been very difficult for Minnesota State’s athletic teams to compete in this year. With a total of about 20 postponed/canceled games and meets this season, this sports season has been under the harshest weather conditions thus far in recent memory, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

The Mavericks softball team has had a total of six games cancelled due to snow, including the previous four scheduled games.

Two of the games that were cancelled were supposed to be played in Crookston, Minnesota, against the University of Minnesota – Crookston on Sunday. The other two games that cancelled were to be played in Mankato on Tuesday against Southwest Minnesota State.

The softball team has also had games cancelled against the University of Minnesota – Duluth. These games would’ve been played in Duluth, but due to harsh weather conditions, it was postponed once again.

The Mavericks baseball team has also had six games either postponed or cancelled due to snow, including Wednesday’s match-up with Northern State.

The Mavericks softball team was scheduled to travel to Aberdeen, SD, where the games were to be played. The baseball team has also had games canceled or postponed when scheduled to play in Mankato which was the case on Saturday against Bemidji State. The Mavericks were set to face the UMD Bulldogs on April 7 when this game was also canceled.

Minnesota State’s soccer team has also seen matches postponed because of the snow. The Mavericks were supposed to play against the University of Minnesota on April 8, but the game had been postponed due to the weather conditions.

The match was rescheduled for Sunday at the Shattuck Sports Dome in Faribault, Minnesota, but was cancelled due to the dome collapse. The dome had collapsed due to all the snow we had received on Saturday.

Minnesota State’s tennis team also had the final two meets of the regular season cancelled due to weather. The Mavericks were set to compete against Southwest Minnesota State and Gustavus Adolphus on Sunday in St. Peter, MN.

The weather conditions have had a big impact on Maverick athletics thus far in 2018. It is unfortunate for the seniors who are on the teams because they are now playing less than the normal season would have been if not for all the weather cancelations.

The most upsetting part about these postponements and cancellations is that they are coming so late in the year and are happening at locations all across the NSIC.

It looks as if the snow that fell on Wednesday will be the last of the year, as the temperatures are supposed to warm up and dry everything off.

Photo: This was the seen outside of Gustavus Adolphus’ indoor facility last Sunday. Due to the big hole in the dome, the originally scheduled matches for women’s tennis last Sunday had to be postponed. Workers have now tried to patch the hole, but due to weather conditions, the dome may be under construction for a bit.(Submitted by Valerie Bresnahan)