By Alexandria Webb
Grand Rapids Community College has postponed several baseball and softball games due to rainy weather. Recently, the weather has affected GRCC’s ability to play on its home field, resulting in changes to game locations and the postponement of games.
Lauren Ferullo, Athletic Director of GRCC, explains what goes into the decision of switching the locations or postponing a game.
“It is mostly based on weather and field conditions,” Ferullo wrote in an email to The Collegiate. “This week we were playing Bay College, and they are coming down from the U.P. Because we didn’t think we could get both sets of games, we decided to postpone. Although Friday looks ok to play, Saturday did not.”
Not only does weather factor into the decision to cancel or postpone games, but so do field conditions. GRCC uses Belknap Park as its home field; if those fields are not in the best condition, there are other options to consider.
“Also, our fields do not handle water well, so based on today, they would have never been playable. We do try to find alternative sites like Meijer, GV, DU when possible, but it isn’t always easy with those teams being in their season as well,” Ferullo stated.
Oftentimes, there is an attempt to make up postponed games the following week. Such as on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, when the Raiders were scheduled to play Delta College. Instead, the games were moved to the following Sunday, March 29, and Monday, March 30. As mentioned before, Bay College is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so it’s a little harder to coordinate the same week’s play.
“The league builds in a makeup date for baseball and softball, that’s why this series is moved to May 1 and 2. When teams are closer, we do have the option to reschedule the next week. It just makes it a little harder when we are playing Bay or Alpena because we need to get both days in,” Ferullo stated.
This can be challenging for the teams as constant schedule changes could impact their performance.
“The best way to get better is getting game reps (and) experience,” wrote Head Coach Mike Eddington, of GRCC’s men’s baseball team, in a text message to The Collegiate.
Not only could this impact athletes’ in-game experiences, but their classes as well. Ferullo has to be mindful of schedule conflicts when choosing a new game date.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t always conducive to the athlete’s schedule to have a reschedule. For example, the games with Delta on Monday, we started at 4 p.m., knowing we had lights so they could stay in class longer. We do take into consideration missed class time before rescheduling and what is best for the student-athletes,” Ferullo stated.
The teams navigate these changes, often by taking the opportunity to get some extra practice in.
“If we get (canceled), we go live the cages against our own pitchers, (and) navigate changes,” Eddington wrote.
The team could even take time to get some game experience through a scrimmage.
“Baseball is going to GV tomorrow and will play an intersquad scrimmage,” Ferullo wrote.
Outdoor sports can be difficult to maneuver, especially as spring weather changes constantly. In the past week, Grand Rapids has experienced a high of 73 degrees on Tuesday, March 31, whereas the very next day, Wednesday, April 1, the high was 36 degrees.
“Spring is terrible for this. It takes a lot of communication with coaches, AD’s, bus company, etc., to get everything organized,” Ferullo stated.
Despite the changes that may seem last-minute for the spectators, there is much planning going on behind the scenes as athletic directors, coaches, and many others map the best course of action that is beneficial to the athletes and teams.
