Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced May 20 that summer athletic seasons may be conducted for high school baseball and softball following a two-month activities suspension due to COVID-19.
The announcement approved the reopening of school facilities and the start of practices for Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association sanctioned summer sports starting on Monday, June 1. Per the Iowa Department of Education, first contests may occur as early as Monday, June 15 and fans will be permitted at games.
The IGHSAU board of directors and IHSAA board of control met after the announcement and both groups voted to approve resuming the 2020 summer seasons under Iowa Department of Education guidelines.
Member schools are to follow reopening guidance entitled “Summer Sports” and “Use of School Facilities” as supplied by the Iowa Department of Education, with recommendations based on conversations with the IGHSAU, IHSAA, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the governor’s office. Dr. Ann Lebo, executive director of the Iowa Department of Education and member of the IHSAA board of control, is expected to join Gov. Reynolds at the daily briefing on Thursday.
“The IHSAA thanks Dr. Lebo, Governor Reynolds, Dr. Pedati, the IDPH and all who have worked diligently to develop these guidelines to help us conduct a baseball season for the young people in Iowa,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said. “We trust that our administrators, coaches, umpires and fans will responsibly follow the guidelines in place to keep themselves and each other safe. This is terrific news and is a step toward getting our student-athletes reconnected to the activities that mean so much to them.”
Spring sports seasons never began and were ultimately canceled on April 17 following the cancellation of in-person K-12 schooling for Iowa’s 2019-20 academic year.
The original first practice date was May 4 for baseball and softball.
“The guidelines laid out by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health will enable us to safely move forward with a softball season this summer,” IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger said. “We are grateful for their leadership and support. We know the games will have different circumstances and that we will all have to work together to keep everyone safe, but we are confident that we are up to this challenge.”
The IGHSAU and IHSAA plan to issue further sport-specific guidance and FAQ lists early next week.
Both organizations currently plan to conduct their state tournaments at their previously announced venues, with IGHSAU softball at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge and IHSAA baseball at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Per guidance from the Iowa Department of Education, coach-athlete contact for all in-person, out-of-season sports are suspended until July 1.
Wilton and Durant to field teams
Wilton and Durant high schools will each begin baseball and softball practices June 1, with games to begin June 15. While schedules are still being made, area coaches have indicated that teams are targeting schedules of around 20 games, roughly 12 of which will be River Valley Conference contests.
Conference games will occur Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and all will feature JV/Varsity games — no doubleheaders.
Wilton baseball coach Jake Souhrada and Durant baseball coach Shawn Dierickx will each return to lead the Beavers and Wildcats.
Kortney Denkman will once again coach the Wilton softball team. In Durant, former Wildcat Aubrey Bland will take over the storied Durant softball program after a one-year stint by Kevin Kaalberg.
After 2-year runs of being ranked either No. 1 or 2 in the state for much of the year, the Durant softball program and Wilton baseball program will each be fielding fresh faces as both teams lost numerous seniors with several years of valuable playing experience.
All of Wilton’s 10 starters from a year ago were seniors. The Beavers spent the year ranked No. 1 in the state and saw a successful campaign stop one game short of a return state trip. “It’s exciting. We have a whole new group and a lot haven’t been in the varsity position,” said Souhrada. “But they’ve played well at the JV level. That’s where they develop and we expect them to play like they learned. It may take a few games to get their feet wet but it’ll be fun and hopefully they rise to the challenge.”
Durant baseball returns several key pieces from last year’s squad and will look to make a statement in this year’s RVC. “The team and myself are very happy that it was announced we will be playing. With everyone returning the thought of not playing was very sad,” said Dierickx.
The Durant softball team lost a core group of seniors with state tournament experience. The Cats’ new head coach was on a state championship Durant team in 2013. Bland will have a mixture of new faces and starters from last season’s team that finished a game from the state tournament. Bland was contacted for an interview but did not respond by press time.
After a surprise state run the previous season, last year’s Wilton softball team dealt with its share of key injuries, including losing both starting pitchers — Chloe Wells and Mila Johnson — midway through the season. Both are on the mend and coach Denkman says the team is 100 percent healthy. The Beavers should have a chance at a postseason run. “Losing Kortney Drake from last year’s team is huge but we have a ton of returning starters,” said Denkman.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has released several guidelines to follow when holding baseball and softball games amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To read about some of the rules, plus get coaches’ and administrative reaction, see Advocate News Editor Derek Sawvell’s “Case in Point” on page 8.