2020 St. Joseph-Ogden baseball season in question

Zach Martini reaches back to unload a pitch in the Spartans' home game against Centennial. SJO narrowly lost the non-conference game against the Big 12 foe on March 27 last year, 2-1. It remains to be seen if Martini and the Spartans will take the field this season due to the growing threat of the Coronavirus and governmental shutdown schools and group events across the country. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

---

With an impressive line-up of 11 talented seniors, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team is stacked to win its eighth consecutive regional title this season and is a very strong challenger for one of four slots in the Class 2A state finals in June.

In the past four seasons under head coach Josh Haley, the Spartans have amassed an impressive 110 wins against 36 losses. SJO finished the 2019 season with a record of 27-9.

Unfortunately the St. Joseph-Ogden team and other baseball teams around the nation, the call to "play ball" may not be heard at least at the high school level this Spring due to the spread of the Coronavirus.

On Friday governor J.B. Pritzker closed all Illinois public and private schools for nearly a two-week period to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, the official name for the flu-like virus. As of today the number of confirmed cases in the state rose from 42 yesterday to 64 out of the mere 708 residents who have been tested so far. Another 200 cases are currently under investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The earliest SJO will be able to practice or play at this point will be on April 6 and that is no guarantee. The pandemic strain threatening US citizens could extend the current postponement or cancel the season altogether if the IHSA follows suit and annonce the spring sport season over before it even started as the NCAA did last week.

In a statement on Thursday evening after canceling the winter season hours before the tipoff of the first boys semifinal basketball game for Class 1A on Friday, Executive Director Craig Anderson said no decision had been made on taking similar action.

"It is too early to make any decisions regarding IHSA spring state final tournaments," said Anderson. "We respect the NCAA’s decision to cancel its spring championships, but also recognize that the exposure and travel by our high school teams is not as expansive as collegiate teams. At this juncture, we recommend that all IHSA spring sport teams consult their local health departments, and follow their recommendations on if and how to proceed with practices and regular-season contests."

With no organized practice allowed by school districts until then, the likely first contest for SJO will be sometime around April 11. Optimistically, teams across Illinois can resume practice starting sometime between March 30 and April 6.

The Spartans have five litmus games on the schedule. Three of them may not be rescheduled unfortunately. Their doubleheader on March 19 with the opener against Oswego at 1p and then taking the field against Carbondale hours later would have been two solid early season tests for the SJO pitching corp.

The other game on the schedule to look forward was the away contest at Morton High School against Joliet Catholic on March 27. In their last meeting back in March of 2018, the Hilltoppers, who went on to become Class 3A sectional finalists, defeated the Spartans, 11-3.

If the season is allowed to continue, one of three games not to miss would be the Spartans' road game on the newly remodeled turf diamond at Unity on April 20. The other two can't miss 'em are home games. The first on April 4 against last year's Class 2A state champions Tuetopolis. The second, another non-conference matchup, is against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on April 28.

2020 St. Joseph-Ogden Baseball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home Away	Time
16 March	Heritage High School	H	4:30
17 March	Armstrong-Potomac High School-@ Potomac	A	4:30
19 March	Oswego High School @ Edwardsville	A	1:00
19 March	Carbondale High School @ Edwardsville	A	4:45
24 March	Tuscola High School	H	4:30
25 March	Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin High School	H	4:30
26 March	Urbana High School	A	4:30
27 March	Joliet Catholic @ Morton High School	A	7:00
30 March	Salt Fork High School	H	4:30
1 April	Champaign Centennial High School	A	4:30
2 April	Westville High School	A	4:30
4 April	Teutopolis High School (DH)	H	10:00 AM
6 April	Mahomet-Seymour High School	A	5:00
7 April	St. Thomas More High School	H	4:30
8 April	Heritage High School @ Broadlands	A	4:30
11 April	Williamsville/Tremont High School @ Millikin (DH)	A	12:00
13 April	Rantoul High School	A	4:30
16 April	Bloomington Central Catholic High School	H	4:30
17 April	PBL High School	A	4:30
20 April	Unity High School	A	4:30
21 April	Oakwood High School	A	4:30
23 April	Pontiac High School	H	4:30
25 April	Illinois Valley Central High School (DH)	H	11:00 AM
27 April	Prairie Central High School	A	4:30
28 April	GCMS High School	H	4:30
30 April	Charleston High School	A	4:30
1 May	Maroa-Forsyth High School	A	4:30
4 May	Olympia High School	H	4:30
5 May	Fisher High School	A	4:30
7 May	Monticello High School	A	4:30
9 May	SJO Invite (DH)	H	9:30
11 May	Danville High School	H	4:30
14 May	Mattoon High School	H	4:30
16 May	Salt Fork High School @ Jamaica (DH)	A	11:00 AM
18 May	Tri-Valley High School	A	4:30
19-22 May	IHSA Regionals	A	TBA
23 May	IHSA Regional Championship	A	TBA

2020 JV Baseball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home Away	Time
20 March	Normal West @ Edwardsville High School	A	10:00 AM
23 March	Mahomet-Seymour High School	H	4:30
25 March	Danville High School @ Tilton	A	4:30
28 March	Mahomet-Seymour High School (DH)	A	11:00 AM
31 March	Champaign Central High School	H	4:30
2 April	GCMS High School	H	4:30
4 April	Teutopolis High School (DH)	A	10:00 AM
6 April	Charleston High School-Baker Field	A	4:30
8 April	St. Thomas More High School	H	4:30
9 April	Heritage High School @ Broadlands	A	4:30
10 April	Maroa-Forsyth High School	A	4:30
11 April	PBL HS/Villa Grove HS @ PBL (DH-round robin)	A	10:00 AM/12:00 PM
13 April	Champaign Central High School	H	4:30
15 April	Champaign Centennial High School	H	4:30
16 April	Bloomington Central Catholic High School	A	4:30
17 April	LeRoy High School	H	4:30
18 April	Olympia High School (DH)	H	10:00 AM
20 April	Unity High School	H	4:30
21 April	Oakwood High School	H	4:30
22 April	Tri-Valley High School	A	4:30
23 April	Pontiac High School	A	4:30
25 April	Normal Community HS/IVC High School NCHS (DH-round robin)	A	10:00 AM/12:00 PM
27 April	Prairie Central High School	H	4:30
28 April	Rantoul High School	A	4:30
29 April	Oakwood High School	H	4:30
30 April	Charleston High School	H	4:30
4 May	Olympia High School	A	4:30
6 May	TBA	H	4:30
7 May	Monticello High School	H	4:30
8 May	Westville High School	A	4:30
14 May	Mattoon High School	A	4:30
15 May	Champaign Centennial High School	A	4:30
18 May	PBL High School	H	4:30

Governor ask that Illinois schools close until March 31

Earlier today, Illinois announced all schools K-12, both public and private in the state, will be closed through March 30 starting next Tuesday, March 17.

A little more than 24 hours before the governor's announcement, St. Joseph-Ogden CHSD #305 superintendent Brian Brooks sent a letter to parents outlining the districts plan to remain open, but to cancel extra-curricular events and field trip as of yesterday until Sunday, April 5.

In the statement from Brooks, he shared that SJO has begin working on an E-Plan for online/remote teaching should the governor is forced to extend the term of the closure in the interest of public safety and health. The Illinois State Board of Education is working with lawmakers to create a waiver system in order to expedite approval for schools in a similar situation that did not submit a plan at the beginning of the year for E-Learning.

Pritzker ordered the closing of every school in the state until March 30 starting Tuesday amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The number of confirmed cases in Illinois rose to 46 earlier today.

"All of these choices have cascading effects for citizens and vulnerable populations when it comes to food access, safety, childcare, and social services," Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement earlier today. "We’ve seen what happens in places that didn’t move with urgency. I ask all of you not to hesitate to do the right thing for your family, your friends, and your community. One small step at a time, we will get through this together."

The state's chief lawmaker hopes that social-distancing will slow the spread of the virus.

Almost two million students will not be returning to classrooms next week. This also means no practices for sport teams, practice for scholastic and performing arts groups and the postponement of meetings normally held on high school campuses around the state.

Other states and large cities around the country have announced school shutdowns this week over to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. DC, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin have closed schools for until the end of the month or longer.

Earlier in the week, the governor called on the public to call off any event or gathering of 250 people or more. He also asked that all events with one thousand or more people in attendance be canceled or postponed immediately.