HORACE, N.D. — Opening day for many spring sports is just days away. The problem is spring isn't here, and it does not even look close. Baseball, softball, track, golf and tennis all have games, meets and matches on their schedules, but the Red River Valley is sure to see a lot of postponements and cancellations in the coming weeks, waiting for a winter's worth of snow to melt and make room for the upcoming season.
Believe it or not, the baseball and softball seasons are right around the corner. But there is one problem: Players can't really get to the field. So, teams across are region are taking advantage of the great indoors, hitting foam balls into the wall at the basketball court or throwing bullpens on artificial mounds.
It's not ideal, but snowy springs come with the territory here. That means players are forced to make the most out of it, so they are ready when the waist-high snow finally clears.
"It kind of sucks, it's nice to be outside," said Espen Westby, a Horace High School sophomore and player on the Hawks baseball team. "You feel more competitive and it's better to be outside, but it's better than not playing baseball at all."
A lot of players are used to preparing for the season indoors. But members of the Horace Hawks are especially eager to get outside as they head into their first season of varsity baseball.
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"This is kind of crazy; you're never gonna know what this North Dakota weather is gonna bring. But at the same time, we talk to our guys, we gotta stay positive and we can't control the weather. ... We can't let that dictate how we are going to go about our business and get better every single day" said Horace baseball coach Quinn Irey.
Horace's first varsity game is scheduled for March 31 against Northern Cass, but Coach Irey said that most likely will not happen.
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