With the baseball season canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a mix of emotion from seniors on the Russellville Indians baseball team.
The Indians, along with other local high school sports teams, found their spring sports seasons first delayed and, eventually, canceled as COVID-19 spread throughout the state.
Senior Trenton Morrow said he felt pretty irritated when the season was first delayed, but he was still hopeful that the team could still play.
When the season was finally canceled, Morrow said he was mad about the situation - it felt like he and his peers had been deprived of an experience they couldn't replace.
"I felt almost robbed, because obviously your senior season is the season you look forward to, and the 2020 class did not get to experience what it was like to play their senior season," Morrow said.
Even though his final season was canceled, Morrow said his time on the baseball team was better than he could have imagined. Morrow has been able to play a part on Russellville teams that have competed in the final stages of the Class 2 state tournament.
"I was a part of one big family that I will be a part of for the rest of my life," Morrow said. "I built bonds and a brotherhood with guys for the rest of my life. Also, I was a part of one of the most successful teams in our school's history."
Morrow has plenty of favorite moments and memories about his time on the team.
"Definitely one of my favorite moments was in 2018 beating Canton to go to the Final Four. It was the best feeling I've had playing baseball," Morrow said. "Another favorite memory is a more personal one - in 2018 hitting the 'come back' home run in a sectional game that was not going our way, then later hitting in more runs, in a very tight game. As well as closing it out on the mound. My favorite memories are all the memories I've had with my best friends almost every day out there on that field."
Fellow senior Cooper Basnett said that when the season was first delayed, he was shocked and a bit sad because he knew there was a chance it might get canceled outright.
Once that happened, Basnett said he felt a mixture of sadness and a bit of anger.
"My reaction was very sad and a little mad because I wouldn't get the chance to play with my team again," Basnett said.
His experience with the team was fun nonetheless for Basnett.
"The time I had on the team was a blast - we had a very good team and (it was) so much fun to play with so many different players," Basnett said.
Similar to Morrow, competing in the playoffs was one of Basnett's favorite moments from his time on the team. He said he wishes the team could have tried to repeat their success again this year.
"My favorites moments from being on this team (are) probably (from) the playoffs. We had a very good run and I wish we could have played this season - I feel like we could have done really well," Basnett said.