What is a team sport supposed to do when the team can’t assemble?

This is a question that athletic programs everywhere have had to ask in the face of the coronavirus. McCallum baseball is no different. When the jerseys are cast aside, the post-game Chick-fil-A trips stop and “Party in the USA” is no longer screamed in celebration, it’s hard not to think about the season that could have been.

All spring sports teams have had to face a season cut short, but baseball suffered more than most. Their path pre-coronavirus had been one that was anticipated to end in the regional playoffs, and when COVID-19 hit town, the team was just about to start district play in search of a 10th consecutive district title.

On March 12, the day before the first COVID-19 case was detected in Austin, the team played and won what would be their last game of the season against nationally ranked College Station. Now, with the season lost and no more games to be played, they are navigating what it means to be a team when you can’t be together on the same field. Varsity head coach Brandon Grant explains how this is playing out for the team.

“Part of baseball season, what makes everything a family, is how much of a grind it is physically and mentally,” Grant said. “The game situations are what fosters those relationships with the kids. With the virus the way it is, our kids can’t get out and throw together; they can’t really do anything together.”

Though it’s tough to stay motivated and connected without having a season to look forward to, Grant says that the team has found a way to maintain a sense of both.

It’s hard to still see the team environment, but I think everybody knows that everybody is getting some form of individual work in themselves,” Grant said.

“They know they owe it to their teammates to be doing something as well. … I think that’s kind of our team concept: you better be getting your work in because you owe it to the other guys and because if you don’t someone is going to pass you up.”

Though there isn’t much in the near future for the team to look forward to, they still savor the 6-1 victory over College Station.

There were several standout players in the game. Senior Marc Juarez keyed a three-run fourth inning with a line drive single that drove in two runs. Junior Trini De La Garza went 4-for-4, and junior Easton Salinas, 3-for-4. Junior Connor Boggs belted a solo home run. Senior Cole Davis threw two shutout inning to start the game.

While these Knights all contributed to the victory, Grant says that one senior player stood out the most in that game.

“To see Fabian Castillo go out there and just battle … he’s been tested before, but not like that, ever,” Grant said. “To work through that lineup with the efficiency that he did, especially after his first pitch went 400 feet over the fence, to bounce back and handle that lineup of kids that’ll be playing college baseball in a couple of years [was great].”

Castillo pitched five innings in relief of Davis. After giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, he threw shutout ball, allowing only one hit and walking no one with two strikeouts.

“I was very impressed with Fabian stepping up,” De La Garza said. “[It was] one of the best pitching performances I’ve ever seen.”

Winning this game was big in the moment. Little did the Knights (7-3-1) know that it would be their last game of the season and the last high school game ever for the team’s seniors. The victory against a highly respected out-of-district opponent with a playoff pedigree now serves as an indicator of where the baseball program could have gone had the season played out.

“That’s what we’ve been telling the kids for years,” Grant said. “We are not Austin ISD, in the sense of what AISD baseball represents: winning the district, struggling in the playoffs. That should not be us; that can’t be us in the future, so we look to separate ourselves from that stigma,” Grant said.

“You know, it’s all speculation, but I think we were gonna compete for another district title no question. … There’s no other teams that throw talent around like College Station did, and you know we took their No 1 and No. 2 [pitchers] to work. High hopes for what it was gonna be, and I think this team was gonna be an easy two, three rounds deep playoff team and probably a 10th district title in a row.”

Departing senior Jay Castillo expressed that winning the games won’t be the only thing that will be missed.

“I love all the memories we made together,” he said. “We all got along so well; the energy was unforgettable on and off the field. I’m going to miss when we would win home games and then all of the boys would hang after.”

Thanks to COVID-19, this year’s season is over. The seniors will be sorely missed, but the promise and the talent that this year’s team demonstrated over the 11 games they were able to play has prompted excitement and anticipation for next year for the players who will return to finish what the 2020 team started.

“When I took the job here and started working with those guys, I knew that the sophomore class then was something special,” Grant said.

“Those guys will be seniors next year, and while it’s heartbreaking to lose our seniors from this year, Cole Davis, Jay Castillo, all of them, there is a little bit of hope for next year because that class is huge and loaded with stars,” Grant said.

“Yes, I have very high expectations for next year’s group. … It’ll hurt losing a couple of those seniors, but I think the freshman and sophomores are ready to step up and fill those spots. We’re really excited about what’s coming back; that’s the thing to look forward to. … I don’t think we’ll miss a beat.”