AUBURN, Ala. - March 12, 2020: The day virtually the entire sports world was put on pause, including the day Auburn baseball found out its first Southeastern Conference series against Texas A&M would not happen.
The Tigers were set to welcome the familiar SEC Western Division foe to Plainsman Park to kick off conference play, but an unfamiliar virus known as COVID-19 had other plans.
"It was like a stab in the heart for all of us," junior infielder Brody Moore said. "We worked so hard all fall and all spring leading up to that moment. We were just about to start SEC play, and if you've been here before you know it doesn't get any better than that. We were just really ready to play, and once it got canceled it was really tough on all of us."
From that time, uncertainty began to set in, not only for Auburn baseball, but for sports at all levels all across the country.
"We always thought it was just something going on," fellow junior infielder Ryan Bliss said. "We're going to get right back into it and finish the season out. Then, a week or two goes by and they say the season is canceled, so I immediately switched to offseason mode. I tried to get ready and just prepare myself for whenever the season would start back up. Nobody really knew at the time, but I just knew that whenever it came around, I was going to be ready."
Weeks turned to months, and still the Tigers were left in limbo about when things would return to normal. For the time being, it was up to each individual to make the most of the situation and stay in shape both physically and mentally.
"Basically, the switch in my mind that kind of got me going for this next year was the next day," junior pitcher Richard Fitts said. "I wanted to take advantage of anything that I could. The next day, I was like, 'Well, how can I be the hardest working player in America?' That's kind of what my mindset was going through it. I tried to work my hardest with what I had, and I thought I did just that. I was just trying to get a little better every single day."
It didn't always come easy, not having your coaches there to hold you accountable and push you, but the anticipation of getting back to doing what they loved kept the players going.
"It was kind of hard at first to get into the gym and work out," Bliss said. "It was a lot of home training and a lot of Zoom training. There was a lot of mental things. You had to mentally stay ready, stay prepared and not let whatever was going on in the world right then get to you. Just trying to find time to get to the cages whenever you can, get to the field to throw. That was probably the hardest part, but you had to do what you had to do to be prepared for the season."
Staying prepared ultimately paid off because when head coach Butch Thompson and his staff relayed word to the team that they would return in the fall, there was no time to waste.
"We're on this team because we love to compete," Fitts said. "Just seeing each other and getting that kind of edge back where we're ready to play was pretty unbelievable."
"Oh, it was awesome. Just to show up here again," Moore added. "I remember that first day, seeing everybody's faces and being like, 'Yeah, we're here again. It's time to go.'"
Through all of the difficulties the Coronavirus presented, one lesson that each player ultimately learned was to never take the game for granted.
"I'm going into the season really playing the game like it's my last," Bliss said. "You hear that all the time, and it actually came true last season. I'm not taking anything for granted this season. I'm just blessed that we're actually able to play baseball this season. I'm just taking every day for what it's worth, playing every game the hardest, and I'm just so thankful to be back on the field."