Just a couple of days before it was announced that the spring sports season would be canceled, Liberty softball coach Sam Carrodo was encouraging his Hurricanes to keep their heads up.

“I really was trying to keep them uplifted and positive,” Carrodo said. “I thought we could have a shorter season in three weeks or a month.”

After hearing the bad news on April 9, Carrodo went to Facebook and posted a different yet heartfelt message to his players.

“I can always keep coaching, but some of these kids might not play softball again,” he said.

Bethlehem Catholic softball coach Rich Mazza suspected it might come to this but was still holding on to an outside hope before he heard the news that the spring sports season was over.

“I just finished a letter to the girls,” said Mazza right before the shutdown became official. “You know, we never had winter workouts like we had this year and with a senior-laden team, I thought we could make some noise in a championship. It looked good.”

Freedom coach Michele Laubach also sent an email to her players.

“It took awhile to compose, so I sent it later that night, and I wanted to let them hear from the school first and let them digest that,” she said. “I told them that I regret we will not have a spring season but that we will still honor our seniors.”

All three softball programs predicted a strong season for themselves, which made the cancellation harder to reconcile, but understandable for the health and safety of everyone involved.