As much as it pained him to say it, Eric Stein understands what the NJCAA decided to do with COVID-19 spreading.

Stein, the head baseball coach for Iowa Central, agreed with the decision to end the current season for baseball and the remaining NJCAA sports. 

"You could see it coming," Stein said in an interview with The Fort Dodge Messenger. "When the NCAA canceled everything — that was an eye-opener. We had a meeting on Friday and knew we were going to have a two-week hiatus minimum. Basically the players went home and got off campus. Prior to (Monday), we were scheduled to play as early as April 4 and had a week to prepare."

The Tritons were 9-2-1 when the decision was made. With the NJCAA offering players an extra year of eligibility, Stein sees some interesting developments coming in the future. 

"It's the right thing to do," Stein said. "That's maybe the most interesting thing as well. There is the potential for some guys to go out the door, or have the option to possibly come back. It will be interesting with the incoming recruits in the mix, too."

Ryan Doran, a sophomore, was hitting .444 with four homers, 14 RBI, four doubles, 13 runs scored and 11 walks through 11 games. Devin Hurdle, Ben Detaeye, Franklin Aparicio, Ben Gallagher and Jack Thompson all had batting averages over .300.

Hurdle and Derek Kay also hit two homers each, with Hurdle recording four steals.

Jayden Maifeld was 2-1 with 28 strikeouts in just over 20 innings, averaging 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Aaron Lang, Brenden Roder and Walter Long each had two wins.