Travis Hergert
College baseball coaches are used to dealing with bad weather but North Iowa Area Community College coach Travis Hergert has never seen it this bad. Hergert has been involved in college coaching since 2004 and nearly two months into the season his NIACC team has yet to play a home game in Mason City.
“We have not even stepped on our field for an outdoor practice”, said Hergert. “Our first scheduled home game is April 24 against Marshalltown Community College and our first conference home game is the following weekend against Iowa Lakes.”
Hergert says spring snow is not all that uncommon and points to a freak storm in May back in 2013. The difference is in past years to snow has rapidly melted.
“It Isn’t so much the precipitation but just how cold it has been. It never warms up.”
Hergert says it is not only the games that have been postponed but also the brutal conditions games have been played in this season and says he can count on one hand how may times they have played a game with a temperature in the 50s.
The Trojans are scheduled to play a doubleheader at Kirkwood Community College on Tuesday. Hergert says the good news is that if they can get a break in the weather they should be able to play their entire schedule.
“The crazy thing is if our schedule plays out we will play our allotted 55 games”, added Hergert. “We are pretty lucky to be able to go south in February and early March and play those games.”
Hergert has led the Trojans to three trips to the NJCAA Division II World Series in the last five years. They are 18-17 overall this season.