Slippery Rock University officially bid adieu to its spring sports season Friday when the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference decided to cancel its spring athletic schedule because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Later that night, Butler County Community College did the same.

“I received word Friday night the college decided to cancel our baseball and softball seasons,” BC3 softball coach Dan Beebe said. “I thought we might wait a couple of weeks and then play.

“Being a community college team, our travel isn't very extensive. I thought that might make a difference. It didn't.

“I understand the reasoning behind this decision. Still, it's a shocker,” Beebe added.

The NJCAA — which includes BC3 and the Western Pa. Collegiate Conference — has suspended play until April 3. It will re-evaluate the situation at that point.

“I'm not sure what other schools in our league are doing, but this was our college's decision,” Beebe said of the season's cancellation.

With BC3 and SRU both going to solely online classes for the immediate future, both campuses are empty of students.

That, of course, includes athletes.

“Our players have cleared out all their gear and gone home,” SRU baseball coach Jeff Messer said. “There's nobody here. This whole thing is so sad.

“You understand the reason. It's about public health. That has to come first. Still, this is a tough call (canceling the season).”

The Rock got off to a 7-3 start this season, splitting a doubleheader with Kutztown on Wednesday. Its last game was a 6-1 victory.

Slippery Rock High graduate Ricky Mineo had a 0.00 earned run averag and eight strikeouts in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen. Moniteau graduate Derek Boben had a 3.18 ERA with four strikeouts in 5.2 innings of relief.

SRU was 15-28 last season.

“We were playing well,” Messer said of this year. “Now we're not allowed to work out or practice as a team. With everyone having gone their separate ways, our jobs as coaches now are to make sure our student-athletes are keeping up with their academic work.

“These players are used to getting tutoring help, study sessions ... Those elements are gone. They have to be disciplined enough to keep up with the classroom work on their own and not fall behind.

“We have to make sure our guys are all still in place for their summer teams now. That's doubly important now that there's no baseball in the spring,” Messer added.

The NCAA has granted all collegiate spring athletic seniors another year of eligibility due to the cancellation of this season.

“That will come into play a lot more with Division I programs,” Messer said. “A lot of these Division II athletes are on pace to graduate this spring and it's unlikely they'll come back.”

Critchfield Park has a full artificial turf playing surface now. The Rock was to host the PSAC Tournament in May.

“That's all gone now,” Messer said. “Our new field may debut with high school games, if they come back.”

Butler County schools are closed for at least two weeks and the status of the high school spring sports season overall remains in limbo.

“I hope the high schools come back and play,” Beebe said. “High school seniors won't get a chance to play again and that'd be a shame. It could hurt recruiting, affect their futures. Hopefully, the PIAA is patient here and waits to see how this whole situation plays out.

“The weather was breaking, our juices were flowing, everyone was getting excited about getting out and playing some ball. Just like that, it's taken away. It's a tough thing to swallow.”