After spring sports for 2020 were cancelled, teams have been staying ready in different and often unique ways. Welcome to a series – the COVID-19 Chapman Panthers chronicles.

Backyard Baseball is an iconic baseball video game franchise – the player can select a variety of “backyard” or stadium environments to play in, draft their squad school-yard style and then hop into the baseball gameplay. During the past spring and summer, there’s a group of Chapman baseball players who made that fantasy a reality, turning their backyard into a baseball facility. 

On the heels of a 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III championship, Chapman baseball was making a run at defending their national title in 2020. With 12 wins against 3 losses, a dynamite offense and a stout pitching staff, they seemed ready to take on any opponent. But one proved too mighty for them to handle. 

On March 11, their world stopped. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapman administration moved all classes online and canceled all sports, leaving many members of the team pondering what’s next for their education, life and athletic career. Gone was the chance for another talented roster to show what they could accomplish on the diamond. 

“It was a shock,” head coach Scott Laverty said. “It was painful. I even reiterated in the meeting (with administration), ‘You guys should know, we can win another championship. We’re really good.’”

Amid the madness of quarantine, Chapman closed the on-campus hitting facility that the baseball team had been using all year to practice. An assembly of players within the team –  Hank Zeisler, Mack Cheli, Joe Jimenez, Nick Garcia, Cody Turner and Trevor Marrs, all who dreamed of playing baseball professionally post-college – already lived in a house in Orange together. 

The house’s backyard is gigantic. And as the players couldn’t access their normal facilities to practice, they decided to get creative, setting up hitting areas and a makeshift bullpen with a portable pitchers mound. 

“It was a pretty optimal situation,” said Zeisler, an outfielder and infielder. “We’re all looking to keep playing and get better.”

Garcia and Jimenez, two members of the house, decided to enter the 2020 MLB draft after the season. Garcia was selected in the third round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Jimenez also signed with Pittsburgh shortly after the draft.

“It’s a dream come true signing with the Pirates,” Jimenez said. “I’m looking to create some new goals and become as good of a baseball player as I can possibly be.” 

The returning players made it a goal to keep the pair in shape for their upcoming professional seasons. The atmosphere around the house became competitive yet supportive, as everyone living there was willing to get better at any cost, Zeisler and Jimenez said.

“That house had a great environment and culture for success,” Jimenez said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team hasn’t lost a step even in a challenging time. Laverty expects this hard work the team has put in throughout quarantine to pay off, should the season resume as usual in spring 2021. 

“We’re going to be really good … again,” Laverty said. “We still have such a great core that has that championship under their belt. Playoff experience is huge.”