Source: SEC Extends Suspension Of Games To April 15, Ends Practice

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Sources told Baseball America on Friday that the SEC would extend its suspension of games from March 30 to April 15 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. It will also institute a ban on voluntary and required activities until April 15, meaning no practices will be allowed.

The move comes a day after the SEC suspended play until March 30, though Auburn took it a step further and suspended its own season until April 10.

While other conferences around the country suspended their seasons indefinitely, like the ACC and Pac-12, or cancelled them altogether, such as the Big Ten, the SEC held out hope that it would be able to resume play later this spring. Even after the NCAA took the unprecedented step of canceling the College World Series, the conference remained strong in that hope. Commissioner Greg Sankey even appeared on Paul Finebaum’s show on the SEC Network and questioned why the College World Series and Women’s College World Series had already been cancelled.

Friday’s news, however, all but ends any hope of a resumption. Even if teams were able to resume practice in the middle of April, a month-long shutdown would require some time to ramp back up and games likely wouldn’t resume until May 1. At that point, it would be difficult to put on a meaningful season, especially with no College World Series to play for.