Boulder Collegians plan on welding season together in Kersey

After months of uncertainty, the haze is finally clearing for the Boulder Collegians and general manager Matt Jensen. The Collegians' 2020 season will undoubtedly look different, but the baseball will look all the same.

Due to Boulder County and Boulder City health and safety precautions surrounding the coronavirus, baseball simply isn't feasible for the Collegians at Scott Carpenter Park in Boulder. Instead, Jensen has found a new home for his team in Kersey, Colo., about 10 miles southeast of Greeley in Weld County.

The Kersey Collegians will play their home games at Bigfoot Turf Sod Farm (yes, there is a functional baseball diamond on its premises) for at least the month of June. Based on its remoteness and proximity to a farm, a "Field of Dreams" comparison isn't far-fetched, although any field is dreamworthy at this point for the Collegians.

"I'm grateful that this came together," said Jensen, who enters his eighth season as GM of the team. "I felt really bad that as a former college ballplayer, that young men were out there (and) unable to play this game that they loved."

Jensen admits that until the first pitch is thrown, there will still be uncertainty. The coronavirus hasn't appeared to be a baseball fan yet but the Collegians aim to start their season as planned.

"I'm trying to keep a level amount of emotion because there's still so much uncertainty out there and until the guys are out there and the umpire says, 'play ball,' it's still going to feel a little far away, but I'm really excited," Jensen said.

Not all Rocky Mountain Baseball League teams will share in the excitement however. Last season's league champion Fort Collins Foxes have cancelled their season entirely due to the coronavirus. Ramifications from that include Boulder picking up a few Foxes players and the RMBL has welcomed the historic Hays Larks to the league. On the sour side, the RMBL will receive just a single bid to the National Baseball Conference World Series instead of two.

Outside the RMBL, the neighboring Mile High Collegiate Baseball League will remain operative, but with no games until June 15. An inaugural All Star Game between the two leagues was cancelled as well.

Not every summer league has decided to continue and Jensen plans on being proactive to keep his players healthy.

"We're doing something that some other leagues have chosen not to do and so we're trying to make sure that number one, we take all the proper precautions in terms of COVID(-19)," Jensen said.

Provisions will include masks, hand sanitizer, not sharing equipment and even limiting team huddles. Absolute social distancing may not be possible on the diamond or in the dugout, but Jensen said the Collegians will make health and safety their goal.

Another high priority for Jensen will be to ensure that his players ease back into baseball shape. With no spring season, Jensen plans on slowly revving up his pitchers and position players until they're at 100%. The Collegians have already scheduled a pair of scrimmages where they'll limit their pitchers to an inning apiece.

"I know that they're excited to play and they're going to be like a kid on Christmas ripping presents open, but our goal is going to be to keep them in check and make sure they're staying safe," Jensen said. "I think that's a huge goal for this season."

Securing in-state talent is always important and with the help of COVID-19 implications, all but three players on the Collegians' roster hail from Colorado. Two of them are brothers and will be living with their parents who recently moved to the area, and the other will be dwelling with a local relative. Typically, Jensen's out-of-towners will be given a host family, but that tradition has been understandably scrapped for 2020.

In this new world of coronavirus, the Collegians don't expect to match their attendance record from last season, or be able to partner with local nonprofits and breweries for every home game. This year, Jensen wants the focus to be on baseball.

"This season is going to be about the baseball," Jensen said. "It's going to be about the guys, which is true to my heart and true to my love of the game. ...I'm honestly really excited to be able to just roll up to the field, throw the pants on and jump out there and be with the guys."

It has been a roller coaster of a year for the Collegians and Jensen has been impressed with his squad's maturity.

"We basically went from a question mark of having a season to 40 games," Jensen said. "I'm really pleased with the gratitude the young men have been showing so far."

Boulder or Kersey will tentatively open the season at home against the Game Day Saints on June 6.