North Carolina State baseball team.Photo: Rebecca S Gratz/AP/Shutterstock
North Carolina State was one game away from advancing to theCollege World Seriesfinals when the team had to exit due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
“The decision was made based on recommendation of the championship medical team and the Doubleas County Health Department. As a result, Vanderbilt will advance to the CWS finals,” the organizationwrotein a statement."
The NCAA and the committee regret that NC State’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to continue in the championship in which they earned the right to participate," the statement continued. “Because of privacy issues, we cannot provide further details.”
During the team’s Friday night game against Vanderbilt, which NC State lost, only 13 out of 27 players were available, according to theAssociated Press.ESPNreported that all of the players who took the field were able to do so becausethey had been vaccinated.
“Several players from the team have been put into COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable for today’s game,” NC State Baseballwrotein a statement before the game started on Friday, noting that the game would also be delayed.
In a previous postgame news conference on Monday, NC State coach Elliot Avent said a few players and an assistant coach had “a bug,” according toESPN. The following day, one of their players tested positive.
NC State said in astatementissued over that there were “a number” of players who had been vaccinated that tested positive.
“While rare, we know thatbreakthrough infectionsare possible for individuals who have been vaccinated. Fortunately, those who have been vaccinated and still get COVID are at much less risk for serious illness,” wrote Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan.
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“The last 24 hours have been extremely difficult for everyone involved and my heart goes out to the student-athletes, coaches and staff of our baseball program,” added Corrigan. “This is an excruciating way to have their season come to a conclusion.”
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Asubsequent updatefrom the school attempted to shed some more light on what “has been hard to comprehend and even much more difficult to accept.”
“At the end of the day, several of our players tested positive for COVID and we were not allowed to continue playing. While we can’t discuss publicly everything that transpired, please know every effort was made to fight for the best interests of our program,” the school’s athletics director wrote in the statement. “There is no mistaking that COVID-19 reared its ugly head at the absolute worst time.”
Additionally, the school shared that they “cannot require vaccines for our students,” and that some players had chosen not to get vaccinated.
The College World Series finals start Monday, with defending champions Vanderbilt taking on Mississippi State.
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source: people.com
