Allison Mueller/Winonan

Everyone at Winona State University has been enduring freezing temperatures and piles of snow for quite a while.

All of us have been hoping for warmer temperatures and green grass, but nobody hopes for this more than the Winona State baseball team.

Since the start of its season, the baseball team has been practicing inside the McCown field house due to the frigid temperatures and snow. The Warriors have been patiently waiting for the day they can move their practices outside.

Coach Kyle Poock said, “Practice in the gym gets old after a while. So, we try to change things up, so things don’t get monotonous. We want to avoid the feeling of cabin fever.”

The baseball team was scheduled to play four games against Wisconsin-Parkside in Overland Park, Kan. on March 1 and 2, but the games were canceled due to freezing temperatures.

Senior Michael Wasilik said that the Kansas games being canceled is disappointing yet helpful.

“For seniors you want to play as many games as you can,” Wasilik said. “But it will help us because we’re playing at home after our next games in Florida, and since we can’t see the weather getting better anytime soon, this leaves us a little extra money to travel and play bigger teams for conference games.”

Coach Kyle Poock said that since the team will not be traveling to Kansas to play, the program will save over $6,000 that will go towards travel.

“Our first home game’s on the weekend of March 22. We’re probably not going to play here, so we’re going to have to find another location since those will be conference games, and we have to play,” Poock said.

Wasilik, Poock and the rest of the baseball team are focusing on the positives that come out of the cancellation, rather than the negative.

Poock said it was a good decision to cancel the Kansas games.

“You don’t want to go down there and not be able to play, or if you do play, play in the cold and have someone get hurt,” Poock said.

Due to the cancellation, the Warriors will take the weekend they were supposed to play in Kansas off and get back into practice the following week to prepare for Florida.

Travis Evanson said the cancellation “prepares us for Florida a little bit more.”

The baseball team will travel to Florida to play games against Lynn, Grand Valley State, Florida Southern, Ohio Dominican and Tiffin starting March 8.Poock said the players are excited to travel to Florida and play over spring break.

“For the returning players, Florida is familiar ground,” Poock said. “We have a lot of players who are playing in Florida for the first time, so they’re definitely excited.”

Evanson, who transferred to Winona State after his previous baseball coach in Superior, Wis. resigned, is one of the players who will be playing in Florida for the first time.

“I’ve never been to Florida, so I can’t wait to play. Hopefully the weather is nice,” Evanson said.

The baseball team has been closely watching the forecast for Fla., hoping that those games won’t get cancelled as well.

“We keep checking the weather, and it’s going to be 80 or 85 degrees there,” Poock said.

Even though the team will spend their break on the road playing baseball, it is something they are all looking forward to.

“I love baseball, and that’s what I’m here to do,” Wasilik said. “And it’s a free trip to Florida with nice weather, so we can’t complain.”

The Warriors face Lynn for their first game at 10 a.m. in Boca Raton, Fla. on March 8. They will head home after their last game against Tiffin at 8:30 a.m. in Auburndale, Fla.