Sunday’s scheduled Santa Clara vs. Cal matchup has been cancelled due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols.
In what could be a first-of-its-kind incident to be reported this softball season, the game was called off due to contact tracing from an umpire in Santa Clara’s previous game on Friday.
Santa Clara lost to Cal Baptist 7-5 in a faceoff on Friday at noon; that was the Broncos’ most recent matchup prior to Sunday’s scheduled game. All three umpires who officiated the game in question did work further games in the tournament, including on Friday night and on Saturday.
Cal Baptist’s weekend schedule was not interrupted, as they played a second game on Friday; a doubleheader on Saturday; and had not announced any change of plans for their Sunday morning game vs. Stanford as of press time.
Through the first three weeks of the 2021 season, umpire issues due to COVID-19 protocols have occurred, but sparingly, based on conversations with sources across the country. An issue that occurs due to contact tracing or a positive test specifically related to an umpire also may not be reported as such if a game is postponed or otherwise-affected because of the issue.
