BELMOND, Iowa - You won't see baseball or softball in Minnesota this year, but in the Hawkeye state, they're ready to head to the diamond -- Belmond-Klemme won't be joining them.

"What we're seeing right now are the number of cases just exploding in this county," BK Superindendent Dan Frazier said. 

The governing bodies for high school athletics in Iowa made the ruling Wednesday -- baseball and softball are ok'd to play starting June 1. But with Covid cases in Wright County increasing at a rapid pace, Frazier and the Belmond-Klemme school board decided not to follow suit with the state.

"We started the week with six confirmed cases, and we ended the week with 85," he said. "My board was unanimous in this decision, all seven of them were convinced they needed to err on the side of safety for our students."

Coaches and other administrators are not allowed to comment at this time. Parents and players took to Facebook voicing their frustrations with the decision.

We asked whether fans would be comfortable attending games this summer, the overwhelming majority was yes -- they would be comfortable.

But the risks were far too great for Frazier.

"my board was apprehensive that we could guarantee the safety of participants and staff and our community," he said.

For all the games missed, he's sympathetic to the athletes missing their seasons.

"We're very sorry for this decision that was made but the board was convinced that this was in the best interests of students, staff and the community," Frazier said.

Practices are allowed to begin June 1. Games are set to start June 15.