Welcome back Beacons, hopefully everyone had a great spring break! With temperatures finally staying above the 50 degree mark in New England, we can officially shift our attention to the baseball and softball seasons here at UMass Boston. With last season restricting the Beacons from playing any interconference games due to COVID-19, it will be interesting to take a look at how the Beacons fare in games outside of the Little East Conference. So, without further ado, let’s check in with the baseball and softball teams here on campus.
Baseball
The UMass Boston baseball team came out of the gate, firing on all cylinders, starting the season 4–0. In their first four games, the Beacons did not allow more than just three runs while putting up at least eight runs on the offensive end in each outing. The Beacons would then have their hot streak put to a halt when MIT defeated them 6–1. UMass Boston then headed to Austin, Texas, where they would play a four-game series against Concordia University of Texas, winning three out of four games.
The Beacons will look to build on their 7–2 record this Tuesday, when they will be hosting Johnson and Wales University. Johnson and Wales University have had nothing short of a mediocre beginning to their season, as they sit at just 1–8 thus far. The Wildcats have yet to have a game in which they have let up less than seven runs, so I would fully expect UMass Boston to take care of business this Tuesday.
Softball
The UMass Boston softball team began their season at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in Myrtle Beach. The Beacons had a solid showing down in South Carolina as they finished 6–2. The Beacons showed off some impressive offense with an 8–0 win over SUNY Poly and an 11–2 win over Lancaster Bible College. It is also notable that those two games were only five-inning games, really enhancing their offensive showings.
The Beacons will return home this week with their first home game of the season against Bridgewater State University on March 24. Unlike a season ago, the Beacons will be given the opportunity to play teams outside of their conference. In order to see the last time UMass Boston played against Bridgewater State University, you would have to go all the way back to 2019, where the Beacons ultimately came out on top, 14–12. With both teams being drastically different roster-wise since then, it will be interesting to see how this game shapes out.
I think it is safe to say that both the softball and baseball teams at UMass Boston are off to a great start to the season. However, the real season is about to begin, as both teams will begin playing teams within their own conference, so we will be able to get a better grasp of what the Beacons are really made of in the coming weeks. With still a month and a half remaining on the schedule in the regular season, there is still a lot of business that is yet to be finished, and it will be exciting to see how the year pans out for both the baseball and softball teams.