We are now about a week away from the start of the spring sports season here at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and there is a lot of excitement and anticipation going around. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to watch our spring sports teams compete in over a year, and we haven’t seen them play a full season in two years. With that in mind, here are some expectations you should have for each of the spring sports teams here at UMass Boston.

Men’s Baseball

In 2019, the UMass Boston men’s baseball team continued their dominant streak after winning their third straight Little East Conference championship in a row. In 2020, UMass Boston was poised to continue that success, but unfortunately the season was cut short, and the best they could do is go 3–1 and end the season at that.

This year, it is expected that UMass Boston will continue to dominate within the conference and compete for another conference title. With the schedule being chock-full of teams within the conference, the Beacons will have a golden opportunity to remind everyone who runs the LEC this spring.

Women’s Softball

In their last full season in 2019, the UMass Boston women’s softball team had a solid season at 23–20, but unfortunately their season came to a close in the LEC tournament. A season ago, the Beacons never even got started as the pandemic had already hit before their first regular season game. So, what does this mean for 2021?

It is safe to say that there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to the UMass Boston women’s softball team in 2021. However, in 2019 the Beacons went 7–9 against LEC opponents. This season, the Beacons need to show that they can find more success against teams in their own conference, or else it could wind up being a long season.

Men’s Lacrosse

In the Beacons’ last full season of lacrosse in 2019, UMass Boston had a less than impressive record, going 5–14. UMass Boston did manage to make it to the semifinals in the LEC tournament in 2019, but lost to Plymouth State. In 2020, things were beginning to look up for the Beacons as they went unbeaten through their first four games before the pandemic hit. 

This spring, I now expect the UMass Boston men’s lacrosse team to build off of their 4–0 start in 2020 and put together a winning season. It is hard to base this season off of how well they were playing in 2020 because they hadn’t played any LEC teams a year ago, and this season, they will only be playing teams within the LEC. However, the Beacons looked dominant against their competition back in 2020, and I expect them to come out strong in 2021.

UMass Boston spring sports teams will undoubtedly have their work cut out for them, as a lot of the teams they will be competing against early on this season will have already had a few games under their belt. Preparation will be more important than ever if the Beacons hope to have a strong start this spring. Staying healthy will also be as important as ever because as it gets warmer, COVID-19 tends to spread a bit faster. So here is to a happy, healthy, and hopefully successful spring sports season here at UMass Boston!