As the spring season commences, it marks the beginning of spring sports. It’s evident that everyone has their eyes set on Boston’s finest: UMass Boston Baseball. They are all set and ready to storm the field and rule this season. They earned a special place in their fans’ hearts with a spectacular showing last year. Now, they are coming in hard and strong with a new group of guys and a killer attitude.
When asked about their expectations for the coming season, sophomore Jack Cangelosi stated, “I think we really have a good group of talented guys. We are definitely younger this year than we were last season. We have a lot of guys here looking to make an impact, and yeah, I am really looking forward to it. Our pitching staff has grown a lot since last season, and I think our offense is still gonna be as good as it was last season. We got a lot of talent in a lot of places, so I am really looking forward to what we can accomplish as a group.”
Cangelosi was a part of the team in 2023 as well, but he is going to be taking the field for the first time this year. He is really looking forward to sharing the field with his teammates and with what he brings to the table.
When asked about his experience with the baseball program at UMass Boston, freshman Hunter Ward stated, “I love it here, I think we have a great program. We have a great strength and conditioning, and the coaches here are great. As a player, I think I have grown exponentially since I have come here. I think it was the right choice. I love the team; we are super close together. We have grown together; I think it’s gonna be a great year.”
Sophomore Breon Parker added, “The expectations for every season are obviously to ace it. I mean, we are ranked in the top three teams for a reason. I think we can definitely get that done; we got a great group of guys this season. [We have] a lot of veterans [and] a lot of new guys that can really play well, so we are going for the title this season.”
Senior Luke Leavitt stated his expectations for his last season playing here. “Last season we thought we definitely had some big expectations, and we did not live up to them. And so I think this year we are more of a close-knit team, and we have a lot of players that are playing their strengths—definitely in pitching, we have a lot of returners. We have started to come together really well, and I think the team looks like we are in really good shape going into the season. And we should definitely be on top of the LEC.” He later added, “We have a lot of new players on the team; they have adjusted really well. They are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that we make the most of this season.”
Sophomore Josh Garner shared some of his own insights and added to this discussion. “I think last season there were a lot of older guys than younger guys, and this season we are very raw with the young staff that we have. But, we have returning pitchers, [and] we have older guys as well to kind of set the pace of what this season is going to be.”
The team is in great spirits and is looking forward to how this season is going to turn out. They have put in a lot of effort and can’t wait to show their audience the skills they have up their sleeves. The Beacons are all ready to put on a show and send the opponents crawling. Even though the wind is chilly, it’s going to be warm around Monan Park as the Beacons are bringing in the heat.