Spring sports are heating up with both the Baruch College softball and men’s tennis teams kicking off their first games of the season.

Additionally, the men’s basketball team competed at the NCAA Division III tournament, while the men’s volleyball squad played two contests this week.

Men’s basketball

The Bearcats men’s basketball team, the CUNY Athletic Conference champions, fell short in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament against the Keene State College Owls on March 3, losing 89-78 to end the team’s season.

The Owls had the home crowd advantage, playing in front of a crowd of 2,000 attendees. The advantage proved meaningful, as the Owls jumped out to a 50-37 first half lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 19 points.

The Bearcats improved on struggles from previous games, including free-throw shooting, but they were severely outrebounded by the Owls, 46-30.

Jehmehl Fair and Michael Gannon led the team with 14 points apiece. CUNYAC Tournament MVP Devin Nicholson couldn’t get his shot going, scoring nine points on 20% shooting from the field.

Octavio Brito led the Owls in scoring, posting 30 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for a double-double. Jeff Hunter also posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

The Bearcats will be proud of a hard-fought season, where they won the CUNYAC championship in heart-racing fashion. The men will look to build on their performance for a third-straight CUNYAC championship next season.

Softball

Bearcats softball is off to a hot start after victories against the University of Valley Forge Patriots in a doubleheader on March 4.

With the team’s new head coach Charles Martinez making his season debut, the Bearcats took the first game in five sets, routing the Patriots 11-0.

Ten of the Bearcats’ 11 runs came in the first inning, setting the tone for the rest of the game and forcing the Patriots to remove their starting pitcher.

Bearcats pitcher Carly Quint allowed only one hit while striking out 10 batters.

The second half of the doubleheader was a similar story, as the Bearcats dominated the Patriots once again, 8-1.

Caroline Gallagher pitched the game for the Bearcats, allowing only three hits and one run. Gallagher struck out the Patriots five times.

The Bearcats had a total of 13 hits and seven RBIs in the second half of the doubleheader.

The team will look to continue its momentum on March 12, when it plays the College at Old Westbury Panthers in a doubleheader.

Men’s tennis

The men’s tennis team also got off to a hot start, winning against the Yeshiva University Maccabees 8-1.

The men’s team swept the doubles matches 3-0, including Christopher Tham and Nicholas Santiago’s 8-0 rout in the No. 1 doubles match.

The men won five out of their six doubles matches, losing the No. 6 match that came down to the final set.

Tham crushed his opposition in the No. 1 singles match, sweeping his two sets 6-0.

The men’s team will have nearly 10 days to rest before playing the Purchase College Panthers on March 14 at the U.S. National Tennis Center.

Men’s volleyball

The men’s volleyball team had a tough week, losing their doubleheader in the Lasell University Tri-Match.

The team was slated to face the York College Cardinals in a March 2 doubleheader due to their Feb. 16 matchup being postponed. But the rescheduled doubleheader was also postponed with no replacement date provided.

The Lasell Tri-Match took place in Newton, Massachusetts, on March 4. The Bearcats first matched up with the Lasell University Lasers, where the men were defeated in a 3-0 sweep.

Jack Centeno led the team with eight kills, while Ryan Oommen provided 15 assists.

The second half of the doubleheader wasn’t much better for the Bearcats, as the men lost 3-1 to the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks.

Haoxin Hu and Andrew Ubanwa led the team in kills with 11 apiece. Defeng Han led the team with 16 assists.

The men will look to regain their momentum in a CUNYAC matchup on March 7, where they play the City College Beavers at the ARC Arena. The Bearcats currently hold a 2-0 record in the CUNYAC this season.