This past month’s cold temperatures and frequent snowfall jeopardized the beginnings of many of BSM’s spring sports. Though some sports, such as lacrosse, are naturally more resistant to the variable weather of an April in Minnesota, others such as tennis, golf, and baseball are at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Boys’ tennis has already had their first four matches cancelled or rescheduled. “If we get even a bit of rain, the courts are unplayable. So getting over a foot of snow has made playing outdoors impossible thus far,” senior captain Tristan Fjelstad said. Moreover, this has forced the team to scavenge for indoor court times – which are few and far between – to make up for their inability to play outside as scheduled. “All of the rescheduling will mean that in May we will probably be playing a match every day of the week to catch up,” Fjelstad said.

Similarly, baseball has also had their first four games postponed. “We’ve had so many games get cancelled, and we’re going to have to play shortened games and doubleheaders to get all the games in,” senior captain Tino Fialo said. The team has been forced to hold most of their practices indoors, usually spending a lot of time in batting cages and playing catch. “We have stayed in the Haben, or we go to the SLP outdoor rink or a dome to play,” Fialo said.

Softball has been on a similar schedule, but they’ve actually began play already. “Our practices have just been in the Haben Center. We’ve played 2 games in a dome so far though,” senior captain Abby Mead said

Golf, though, has had the toughest time adapting. The boys’ team has been regularly driving down to Chaska in order to hit at a semi-indoor driving range. “We’ve been going to Golf Zone a couple times a week for an hour at a time. We will hopefully be outside in a couple of weeks,” senior Henry Koch said. As a result, golf has faced a similar array of cancellations and reschedulings. “We’ll have to pack all of our matches into like three weeks at the end of the year,” Koch said.

On the other hand, it has been business as usual for the boys’ lacrosse team. Other than two practices at an indoor dome, the team has been practicing outside on the BSM turf. This included playing in the snow and even shoveling the field during their water breaks. “It’s easier to lose balls in the snow, but it’s fun to jump into the snowbanks,” senior Johnny Brask said. Thankfully, the team hasn’t faced any rescheduling or cancellations thus far.

The same can’t be said for girls’ team, however. Girls’ lacrosse has had several indoor practices and has already had a game cancelled due to the weather.

While it appears the weather is starting to clear up, the effects of past storms and snow may continue to delay these sports.