BOSTON, Mass.—For the first time in 400 days, UMass Boston baseball is set to take the field when they host #11 University of Southern Maine on Tuesday, April 13^th at 3:30 p.m. 
 
After their 2020 season was cut short after just four games (3-1), the Beacons are looking to post their seventh-straight winning season and 10^th in program history in 2021. 
 
UMass Boston, which was ranked #19^th in the D3Baseball.com Poll, will play a 16-game Little East Conference schedule. The Beacons will play the other eight Little East Conference squads twice, with five doubleheaders and three home-and-home series (University of Southern Maine, Western Connecticut State University and Rhode Island College). 
 
The Beacons will play 10 of their 16 games at Monan Park, where they own a 75-20 record (78.9 winning percentage) since the stadium opened in 2016. No fans will be allowed at Monan Park. UMass Boston Athletics will provide live stats and broadcasts for all home games. 
 
Seventeenth-year head coach Brendan Eygabroat (358-283-1) brings back 27 players from the team's 2020 roster and 11 from the team's 2019 squad that made it to the Division III College World Series. 
 
Seniors Tylor Arruda (New Bedford, Mass.) and Mike Doherty (Brewster, Mass.) and junior Dylan Fashempour (Redlands, Calif.) will look to lead a talented and deep pitching staff. Arruda (2019 All-Region honoree) and Fashempour (3-0, 2.62 in 2019 Postseason) were two of the Beacons top four starters during the 2019 College World Series run. Doherty has been a key reliever in each of his first three seasons and has the ability to pitch multiple innings if called upon. 
 
Sophomore right-handers Alex Amalfi (Ashland, Mass.), Alessio Pressamarita (East Hartford, Conn.) and Dillon Ryan (Sandwich, Mass.) were all expected to play large roles as freshmen and could be big factors in their first full season. The Beacons also expect transfers DJ Lopes (North Dartmouth, Mass.) and Christian Candelario Romero (Northampton, Mass.) along with freshmen Brendan Ferrari (Dunstable, Mass.), Aidan McMillan (Walpole, Mass.) and Jackson Snider (Durham, N.C.) to be able to make an impact in their first season. 
 
The Beacons lineup will feature a mixture of transfers and underclassmen who are looking for a breakout season in 2021.   
 
Junior catcher Nico Kydes (Stamford, Conn.) is the sole two-year returning starter for the Beacons. He started 35 games as a freshman in 2019 and finished tied for the team lead with four RBI in four games as a sophomore. Senior outfielder Steve Brookwell (Highstown, N.J.), who transferred to the Beacons from D1 Villanova University before the 2020 season, junior second baseman Ryan Leung (Brookline, Mass.) and sophomore shortstop Gianni Zarrilli, Jr. (South Glastonbury, Conn.) all started in each of the team's four games last season and could play big roles again in 2021. 
 
The Beacons also added a pair of Division I senior transfers who could make an immediate impact. Senior outfielder Ben Irvine (Peabody, Mass.) comes to the Beacons by way of Northern Essex Community College and the University of Maryland, while catcher/infielder Craig Corliss joins the team after three seasons at Sienna College. 
 
UMass Boston are scheduled to play 16 games in 26 days, with the regular season wrapping up on Sunday, May 9^thwith a doubleheader at Keene State College. The top six teams will qualify for the Little East Conference Tournament.