The result wasn’t ideal for the women’s lacrosse team yesterday, in a 17-13 loss to Long Island. The 75 fans in attendance at sun-soaked East Gym Field didn’t see a victory, but at least they saw a game played ‘ the only game played on campus all week. Thanks to a spring season that has been marred by bad weather, including last weekend’s April snowstorm, games played on Binghamton’s campus have become a rarity.

‘It was nice to be outside and finally play one,’ sophomore defender Shannon Frawley said after the game, which, thanks to weather and some unfortunate scheduling was only the second one to be played at home while classes are in session this season.

The track team waited patiently for the lacrosse game to end, and pole vaulters and sprinters started doing their work on the track surrounding East Gym Field. They too had been driven inside by the weekend storm, but barring another freak April snowstorm, both of these teams should remain outdoors.

The weather moved the women’s lacrosse team’s showdown against St. Bonaventure last week to SUNY Alfred, where the school’s turf allows for a game in any weather. The track team meanwhile ran this past weekend in pouring rain and freezing temperatures in Virginia.

These teams do have indoor training options, able to use tracks and facilities at the Events Center to prep for games, while the lacrosse team has been training at the bubble at the Binghamton Sports Complex this year for the first time this season.

‘Last year the team didn’t have anything to practice in except the gym and the Events Center so we never had a realistic space or surface,’ said freshman attack Tracy Weinstein. ‘But this year we have the bubble which is a huge turf field and that has helped a lot.’

The bubble has allowed the lacrosse teams to stay in shape on a realistic playing surface while being unable to go outside. When the teams are forced to practice in the Events Center or the gym the training is not the same.

‘Sometimes it’s bad because we need the larger space of the field to work on things,’ Weinstein added.

The men’s lacrosse team has had similar problems.

‘It kind of stinks to be honest,’ said redshirt sophomore goalie Larry Kline. ‘Especially this late in the season, you want to be out. Lacrosse is a spring sport not a winter sport, you want to be out on the field having fun.’

The unpredictable nature of the weather has also had an effect.

‘You want a routine, smooth practice but with all the snow and rain, practice times change, they could change twice a day,’ Kline said. ‘You have to practice in a small gym ‘ everything’s just squished ‘ you just can’t run everything the way you would when you’re out on a normal field and it just messes things up.’

The baseball and softball teams have been hit especially hard. At least 10 games have been postponed between the two teams, including games that were supposed to be played this past Sunday and Tuesday.

The baseball team had two non-conference games canceled this week, which means the young players and relief pitchers who usually get work during the mid-week games have missed out.

‘The non-league games we just got to get the guys out of the bullpen a chance to pitch,’ first baseman Brendon Hitchcock said. ‘The weather’s been tough so we’ve been inside a lot so those non-league games are a good opportunity to get the pitchers going.’

Missing out on the non-league games could force players with little experience into important roles should an injury arise or the need for a relief pitcher to occur.

Last weekend’s baseball games were played in freezing cold weather as the snowstorm loomed, threatening to ruin the weekend. But with the way the weather has been all year the players didn’t even seem to care.

‘The weather really wasn’t a factor,’ Hitchcock said. ‘In Albany [two weeks ago] it was so cold, that the weather was actually nicer than we played in all weekend. So it didn’t even seem to actually faze us.’

Then again with Mother Nature seemingly working against the Bearcat spring teams, it would be hard to find the them getting fazed by anything as long as they get the chance to play.