When the pandemic canceled last spring’s baseball season, Jack Besser lost his internship, too. In the wake of that loss, however, came a new opportunity.

For first-year head coach Pat Bloom and the Washington University baseball team, the start of the 2016 season offered the hope of a new spring. Unfortunately for Bloom, his debut did not go according to plan, as the Bears lost both games of their season-opening doubleheader to Hendrix College by the scores of 2-1 and 6-4 Saturday at Warrior Field in Conway, Ark.