Even at this low point, coach Travis Beausoleil is still clinging to the hope that his Mitchell College baseball team will eventually return to practice this spring.

Get at least one more chance to gather as a baseball family, one more chance to put on the Mariner gear again as a team.

Beausoleil realizes that's a longshot given what's transpired during an escalating coronavirus crisis, but he's trying to remain optimistic.

"Do I think it's likely that we'll come back and play?," Beausoleil said Wednesday. "I don't. Who knows? If we can slow this down in the next couple of weeks, maybe there's still a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe our boys will get to take the field at least one more time together."

Beausoleil, in his ninth season leading the program, spoke by phone from his office on a nearly empty campus. His staff will begin working remotely on Thursday.

Mitchell College sent students home and switched to online learning through March 29. Athletic activities were halted.

On Tuesday, the New England Collegiate Conference, of which Mitchell is member, canceled the remainder of the conference season but left it up to the member schools whether to eventually resume action, according to Beausoleil. The NCAA already has canceled spring championships.

"Each individual (NECC) institution is still able to play," Beausoleil said, "assuming they can and have someone to play against. The kids are supposed to come back on March 30. I'm not sure if that's going to happen. They might push it back a few more weeks. Ultimately, what I told our guys, if they're able to come back on campus, they're playing baseball."

If that happens, Mitchell will find it difficult to find any competition. Many conferences, like the NEWMAC and NESCAC, have shut down their seasons. The Mariners might hold intrasquad games and play an alumni game.

Beausoleil remains in contact with his players. He's encouraged them to keep working out and keep up with their academic responsibilities.

One thing that Beausoleil is thankful for: The Mariners were at practice last Thursday when they learned about their season being put on hold. The day before, he alerted them about the possibility of that happening.

Near the end of practice, assistant athletic director Casie Runksmeier walked out to the field to deliver the bad news.

"Practice was supposed to be 20 minutes longer," Beausoleil said. "We made it about an hour and 20 minutes longer because of that. We kept the boys together. We played a little game and had some fun with them."

"I just told them at the end, stay loose because this doesn't mean this is the end of your season. Make sure you're lifting and you're doing your throwing routines and we'll take this day by day. "At least we were together when we got the news. I would have hated for that to come through Twitter or through an email and kids finding out on their own. I was able to break the news to them.

"They were obviously disappointed, but they were hopeful that our season wasn't over and hopeful that they would get a couple of more chances to be in uniform together."

The Mariners have become one of the most successful Division III baseball programs in New England, capturing four NECC championships and earning four NCAA tournament trips since 2014.

The preseason favorite to win the NECC regular season title, Mitchell went 5-3 during its Florida trip, winning its last four games.

"The guys were starting to jell toward the end of the trip," Beausoleil said. "I was excited to see these guys compete in the conference. We had a chance to do something special."

Now Beausoleil has set a far simpler goal than competing for a league championship.

"We didn't get a chance at this point to take a team picture," Beausoleil said. "If we're able to come back and be together for 10 more minutes, that's what we're doing. I want to be able to take a team picture together.

"It's been snatched out from underneath all of us. Everyone is trying to figure it out one day at a time."

g.keefe@theday.com

Editor's note: This is the first of three stories about how local college coaches are dealing with the canceling or disruption of the spring sports season. Up next is reaction from Coast Guard Academy men's lacrosse coach Ray LaForte.