The Falcon baseball team opens the season this afternoon in pursuit of its third-straight Mid-American Conference Championship. The Falcons will be at the University of Louisville for a three-game set against the Cardinals.
Head coach Danny Schmitz expects his squad to pick up where it left off last year.
"We're going down there and we want to win," Schmitz said.
After going 28-22 (18-8 MAC) last year, and repeating as MAC Champions, the squad looks to make a strong push this year behind a core of experienced seniors. As a team, the Falcons hit .345 in 2009, which ranked eighth in the country. The club is returning seven starters from a lineup that scored an impressive 442 runs last year.
Pitching is an area the Falcons look to improve on this year. Brennan Smith was the MAC Pitcher of the Year in 2009 and returns as a junior this season. Junior pitcher Charles Wooten also had a terrific year in 2009 and looks to put together another good season on the mound.
Schmitz also focused on bringing in quality pitching in this year's freshmen class.
"We have a number of freshmen that we brought in and [pitching] was a big part of our recruiting class this past year," Schmitz said.
Schmitz is ready to see what his freshmen are capable of.
"They're probably going to get thrown into the fire and we're going to see what they can do right out the gate," Schmitz said.
Even with a core of nine seniors and a strong nucleus of young talent, questions remain about how prepared the team will be this weekend after having not seen any practice time outside this season. February snow has trapped the team indoors for practice.
"We're just getting outside for the first time, so I don't know what to expect," Schmitz said. "Everything has been done inside. February hasn't been very kind to us."
Today's first pitch is set for 2 p.m. The Falcons also play the Cardinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
BG will not host its first home game until March 16.
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