| On the road again |
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| Written by All-Access Staff | |
| Friday, March 07, 2008 | |
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(WTNH) _ It may be cold outside, but the UConn baseball team is already well into their season and they're doing it on the road.
Pitching and batting practice began February 1st at Storrs inside what is known as "The Barn". Then in the last week of February, the team travels around, looking for warmer pastures. In Florida, the boys of summer can play the game of summer in the sunshine. While Connecticut was getting hit with the biggest storm of the season, the Huskies were opening their season in Deland, Florida. It's what cold-weather schools like Connecticut have to do to get in some practice time. And once the Huskies actually start playing games, they do so on the road, spending the first several weeks of the season seeking sunshine for games. "Starting the season with like 10 or 15 straight road games, it gets to be long and grueling," said senior lefty, Matt Karl. Actually the Huskies have 18 road games before they play at home. The first 11 are in Florida or North Carolina. "I think your kids have to be tough, you know. We've got to get mentally tough kids in order to endure and to perservere in the middle of the winter. You can't get outside, you have to be that much tougher, that much more willing to put the work in," said Head Coach Jim Penders. Chasing the sunshine doesn't allow the Huskies to leave behind their schoolwork. With so much time on the road, the guys have to get ahead of their class work or take it with them. Sometimes Coach Penders has to oversee exams at the hotel. The team is 0-6 following a loss at UNC-Greensboro. |
