D-II squad on slate for frigid opening day

There's nothing like opening day in the springtime. Soon enough, the baseball team will be soaking up the rays on its annual trip to the Sunshine State to kick off the season.

But before that happens, the Quakers will play their first game right here in Philadelphia, when West Chester makes the short trip to Meiklejohn Stadium.

Unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil didn't get the memo back on Groundhog Day.

With the first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for today at 12:30 p.m. and temperatures predicted to hover just above freezing, it might be a tad nippy out there.

The games are still on, and the Quakers are keeping their fingers crossed that things stay that way.

"We've been practicing in here all February, so we're just anxious to get out and get the season started," senior captain Kyle Armeny said.

The frigid weather may limit the turnout and the offense, but Armeny is prepared to deal with the sting.

"As a batter, you've just got to try to keep your hands warm as best you can," said Armeny, Penn's starting first baseman and cleanup hitter.

Armeny said that the team has had to contend with the cold before.

But it's never been this early in the season. In recent years, Penn has opened its season either in Florida or California. This time, however, they will play the twin bill at home before heading down to Boca Raton, Fla., for eight games in eight days.

According to head coach John Cole, the idea is to get his team some game experience before facing the stiff competition down south. Penn is just 4-12 in Florida during Cole's two-year tenure.

"We want to get these guys out through the whole game set - how to take care of business pregame, during the game, after the game," he said. "We're anxious to get them out in the fire and see what we got, then make adjustments from there."

And while there will definitely be some experimentation going on - Penn will be handling the pitching duties by committee, according to staff ace Todd Roth - the Division-II Golden Rams are no warm-up opponent. They're No. 17 in D-II.

"They'll be hungry, they'll be athletic," Cole said. "This is not a cupcake game; we will probably be an underdog."

Although Penn leads the all-time series, 18-13-2, the Golden Rams (3-0) are coming off some solid play down in South Carolina. They handily defeated all three opponents there, not allowing more than two runs and scoring at least seven in each game.

Roth, however, believes that at least the offensive numbers will cool down along with the weather as West Chester returns north. Meanwhile, the sophomore hopes to throw his first pitches of the season after winning Ivy Rookie of the Year honors with a 1.98 ERA.

"I was blessed with a great year last year, so I'm excited to see how it's going to turn out again this year," he said.

And if the weather cooperates, he will likely have the chance to do just that. Hopefully the dugout is equipped with space heaters.

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