Scots Head to Arizona - Hot Stove League

Spring is still a month away, but for the Fighting Scots baseball and softball teams, it’s already here.

The teams began indoor practice at the Huff Athletic Center Feb. 1 with the goal of being ready for their annual spring break trip to Arizona March 8-15. While the teams will fly as a unit to the Grand Canyon State, they’ll part ways once they arrive in Phoenix. Roger Sander’s baseball team will stay in the Phoenix-Tempe area, playing six games at various locations. The softball team, under new head coach John Goddard, will depart for Tucson for a seven-game schedule at Lincoln Park.

Fans in the Phoenix area will want to pack a lunch and get an early start for the Scots' opener on March 9. Monmouth will face Simpson College in a doubleheader at Gene Autry Field #2 in Phoenix. The first pitch is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. The remainder of the schedule will feature single games with start times ranging from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Practice will be the order of the day on March 1 for the Scots. Playing the lightest schedule of games in recent memory, Sander’s group will have extra down time which means some site-seeing will be possible. Many players and their parents take in a variety of attractions, including some Major League spring training games.

The softball team begins their stay in Tucson March 9 with an outdoor practice to prep for a split doubleheader on Monday against Patten University of Oakland, Calf., at 10:30 a.m., and Webster University at 1:00 p.m. The team takes Tuesday off before playing five games over the next three days.

Complete game schedules and travel information may be found on the baseball and softball homepages at http://www.monm.edu/sportsinfo/baseball/index.htm and http://www.monm.edu/sportsinfo/softball/index.htm. Look under “2008 Season” menu bar on the upper left for the appropriate links.