It’s clear Panther head baseball coach Jim Schmitz and his players would like to add a dome to Coaches Stadium.

“Obviously, you can’t do anything outside right now except duck hunt,” Schmitz said.

The month of March is rapidly approaching and the Panthers have failed to have an outdoor practice in Charleston.

Eastern started its 2003 campaign earlier than recent years with games beginning in the middle of February with one already canceled in Fayetteville, Ark., due to snow.

“We’ve never opened up this soon before,” Schmitz said.

The early start will affect how Schmitz manipulates the pitching staff in the next coming weeks.

In the season opening 5-1 loss to Arkansas, Schmitz pulled starting pitcher Damon White after he threw 33 pitches in only three innings of work.

“After this weekend, we may let our pitchers loose, but last year I made a mistake when our best pitcher got tendinitis because he pitched too much,” Schmitz said.

Currently, the team has been practicing in the evenings at Lantz Fieldhouse and coaches are now getting concerned about the cabin fever effect setting in.

“It hasn’t really affected practice except in the mental aspect,” Schmitz said. “It’s now a morale concern of telling the guys we’re going inside again, and how much fun could that be?”

After losing two straight to the Razorbacks, the baseball team was Eastern’s most disappointed team when they were forced to return to Charleston and brave the cold weather once again.

“Nobody understands the difference of going back and forth between inside and outside more than baseball players,” Schmitz said. “We are practicing late in the evenings which can’t be too exciting for them either.”

Eastern is currently preparing this week for a three-game set starting Friday at Birmingham, Ala., against University of Alabama-Birmingham, Kentucky and Marshall.

“I’m sensing the guys want to get on the bus now, and go play UAB,” Schmitz said.

The one lingering concern could the field at Coaches’ Stadium being negatively affected by the amount of snow and cold temperatures this winter.

The Panthers currently have 22 days until the home opener March 19 vs. Indiana State.

“It’s really way too early to tell if it will affect the field because we still have so much time until our first home game,” Schmitz said.

The Panthers’ morale may jump by the upcoming spring break trip to Jacksonville, Fla. starting March 8.

“It’s going to be a great spring trip in Florida,” Schmitz said. “I think we have to be more patient with them early to prepare for the conference.”

The softball team could be more affected by Mother Nature with there home opener on March 20 against Indiana State but they will have traveled to New Mexico, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

“What we can do in the field house is have mini games but you can’t hit live in there,” Eastern softball head coach Lloydene Searle said. The softball coaching staff is hoping for the predicted 40-degree temperature forecast to come true.

“that would be good enough to play on if the field was dry,” Searle said.