While the Midwest is still covered by a blanket of snow, the Eastern baseball team will travel 700 miles south to start its season in Hammond, La., against Southeastern Louisiana.

The two teams will open their respective seasons with a three-game series starting at 6 p.m. today.

Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said the team’s spring training has been hindered by the weather, which has forced the team to hold all of its practices inside Lantz Fieldhouse. Despite the inconvenience, his team is eager to get out on the field.

“This has really been one of the roughest springs we’ve had weather-wise in a long time,” the 16th year skipper said. “We were able to scrimmage a lot outside last year. Sometimes there’s a little lull in concentration inside, which worries me.

We’re all excited, but are we ready? That’s what we’ve been harping on.”

The Panthers return six position players who saw regular action in 2009, including sophomore third baseman Zach Borenstein.

Borenstein, who played primarily in right field last season, was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and was named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s All-Freshman Team a year ago. He led the OVC in on-base percentage a year ago and filled as the team’s leadoff hitter when Brett Nommensen went down with an injury late in the season.

Schmitz said Borenstein will be the team’s three-hitter this season and is confident the lineup will get around him.

“The thing I need the guys to understand is that (Borenstein) doesn’t need to carry us,” he said. “If we can have him do what he did last year with his high on-base percentage will be absolutely crucial. He’s very patient and not going to hurt us with strikeouts.”

Among the new faces on this year’s team is second baseman Daniel Rowe.

Rowe, a freshman out of Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge, will have the dubious role of replacing Nommensen – now in the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization – at the top of the order. Likewise, he’ll have to replace the graduated Jordan Tokarz at second base.

Schmitz compared Rowe’s role with the team to that of Ta’Kenya Nixon, a freshman guard on the women’s basketball team who is leading her team in points, rebounds and assists.

He said although he will have some ups and downs as a freshman, he is confident Rowe will fill in nicely at the top of the lineup.

“(Rowe) has a real change to be an electric leadoff guy for us,” Schmitz said. “He’ll be nervous (early on), but we think he’s got a chance to be really good. He understands his role – getting on base and taking pitches – and he’ll be fine.”

In the pitching rotation, Schmitz has two key returnees with junior right-handers Josh Mueller and Mike Recchia who will bolster the front end of the staff.

Schmitz said both Mueller and Recchia have generated a lot of buzz from Major League scouts and he knows what to expect out of both of them.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7942 or

[email protected]