Baseball Series Preview: Canisius

VS.

Golden Griffins Visist Tucaloosa For Season Opener

TUSCALOOSA, AL| It is tough to get ready for a college baseball season in late fall/early winter when your in Buffalo, NY. It is also tough when the season starts in February and you can't see the grass on your field because it is covered by a foot of snow. That is why the Canisius College Golden Griffins are heading south to Tuscaloosa to open their baseball season against the # 24 Alabama Crimson Tide.

On paper Alabama(3-1) should have no problem with the Golden Griffins, but it is going to be cold this weekend and the advantage of playing in freezing temperatures has to go to Canisus. Friday nights game begins at 6:30pm and the high in Tuscaloosa today is expected to be in the mid 40's and will drop as the games goes on. That might seem cold for the Tide players but it will feel like Miami Beach to the Golden Griffins, as the current temperature in Buffalo is 17 degrees with a wind chill of zero.

The cold weather has also forced the Tide to make changes this weekend. Alabama coach Jim Wells has opted to make a change in his pitching rotation from last weekend -- keeping left-handed Brandon Belcher off the mound after Belcher felt tightness in his left forearm last Saturday.

“We want to be careful in the cold weather," Wells said, adding that Belcher will be available to play left field or serve as the designated hitter. Sophomore right-hander Casey Kebodeaux will open the series on the mound tonight. All-American sophomore Tommy Hunter, who pitched 3 innings on Wednesday, will start Saturday and sophomore left-hander Miers Quigley is slated to start Sunday’s series finale.

Canisius will find out about its 2007 club, picked to finish sixth in the MAAC, as they open the season tonight and return a team with experience. Offensively, the Golden Griffins should be strong as five of their top nine hitters return. Defensively, six starting position players and eight pitchers, including two of the three weekend starters, are back.

“Last season was really a learning process for a lot of our guys in terms of getting a feel for baseball at the collegiate level,” said Canisius coach Mike McRae. “We had seven freshman get 70 or more at bats, and five freshman pitchers get 20 or more innings last year. So a lot of players got a good taste of collegiate baseball, and we’re hoping that quality experience pays off.”

If #24 Alabama plays well they should not have problems this weekend with the Golden Griffins.


Nick's Prediction: Alabama sweeps the series, 3-0.