The first official game will be Friday, Feb. 9, but team members already have been working hard. They held fall practices from Sept. 5 to Oct. 6. Since then they have spent eight hours per week in conditioning, weightlifting and drills.
Head coach Mark Stratton, assistant coach Byron Hagler and graduate assistant Coach Scott Nasby are in charge of the team.
"The guys are working to get in the best physical shape of their lives," says Stratton while adding, "and so far, so good."
Recruitment for the team began in 2005. The roster now includes 30 players; two were already day students at Drury, 10 have transferred to Drury and 17 are new freshman.
"The strongest points of the team are athleticism, pitching, depth of talent and defense," says Stratton.
The coach noted that Great Lakes Valley Conference rules require wooden bats, which typically don't produce as many home runs as the metal bats used by many college leagues.
"Run productions will be based on doing the little things, such as bunting, advancing runners, executing the hit and run, sacrificing, controlling the oppositions running game, and not sitting back and waiting for a home run," Stratton predicts.
Stratton does concede that the lack of experience might be a problem. However, he says that in five years, he would like to be "coming off of a trip to the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama, with our 17 seniors carrying the 2010 NCAA D-II Baseball National Title trophy."
With practices and workouts, a 35 game regular-season schedule, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, the North Central Regional and possibly the NCAA-II World Series in their season, the team members have been - and will continue to be - extremely busy.
"It is hard to find time for a social life outside of baseball," freshman player Sam Pirtle said. "Depending on your major and nightlife, weekdays usually consist of doing homework."
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