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The USC Beaufort baseball team began final preparations for its inaugural season Monday, holding the first practices of the spring season as the Sand Sharks' Jan. 31 debut rapidly approaches.
"I've been praying for a long time for a quality first day so we can get some things done, and the Lord blessed us with it," USCB coach Rick Sofield said. "It feels good to get out."
But getting out also meant getting back to work, and Sofield expects it will be quite a grind getting his first-year program ready for its debut in less than a month.
"We have a lot of work to be done before an opener," Sofield said. "There's a catch-22 to this: It was fun to get going, but we have such a daunting task that we have to put everything in perspective. Our No. 1 goal is to get better every practice session."
The Sand Sharks had been dormant since the first week of October, when they held something of a public unveiling during the "Fall Ball Game," an intrasquad scrimmage held before more than 200 fans. But the players were given detailed workout regimens to adhere to on their own during the winter, which helped them hit the ground running for two practices Monday, freshman catcher Mitch Foster said.
"I think we did great today, for our first day back after not practicing since October," Foster said. "I think we all proved to ourselves that we're willing to work, and we can do something special."
USCB will face a tough conference slate, as two Sun Conference teams are ranked in the preseason NAIA Coaches Poll -- No. 3 Embry-Riddle and No. 21 Warner -- and two more received votes -- St. Thomas and Savannah College of Art and Design.
In preparation, Sofield said the Sand Sharks will spend the next few weeks working on fundamentals and conditioning. They will practice twice a day this week before settling into their normal routine when school starts next week.
Sofield hopes to have the pitching staff in shape for an intrasqaud game within the next seven to 10 days, and the Sand Sharks know opening day will be here before they know it.
"I think we'll be ready," Foster said. "We're very excited, we work hard, and we're a close group for not knowing each other. We're a first-year program, but it feels like we've played together for a couple of years now."
BY THE NUMBERS
25 Number of days until the USC Beaufort baseball team begins its inaugural season with a home doubleheader against Southern Wesleyan on Jan. 31.
44 Number of players on the Sand Sharks' roster. Two players -- right-handed pitcher Frank Szczepanik and outfielder Kyle Bowman -- have left the team since fall practice ended, but USCB added left-hander Kenny Anderson, a transfer from Newberry College, and right-hander Jorge Olmo regained his eligibility.
55 Number of games on the Sand Sharks' inaugural schedule. USCB is scheduled to play 31 home games at the Richard Gray Baseball Complex in Hardeeville.
