By Jill Miller
Staff Writer
March Madness is fast approaching, signaling the end of the basketball season, but a brand new season of baseball for the Union Bulldogs will soon begin.
Union transitions from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II and the Gulf South Conference.
“Baseball America,” a magazine that covers baseball at every level, mentioned the Bulldogs as a team with several key players to help ease the transition into Division II.
The change will not affect the way the Bulldogs play except with the pitching lineup, said Head Coach Brent Fronabarger.
“It may affect how we go about our pitching rotation, but for everything else, I don’t think it’s going to be that much different,” Fronabarger said.
As far as logistics, the team will see changes in the number of opponents it faces, and the familiarity of the opposing teams will be gone, Fronabarger added.
“Probably 37 of our 50 games are against opponents that we haven’t played in the past,” he said.
In NAIA play, the team would have begun the season already, because it formerly played 56 games.
In Division II, however, the team plays only 50 games.
Those changes will allow the team to take advantage of the nicer weather and practice outside, he said.
Not only is the team adjusting to the new division and conference but also many players are new to Union, with 14 of the 27 team members new to the team.
One is Cody Cunningham, junior media communications major and right-handed pitcher. He transferred in fall 2012 from Western Texas College.
“We have a really solid team, but the depth is another question,” Cunningham said. “We’re going to have to see how we come together as a team on the field.”
Fronabarger said he expects the team to gain momentum throughout the season and that players will use this year see how Union compares to its new opponents and then make adjustments in deficient areas.
“In our program, we talk to our guys, and we want them to be aggressive, and we want them to play with toughness,” Fronabarger said. “That’s mental toughness and it’s also physical toughness.”
The Bulldogs kicked off the season Feb. 15 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, losing 0-3 in the first game and in the second game 0-1. The team played its first home game Friday against Bethel.