Year after year, baseball teams at schools like Ohio cope with adverse weather conditions while southern schools' clubs get extra playing and practice time - outside in fair weather. Despite outcry from some coaches for a common start date, opening day still varies as teams travel from north to south. Is there a solution?
Before the Ohio baseball season even started, controversy riddled the sport as the Bobcats had to watch other teams get a jump on the start on the year.
February 18 was the first scheduled game for Ohio. Before that, the team resorted to practicing indoors, if at all. And all the while, schools in the south and on the Pacific Coast were not only accumulating game experience, but wins as well -a lot of them.
(Starting early) does give them a major distinct advantage
Ohio coach Joe Carbone said. Not only do they get to practice outside for the whole month of January but then they're playing northern teams that haven't been outside at all much like when we went to Campbell (North Carolina); we hadn't been outside yet.
