Club baseball

The club baseball team will spend a majority of its spring break in warm weather as its season starts this weekend in Florida.

Central faces the University of Florida in its season opener Sunday in Gainesville, Fla. Florida began exhibition play earlier this month.

CMU also faces South Dakota, Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte during the team’s first full week of outdoor competition.

“We are getting a little stir crazy,” said senior Dave Kazmer. “We will be glad to get outside and play. We want to get our feet wet.”

CMU went 16-11 last season and finished second in the Great Lakes North Conference. Central lost the conference title late in the season to the University of Michigan.

Senior Matt Stefani will serve as a first-year head coach for the team.

“Last year we just ran out of pitching in the last few games,” Stefani said. “So we tried to get a few new arms on the team this year.”

Junior Ken Hagino is among the additions to CMU’s pitching rotation.

Hagino, a transfer from Macomb Community College, joins seniors Aaron Young and David Schlaufman on the mound.

Senior outfielder Mike Kish was last season’s Great Lakes North Conference Player of the Year. Kish led Central with a .486 batting average.

“The competition in this league is getting better and better each year,” Kish said. “I hope I can continue like last year.”

sports@cm-life.com