Much like a football team near the end of fall workouts, ready to hit someone other than its own teammates in a practice drill, the UTM baseball team is ready to hit someone else's pitching and take the field for its 2003 season.

Unfortunately, the Skyhawks have been stuck inside because of the weather.

The Skyhawks were scheduled to open the season Feb. 8 at home against Western Illinois. The three-game series was snowed out. A doubleheader against Kentucky Wesleyan, set for Saturday, Feb. 15, was rained out.

Week day games scheduled for Feb. 18 and 19 against Belmont and Arkansas State also were rained out.

This past weekend, the Skyhawks were scheduled to host Iowa in a three-game series.

The series was cancelled Thursday when the forecasts called for rain.

Mother Nature once again forced the team to cancel this week’s games against Arkansas State and Martin Methodist. The first weekend series is slated for March 1 and 2 against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. The Skyhawks will play a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday. A single game is set for 1 p.m., Sunday, March 2.

“Our schedule is both exciting and challenging,” Cates said. Along with Iowa from the Big 12, the Skyhawks are scheduled to host Dayton, St. Louis, Memphis and Ohio Valley Conference foes Morehead State, Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri State.

So far, the most challenging aspect of the schedule has been competing with the weather.

Cates said the Skyhawks schedule was set up comparable to those of Southeastern Conference schools. In the SEC, schools host a majority of their non-conference games and then travel to league games or tournament games. “Most of the SEC schools will play about 36 home games.

“We are comparable to that and we have even pushed past that,” Cates said.

And once the weather breaks, the Skyhawks will get a chance to enjoy that home field advantage.

The Skyhawks are scheduled to play tomorrow at 12 p.m. against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. They play against UARL again on Sunday. They’re set up for St. Louis on Tuesday and SIU Wednesday.