The Buffs said they are prepared to take on the five time National Championship winners and school rivals CSU Rams.
They are especially excited to play a home game in Boulder after a long three years.
The Buffs are headed to Johnstown (Colorado) on Saturday to play the Rams in a double-header before heading back down to Scott Carpenter Park in Boulder on Sunday for another double-header.
But what are the Buffs expecting?
“A good baseball game,” said senior short stop Brandon Barron. “We have definitely been playing to the level of our opponents all year long and we see it as the best two teams facing off this weekend. The biggest challenge is going to be playing consistent baseball for twenty-eight innings, going back to back each day.”
This year they are expecting a different turn out, because they have had more practice up until the big rivalry.
“A lot of times CSU is our first game, and were not very well prepared, but this season I think we’ve played fourteen games, so we’re pretty well prepared for this weekend,” said team captain and second baseman Garret Smith.
This hardly translates to the season becoming a walk in the park; Smith said CSU is going to be the biggest challenge on their road to Regionals.
“They are definitely going to be our biggest challenge—they have been number one for as long as I have been in school for [four years], they have won five out of the six national championships. So, yeah they are kind of a powerhouse,” Smith said.
Senior pitcher Patrick Darrow hopes the work put in all year will pay off this weekend.
“We started off a little rough, but I feel like we’re heading in the right direction, and hopefully this weekend were going to get it going,” Darrow said. “We’ve been working hard going to the gym, even a spring break trip down to Florida—played seven games in seven days down there. We should be prepared.”
The Florida spring break trip was not a CU baseball social gathering, rather a seven-day baseball boot camp. Smith said they have had problems with the field and the snow conditions in Colorado, and took advantage of the weather in Florida for some quality baseball time.
“ We went to Florida; we played seven games and even a triple-header, we played a lot of baseball down there, and we practice here four or five times a week, and come one day a week for hitting practice, whatever it takes,” Smith said.
The Buffs are expecting a good match up against their infamous rivals and are hoping the Scott Carpenter Park on Sunday will bring home a win.
“It’s our time to prove something, and were excited to do so,” Barron said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Gina Yocom at Gina.Yocom@colorado.edu.
