The familiar sound of basketballs bouncing has been muffled by the sounds of leather softballs colliding with bats during the last couple of weeks in the Carrier Dome.

In a climate in which below freezing temperatures are normal until at least March, the Dome has continually served as a key asset for the Syracuse softball team. The squad probably won’t be able to use the Syracuse Softball Stadium until April, making the Dome an especially important part in training.

Syracuse will see how well its skills translate from the Dome to the dirt today and through the weekend, when the Orange travels to Waco, Texas to play in the Gettermen Classic.

‘We’re so lucky to have the Dome,’ Syracuse head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘You can’t hit the roof, and you can have a full-out game. Everything is controlled; we’re not worrying about weather every day.’

SU will play three doubleheaders this weekend, starting with Centenary and Baylor today at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Syracuse then plays Centenary and Purdue on Saturday and wraps up the weekend with a pair of rematches against the Boilermakers and Bears.

Ross said the Dome adequately simulates everything the team will face in Waco except the bounces off the dirt.

‘The ball does bounce differently off of dirt,’ senior outfielder/pitcher Chanel Roehner said. ‘But I don’t think we’ll have too much difficulty coming back and playing on dirt.’

Ross said the FieldTurf in the Dome helps to recreate dirt a little better than other surfaces. It’s still not the most ideal condition, but it is better than other facilities around the nation.

Players were shown just how fortunate they are to have the Dome this offseason. SU assistant coach Kyle Jamieson sent the players an article that explained how other Big East cold weather schools like DePaul have to prepare.

Most schools have to practice in gyms on other arenas that only have hard floors that do not simulate the type of bounces the players will see on dirt. Gyms and other facilities also don’t have high roofs like the Dome has.

For Ross, there are plenty of reasons to like playing in the Dome. For one, it’s almost impossible to hit the roof, so the team can practice playing fly balls. The lights on the ceiling also help the outfielders. The lights basically act as the sun for the outfielders and help them get used to dealing with it. Roehner was even wearing Orange contact lenses designed for battling the sun during practice Tuesday.

‘There’s pros and cons everywhere,’ catcher Amy Kelley said. ‘I mean yeah, we get a really good hop in here, but the lights give us a challenge every day.’

One challenge the team doesn’t have to deal with this year is running up the stairs to get to the batting cage.

Last season, in between drills, the players would have to run up stairs to the concourse to take batting practice then run back down. This year the cage is located in the endzone opposite the basketball court, but far enough out of the way to allow a more efficient practice.

‘There are so many more positives,’ Ross said. ‘We have our cages right here. Everything is well contained so when you’re running a practice you know what everybody is doing. It’s very efficient to be inside here.’

The Dome is a convenient place to practice, especially when the wind is blowing snow in all different directions and only a stencil of the field is visible at the softball stadium. As realistic as the Dome is though, the team can’t wait to get to Texas and see the sun instead of lights.

‘We are so excited to play our first game,’ Roehner said. ‘Because, we haven’t necessarily been cooped up in here, but we definitely feel like it’s time to unleash the beast and get a chance to play on dirt.’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on February 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm