Harvard then plays a doubleheader tomorrow, facing the Falcons in the morning and Texas Tech again in the afternoon. The Crimson finishes the weekend Sunday afternoon against Air Force.

There’s a reason Harvard players are excited about this season, and it’s not just because of a potential Murderers’ Row. With the recent warm weather, the team has been practicing outside for much longer than it had at this point last year.

“We do so much skill work indoors, we just want to get outside and play,” Farkes said about Boston’s typical cold spring. “I think the best thing you can do after that is get a lot of at-bats, play some [inter-squad] games. We’ve been doing that.”

The pitchers and the defense, especially, benefit from adjusting to the outdoors.

“We’ve got our rotation lined up, and our order’s pretty set,” Farkes said. “We’re so far ahead of the curve compared to last year.”

In addition, players have been competing hard for spots—especially in the pitching rotation. Outside of 6’5 senior righty Mike Morgalis, Hendricks and ambidextrous sophomore Matt Brunnig—who will fill out the 1-3 spots in the rotation this weekend—the pitching alignment has not been set until recently. Sophomore Frank Herrmann, who was not a starter last season, gets the call for the Sunday game against Air Force.

“From what I have seen,” said Mann, who has been catching the pitchers all spring. “Everyone is hungry to get the call from coach and [is] ready to perform for the team.”

From all indications, the pitching staff shouldn’t concern itself too much. With so much firepower up and down the Harvard lineup, the pressure’s off.

“Truthfully you never know who could come up big for us,” Mann said.

—Staff writer Alex McPhillips can be reached at rmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.