Leading a preseason evening practice in full uniforms under bright stadium lights isn't standard procedure for eighth year UCF baseball coach Terry Rooney.
But with seven new faces projected to be in the Knights' starting lineup during their home opener against Siena Friday night, building some familiarity was important.
"I'm trying to just mimic our daily routine and you hear great coaches talk about it all the time, the process. For us in baseball, it's imperative. You're gonna play on a Tuesday and guess what? You have to play the next Wednesday. So I try to do as many things as I can to make opening night and opening weekend as normal as possible," said Rooney, who orchestrated at least three evening practices in the past week to replicate an opening day atmosphere.