After months of being limited to the batting cages in their new indoor facility and the turf-covered football field of Loftus, the No.23-ranked Irish baseball team finally gets a chance to step onto a sun-drenched, grass-covered field this weekend as they compete in the Service Academies Classic in Millington, Tenn.

The six-team tournament includes Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as Ohio State and Memphis.

Action begins Thursday afternoon as Notre Dame takes on Air Force. Notre Dame has won all five of the previous meetings between the two teams. An interesting subplot to this afternoon's game involves Irish head coach Paul Mainieri, who formerly was the head coach at Air Force.

"The Air Force Academy game is kind of a neat opportunity for me personally, because I coached at the Air Force Academy for six years," said Mainieri, "We're going against a team that I know very well, and I know how the service academies play."

Starting on the mound for the Irish today is Senior Scott Cavey, coming off of an impressive season in which he posted a 6-1 record and 3.70 ERA. Cavey's best asset is his control; he has averaged only 1.8 walks per nine innings in his career.

On Saturday the Irish take on regional rival Ohio State. Matching two of the top teams in the northern United States, this game should prove to be a test for the Irish.

"Everybody in our program is very excited about being able to play Ohio State," said Mainieri, "Obviously, both teams have a lot of pride in their programs. When you get on the field you'd like to see who's the better team."

The added factor for the Irish is the large number of Ohio natives on the team's roster. Starting center-fielder Steve Stanley, catcher Paul O'Toole and third baseman Andy Bushey all hail from the Buckeye State.

"I'm looking forward to playing Ohio State," said O'Toole. "Because I'm from Ohio, I know a bunch of guys on the team."

Notre Dame starts junior Aaron Heilman against Ohio State. Heilman was named a first team preseason All-American by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball after posting an 11-2 record to go along with a 3.14 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 109 innings last season.

"We couldn't be more confident going in to play Ohio State," said senior closer John Corbin, "We're starting our best pitcher, who's probably the best pitcher in the country."

On Sunday, Notre Dame faces on local favorite Memphis before taking on a still undetermined service academy team. Starting pitching behind Heilman and Cavey is still up in the air, and pitchers for the Sunday games have yet to be determined.

"The big question for us is, who is going to step up as the third and forth starters as well as who are going to be the strong middle-relief guys," said Mainieri. "We have a lot of guys that I think are capable of doing it, it's just a matter of giving them the opportunities and whoever takes advantage of the opportunities will earn the premier roles."

While the depth in the pitching may be a question mark for the Irish, the team's offense is an obvious strength. While all-time home run leader Jeff Wagner graduated and last year's starting shortstop Brant Ust left to play in the Detroit Tigers organization, the team returns starters at every other position.

The team features a new top of the lineup as sophomore O'Toole moves from the second spot to bat leadoff while fellow sophomore Stanley flip-flops to bat in the No. 2 spot. The move was made to provide more power at the top of the lineup.

"I feel like when I'm leading off an inning that for some reason I hit better," said O'Toole. "Coach's strategy is that he'd like to have a guy who can lead off the game with a double, whereas Steve is more of a bunt and steal-bases kind of guy."

Bushey, coming off a successful freshman season, bats third followed by junior shortstop Alec Porzel. Porzel moves from second base to shortstop this season, his high school position. Considered by his coach to be the most underrated player in the Big East, Porzel lead the Irish with 60 runs batted in last season.

Spots five through seven in the lineup will be occupied by some combination of freshman right fielder Brian Stavisky, senior first baseman Jeff Felker and senior left fielder/designated hitter Matt Nussbaum.

Stavisky was rated by Baseball America as the No. 5 freshman in the nation. The magazine also recognized the strong left-handed hitter as having the best "raw power" among Big East players.

Felker, rated as the top defensive first baseman in the conference, is wrapping up a successful career for the Irish this season. The Maryland native looks to improve on his .333 batting average and 40 RBI last season.

Nussbaum is one of the most interesting players on the Irish roster. A former walk-on, he went hitless his first two seasons. Last season he gained opportunities as a DH and left-fielder and responded with a .314 batting average and 33 runs batted in. This season he adds the ability to play catcher to his résumé, a relief for O'Toole, who took a toll behind the plate last season.

"I really want to do anything I can to help this team win the Big East this season," said Nussbaum, "The biggest way that I think I can do that is to develop myself as a catcher. Paul caught so many innings last year that I'd really like to be able to take some of the load off of him."

The eighth spot will be occupied by a variety of players who will rotate with Nussbaum as the left-fielder and designated hitter. Junior Ben Cooke, who has played every position on the diamond except catcher, could fill this role.

Senior co-captain second baseman Jeff Perconte will bat in the number nine hole, utilizing his speed as a "second lead-off man." The speedy switch-hitter batted .323 last season in 96 at-bats before a shoulder injury ended his season early. Perconte looks to fulfill his role as a leader this season, sharing co-captain duties with Nussbaum and Heilman.

"I try to be more of an example than anything. I try to go out everyday and play as hard as I can," said Perconte. "I'm not really different from any other people except some of the other players look at me for leadership a little."

The games this weekend can be heard on WJVA 1580 AM as well as on the Internet at www.und.com

• Providence knocks out Notre Dame
  
• No rest for walk-on Thomas
  
• Irish sluggers open season in Tennessee