Rome Braves Season Opener

The transition from the end of spring training to the start of the regular season has been a quick one for the Rome Braves, who after breaking camp Florida made a brief stop in Rome for their first workout at State Mutual Stadium have made their way to Maryland where they open the new season Thursday at 6:35 p.m. facing the Hagerstown Suns.

"They're running on adrenaline right now," manager Jonathan Schuerholz, who begins his first year at the helm of the team, said about the squad that he and his coaching staff feel has the right chemistry to make some noise in the South Atlantic League this season. "They're all excited about getting started."

Boasting a blend of experienced players who were in Rome last year with the addition of those who turned in solid rookie league outings in Danville - where Schuerholz managed for the past two seasons - a year ago, the Braves take on the Suns in the first of a four-game series and the start of a seven-game road trip that Rome starts the season with, returning to State Mutual Stadium on Thursday, April 10 for their home opener against the Savannah Sand Gnats.

Schuerholz announced that getting the starting nod on the mound for the season opener against the Suns will be 6-foot-5 right-hander Frank Lefreniere, who played in Rome last year setting career highs when he appeared in 28 games - 22 starts with a 7-13 record - and recorded 97 strikeouts.

Lefreniere is one of five starters Schuerholz and pitching coach Gabe Luckert will use in the starting rotation to begin the season, with southpaws Chuck Buchanan and Jared Dettmann and righties Carlos Salazar and Andry Unbiera rounding out the group of starters.

Not surprisingly, Schuerholz knows a lot about his pitching staff and the entire Braves roster as it is loaded with players he has been with in Danville.

"It makes it nice," said Schuerholz. "You know how they tick and how they are as people and that's important for a manager."

When the first pitch is made, the Braves' lineup will include a pair of catchers are who in their first full-season campaign: Victor Caratini, who hit .290 in Danville a year ago but in the opener and for much of the season will get a start at third base, and Bryan De La Rosa, who will be the backstop for Lefreniere.

Anchoring first base will be Joey Meneses, who returns to Rome to start the year after hitting .257 with 21 doubles and 40 RBI in 2013, and second baseman Mikey Reynolds and Johan Camargo, who batted .309 and .294 in Danville last season.

All three arrived in Rome early last week, playing for the Atlanta Future Stars at State Mutual Stadium against the Atlanta Braves - the Future Stars managed by Hall of Famer Bobby Cox upended the Major League team 13-4 in front of a SMS record crowd of 6,314 - as did Caratini and Victor Reyes, who will start in right field for the Rome Braves on Thursday and is coming off a 2013 season when he batted a combined .342 in the Gulf Coast League and in Danville.

Rounding out the outfield for the Braves in the opener is leftfielder Blake Brown (he started last season in Danville and was promoted to Rome where he played in 62 games, and centerfielder Cody Livesay, who hit a combined .283 last year in the GCL and Danville.

"For most of them," Schuerholz said, "this will be their first long season (140 games), but we don't want the guys worrying about saving the energy for the long haul. It's our job to have them ready to play hard every day."

And when the Braves do take the field, they will take with them a more aggressive base-running mid-set that is being stressed throughout the organization.

"There's something exciting about playing like that and it can get contagious," said Schuerholz. "Early on, we'll let you know that we want to put pressure on you."

Following the series in Hagerstown, the Braves make their over to Lexington, Ky., for three games, the final an afternoon game on Wednesday, and come home for a seven-game home stand next Thursday, starting with four showdowns with the Sand Gants.