Play ball. . .

The Maine baseball team will play it's home opener Saturday at 1 p.m. against Sacred Heart in the newly resurfaced Mahaney Diamond. That's quite an early start for a team that last year got stuck playing some "home games" in Connecticut to find a dry playing surface. The field looks awfully nice -- all turf except for the pitchers mound which is dirt. They even have fake lawn mower stripes in the green part. Maine is 10-7 so far, and has been getting serious production from freshman DH Ian Leisenheimer who batted .460, drove in 17 runs and belted five extra-base hits including two homers in the team's road swing to start the season. For more on the team debuting at home, read Saturday's sports section in the Portland Press Herald.