SPOKANE, Wash. - Despite the fact that a foot of snow and ice still covers Merkel Field, the Whitworth University baseball team opens its 2009 schedule this week. The Pirates will be playing in a four-team tournament in Peoria, Arizona at the Peoria Sports Complex - the spring training home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.

On Thursday Whitworth will play Washington and Lee at 11:00 a.m., followed by a game with Brandeis at 3:00 p.m. Friday the Bucs will take on Hastings at 3:00 p.m. Saturday's schedule will be determined by the results of round-robin play. All four teams will play a semi-final, then play one more game to decide first/second or third/fourth in the final standings.

Whitworth is about to begin its first season under first-year head coach Dan Ramsay. Ramsay takes over a squad that returns three starting pitchers and four starting field players from 2008, when the Pirates finished 13-27 overall and 12-20 in the Northwest Conference.

Washington and Lee (Va.) is coming off of a 22-12 season in 2008, 10-8 in the Old Dominion Athletics Conference. The Generals will be opening their season in Peoria as well. Whitworth defeated W&L 10-1 at Peoria in 2007 in the schools' only other meeting.

Brandeis (Mass.) was 19-19 last season and 4-2 in the University Athletic Association. The Judges will also be opening their 2009 schedule in Peoria. Whitworth and Brandeis have never played.

Hastings (Neb.) is dropped all four games of a series at NCAA DII Regis (Colo.) in early February. The Broncos went 18-32 last season, 11-13 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The Pirates played Hastings twice during the 2007 tournament in Peoria, winning 8-3 before losing 7-6.