The men’s and women’s tennis, baseball and softball teams have already begun working out indoors and are getting ready to start their seasons.

Baseball head coach Jim Schmitz said that the first three or four weeks the team practices everything but defense, working on arm and leg strength, plus wrist strength by hitting.

“To be indoors seven or eight weeks maybe, doing team stuff is boring and guys get tired of it,” Schmitz said. “So two nights a week we go at night to get the arms loose with a lot of long toss.

Bunting is a big part of the program, Schmitz added.

He had his pitching staff throw during winter break.

Schmitz said he wanted his pitchers throwing four to six weeks in advance before getting on the mound to get healthy.

“It’s not team workouts but its arms, legs, and like I said hands, so when we go to team practices we are ready to roll,” Schmitz said.

A team does not need a lot of time in the spring, but once they get in shape, they should be ready to go with one week of review, Schmitz said.

The baseball team will begin the season Feb. 23 at the Evansville Tournament in Evansville, Ind.

On the softball diamond, the team is trying to work on fundamentals and basic mechanics, head coach Kim Schuette said.

“We try and build our program up doing little things right,” she said.

The Panthers are picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference this year despite returning seven starters and their top two pitchers from last season.

Sophomore second baseman Sarah Coppert said the team has been focusing on hitting to prepare for the season.

Softball will began play Feb. 17 at the Central Arkansas Tournament in Conway, Ark.

Tennis head coach John Blackburn said this time of year, the team’s focus is on match play. The team competed in the fall, mainly working on technique, Blackburn said.

The women’s team will starts its season today at Illinois State, while the men’s team will begin Feb. 2 against Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne.