The ISU club baseball team will begin its spring season with a game in Plant City, Fla., at Mike Sansone Community Park.

The team will travel to the Sunshine State March 13 to 19 for the National Club Baseball Association’s Spring Training Showcase.

“It’s a good way for us to see the strengths of our players,” said pitcher and player-coach Jeff Peterson. “We use it as an opportunity to rotate people around and get guys in new positions.”

The team will play six games against other club teams around the country. Opponents include Wisconsin, Indiana and Tennessee.

“It’s really good for us because in our conference we only play northern teams,” said first baseman Tony Danti. “Your mentality has to be 100 percent all the way.”

The team will arrive Sunday in Florida and have their first outdoor practice Sunday morning. The team has been practicing indoors at the Lied Recreation Center to this point.

“That’s pretty level playing field,” Peterson said. “There are no rocks or holes for ground balls to go. It’s good to get a more realistic sense of the game.”

The facilities at Mike Sansone Community Park will help the team become used to playing outdoors again.

“Very nice fields, grass infield and everything you want in a baseball field,” Peterson said.

A sometimes-overlooked aspect of trip like this is the bonding experiences for the players.

“That’s another good experience,” Peterson said. “Being in a close environment with some new faces really gives you a chance to get to know them pretty quickly.”

Besides playing together on the baseball field, the team tries to use their time off to continue to connect as a team.

“We try to get a trip to the beach and enjoy the weather,” Peterson said. “We got out to eat as a team. We like to see a MLB spring training game too.”

The bonding on this trip begins and ends with the journey to Florida and back home.

“You’re stuck in a van with at least half of the team for 24 hours,” Danti said. “You get to know personalities and there are good stories to come back and talk about.”