1.   Amherst College coach Bill Thurston, the NCAA baseball rules editor, is involved in a study of college hitters and pitchers who play in wood bat summer leagues.

2.   And the team pounded out nine hits using wood bats.

3.   Baum Research and Development, which makes wood composite bats, also sued for unspecified damages, accusing the NCAA of conspiracy to monopolize the bat industry.

4.   A tough adjustment from aluminum to the wood bat delayed his progress.

5.   A sudden shift in policy by the NCAA may leave many programs scrambling to find the funds to purchase wood bats.

6.   Breakage makes wood bats expensive for teams on tight budgets.

7.   But anyone who has hopes of reaching the big leagues must learn to work with a wood bat as much as possible.

8.   But most wood bats never reach that limit.

9.   For this game, the Cubans could be at a disadvantage because they will be using wood bats instead of the aluminum bats they use during their season.