If I were to describe the make up and character of this team the first word that comes to mind is solid. I feel that we will be extremely strong and deep up and down the line up, our defense has vastly improved and our pitching staff has developed into a very competitive group of individuals. The motto of this team is confidence and competitive as wee are preaching this on a daily basis. We ask them to compete every day and to do so with extreme confidence.

The ball club has reloaded with some of the best talent in central Illinois and we are confident that we have what it takes to make a run at a Regional Title. We feel that this group can back up the statement, “we feel that we can play with anyone on our schedule”. I will challenge this group to work above their comfort level, to push themselves to the limit, to establish lasting images and friendships and to develop inner discipline to make themselves, the best they can be. With the success and experience of the returners and the talented fresh faces that have been brought in, we feel that the season outlook is very promising.

 The Bulldogs will feature 27 promising athletes who all bring a little bit something different to the team’s needs. We return just over 40% of our pitching victories from last years staff and roughly 62% of the offense. We certainly need to fill some big holes that were left after graduation and we feel that we have by replacing them with some very solid players. The nucleus of the team is with our returning everyday position players. This type of nucleus will give us tremendous leadership and the crucial experience necessary for a run at another successful season. I feel that this team has set its own goals and have their own set of expectations that they want to shoot for. It is not a matter of “we have to; it is a situation that we “expect to” be successful by working harder than our opponents in the classroom, the weight room, the indoor practice facilities and on the field”.

The coaching staff has made it crystal clear that in order for us to be one of the top teams in the Conference and to make it through the post season we are going to have to play better defense. The ability and work ethic is there but unlike last year we have more options if guys are not getting it done. As mentioned earlier a second area of concern is the overall experience of the pitching staff. Although we lack in experience I still really like what this group offers. Opportunities are wide open for guys to go out and prove themselves to be “The Guy”. We prepared very hard this fall and over the course of the winter months. I strongly feel that this is what separates the men from the boys in our Conference. It is in the weight room where personal and team goals are achieved.

The 2010 season will see a few new changes. The conference schedule will revert back to a three game series with the final game of each series being a single 9 inning game. The MWAC schedule will again start the third week of March but will end a week later than normal resulting in only two mid-week series and a thirty game conference schedule. Post season play will be a regional format with the top eight MWAC finishers comprising the teams that will do battle at the region tournament.

The Region 24 tournament will again be hosted by the Bulldogs at Lanphier Park. It will be an obvious goal of ours to get to the regional tournament that will be hosted at our friendly confines. This is much easier said than done as the teams in this conference are capable of beating anyone on any given day. The region 24 winner will once again automatically advance to the national tournament.

The roster of 27 players features 14 guys who comprise our pitching staff... The seven returners tallied 15 victories for us in 2009. We have added 7 new faces to the staff with three lefties and four righties. As in years past, all these guys bring a little something different to the program. Our number one goal will be to average less than two walks a game, in 2009. Our strikeout to walk ratio was good but it needs to be better this year. This seems to be the most significant goal over the last six years. It has developed our staff into being one of the top three staffs in the conference in team ERA, runs allowed and on base percentage. We will preach throwing strikes early and often so our defense can make the plays, we simply can’t defend the base on balls. We feel that it will be up to the seven returners to lead by example and to have the newcomers make a statement. We have always believed that the key to a 30 win season is the middle to later part of the staff by stepping up and taking care of business. This group of guys will be the key to another regional championship as we get closer to the title game.

Defensively, when you return 6 position players who played quite a bit it helps, it is even more of a relief that the players you do return, play in the middle of the field. This is the case for us with our centerfielder, shortstop, second baseman and catcher. We brought in three guys who can go get the ball in the outfield, two new faces who could gear up for us behind the plate and three ballplayers who will move around on the infield. Strengths of this group of position guys are in their ability to play other positions and they offer us depth around the field. We have infielders who could see some time in the outfield, some catchers who will play the infield and some corner outfielders who could see some time on the infield. This is a tremendous situation to have in case of injury or if guys are swinging the bat well and they need to be in the line up.

Offensively We feel that this could be one of the most explosive line ups we have put on the field at any given time or on any given day. We like the combination of righty then lefty and with our ability to run adds to the excitement to the line up. We have added two guys who swing from the left side and five who swing it from the right. Although inexperienced at the college level, we like the way these guys can handle the bat. We see this lineup being a very exciting offensive group who could be a power oriented team. This group of hitters provides a very balanced attack with left handed and right handed hitters, increased overall speed and a few guys who can bunt any time they want. This will be a fun group to watch this year.

The 2010 campaign begins March 6 when we head west to the always sunny state of Arizona. The southern trip features a few new names to the schedule. During the eight day trip we will play 10 games against some very good competition... We have added Division 1 powerhouse Central Arizona, a preseason # 7 ranked D-1 team. We will once again play Paradise Valley a preseason # 6 and pre season #15 Chandler Gilbert makes their way back on the schedule for a twilight 9 inning game. The conference schedule has flipped flopped dramatically. In week number one we will see John Wood followed by the cougars of Illinois Central. Week three we take on the Jaguars from Danville area Community College with Lincoln College coming on board for the first of our midweek conference games followed by a week four set with the Saints of Shawnee. In week five we match up with the Loggers of Lincoln Land Community College and the Hawks of Heartland C.C, a preseason #2 ranked team. Week six is our bye week where we will play some non conference opponents and the final game of our mid week series with Lincoln and LLCC.  In week seven the returning National champs from Parkland and a preseason #5 ranked team make their way on to the scene. Week eight will feature the Mudcats from Spoon River College and in the final week of conference play we will take on the Trail Blazers of Lewis and Clark.

Nothing changes in our approach to the game of baseball. We will play the game the way it is supposed to be played. We will respect all but fear none. We will hustle, flat out bust it, our uniforms will be dirty when the game is over. We will play with class and pride stressing fundamentals, responsibility and positive emotion. Team is the number one word in our program. I will once again close with my signature statement “We are a family and we will always be a family” This group is extremely close and I feel that it will pay off in the end.