NORTON, MA- While 13th-year Wheaton College head baseball coach Eric Podbelski contends that his team changes every year, a large returning contingent that includes 11 veteran pitchers should provide the Lyons with a realistic crack at their 10th league title in 11 years and possibly the program's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade's time.

"We hope to be sound pitching-wise, sound defensively, and balanced and deep in the lineup," said Podbelski, whose squad was ranked 19th in the D3baseball.com preseason national poll after going 34-10 last season. "We want to prevent runs but also score runs in different ways by having nine hitters in the lineup who will have consistent, quality at bats and still find ways to score on days where things aren't going great. That's a base philosophy that's in place from year to year."

The Lyons went 9-3 during New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in 2008, taking second in the league standings after capturing the regular season title in each of the NEWMAC's first nine years. However, come time for the conference tournament, Podbelski's requisites for success were in place, as the Lyons batted .397 while yielding seven runs and committing only five errors during a 4-0 showing en route to securing their ninth crown. Wheaton qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and eighth time since 2000, advancing as far as the regional semifinals.

Podbelski, who earned his eighth NEWMAC Coach-of-the-Year honor in 2008, credits the student-athletes for the team's consistently high level of play. "The fact that the program has been successful is a product of having good players who prepare the right way and go out and perform," said the coach, who is joined by four Wheaton baseball alumni in seventh-year assistant coach Zach Brown '02, fifth-year assistant Ryan Parker '01, fourth-year assistant Jeff Ambrosini '04 and third-year assistant Andy Koocher '06.

A NEWMAC Tournament title is an annual goal, Podbelski said, with a crown providing automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament, but with the season yet to begin, the coach is keeping his sights set on the foreseeable future. "We're just thinking about, are we progressing from last week?" said Podbelski. "And next week, are we continuing to progress? And individuals will start to get over certain thresholds and show they can be added to the mix. You just have to keep getting to the point where you think you're maximizing what you have. And then when the playoffs come, that's your focus, and hopefully we'll be ready to compete well."

Key to Wheaton's chances this year will be a veteran-laden pitching staff. The Lyons, who posted the eighth-best earned run average in Division III last spring, will carry 14 hurlers, six of whom are seniors.

Senior captains Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester), Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) and Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) join junior Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) as established starters. Gingras went 8-0 with a 1.70 ERA last year, earning American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America honors and being named NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year. Hughes, a lefty, and Kostaras each posted five wins in 2008 during their first season in the rotation, and Bernardini, a two-time all-region pitcher, went 7-1 when he last competed in 2007.

Among sophomores Kevin Calabro (Andover, MA/Andover), Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Pat Martin (Rockland, MA/Rockland), one should win the fifth starter's job, but the two who return to their prior late-inning relief roles join senior Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) as potential spot starters during the season. Barnes posted a 2.12 ERA in 17 games last year and has walked only 14 batters in 56.1 innings as a career setup man. Lefties hit just .172 in 14 games last spring off the left-handed Calabro, while fellow southpaw Kasik issued five bases on balls while fanning 21 in 17.1 frames. Martin last pitched in 2007, ending his freshman year with 11 consecutive shutout innings, during which he yielded only three hits.

Senior Karl Olson (Bethel, ME/Gould Academy) and junior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) will also provide late-inning relief. Olson saw action in seven games last year in his first season as a college pitcher, which included earning a save against eventual national runner-up Johns Hopkins University. Shepard made 11 appearances and has allowed just six walks in 33 career innings.

Entering his third season as Wheaton's closer, senior Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) is second in program history in career saves (18) and tied for second in pitching appearances (60). He tied for fifth in Division III with 10 saves a year ago, yielding just eight hits and a .140 opposing batting average while striking out 30 batters during 17 relief innings.

Among the Lyon freshman corps, David Longley (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) is in contention to provide late-inning relief. Nolan Corr (Somersworth, NH/Saint Thomas Aquinas) will be a long reliever for Wheaton, while Chris Thompson (Harwich, MA/Portsmouth Abbey School) is working to overcome an injury.

Receiving most of the pitches from the Blue and White hurlers will be junior catcher Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers), who earned all-region and all-conference accolades due to a standout first season as a starter in 2008. In 42 contests, Lieneck batted .355 with 12 doubles, four home runs and 37 RBI. Sophomores Rob Jenkins (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) and Alex Rossi (Norwood, MA/Norwood) will provide depth behind the plate while contributing elsewhere, as Jenkins should see action in right field, and Rossi is in line to earn at bats against lefties as a designated hitter.

Up the middle in the infield are Wheaton's starting first basemen from 2007 and 2008, respectively, in senior captain Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) and sophomore Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin). Pecora had 45 hits during his first full season at shortstop last year, and Laliberte hit .290 while starting at four different positions as a freshman and will play second base for the first time as a collegian.

Junior Sean Buckley (Webster, MA/Bartlett) and freshman Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) are in competition to start at third base, while Buckley will occasionally play first when a lefty is on the mound. Junior Jason Clucas (Peabody, MA/Saint John's Prep) and freshman Dan Demeo (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) are vying for time at first, while sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) is a first baseman by trade but will be the team's DH for the second straight spring. Munley drove in a Wheaton-freshman-record 42 runs while hitting .325 with 11 doubles in 2008, drawing all but nine of the team's 159 DH at bats.

Sophomore Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School), a reserve outfielder as a freshman, adds depth at second base as he works to learn the position. He will also see time in left field as one of Wheaton's primary five outfielders, while freshman David Brandt (Contoocook, NH/Hopkinton) adds speed to the lineup as a back-up middle infielder.

Junior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) was an all-conference left fielder in 2008 during his first season as a starter, and he remains there after leading the team with a .374 average and 61 hits, among them 12 doubles and four home runs. Sophomore Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) hit .288 in 30 games last year before missing the remainder of the season with an injury, and he should see time in both center and right field. Freshman center fielder Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) joins Jenkins, Malaguti and Raad in the starting mix.

Wheaton's roster includes three freshman outfielders, and Podbelski expects John Keating (Duxbury, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School), Scott MacPhee (Framingham, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols) and Mike Szablak (Tyngsboro, MA/Tyngsboro) will add depth as they await an opportunity to work their way into the lineup.

Once competition begins, the Lyons will embark on an annually ambitious Spring Break slate that this year includes Division II Saint Cloud State University, which earned attention in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. During its 10-game trip to the Phoenix area, Wheaton takes on not only Johns Hopkins, but also The College of New Jersey and regional foe Western New England College, two other teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament. The Lyons also square off against Rockford College, which won the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Tournament, whose winner earns automatic qualification into the NCAA Tournament beginning this spring.

Upon returning north, Wheaton opens its NEWMAC and home slates on March 22 against Springfield College, meets Western New England in Norton on April 10 and takes part in a home-and-home series with the University of Southern Maine, which ended the Lyons' 2008 season during the NCAA Tournament. After the NEWMAC Tournament, which begins on April 22, Wheaton travels to fellow national tournament competitor Eastern Connecticut State University on April 29 before completing its 40-game regular season at Division I Bryant University on May 2.

As with every year, Podbelski hopes his seniors can cap their careers with a memorable campaign. "It's their last year, so you certainly feel a little more obligation to those guys to do everything you can for them to have a successful season," said the coach. "The pressure I feel is to make sure I do whatever I can in terms of organizing and overseeing everyone's preparation and making decisions to hopefully put guys in a position to be successful so that the seniors can be on a team that reaches its potential."