PLAY BALL!: AREA BASEBALL TEAMS PREPARE TO OPEN SEASONS

Although the local baseball teams figure to compete with the usual parity this season, Notre Dame could be the team to beat.

The Bulldogs lost by one run to Kelly in the district final last year, but the team lost no one to graduation. Chaffee also looks promising, losing just two players from last year's team which went 15-8.

Almost every other team in the area lost key players, including Cape Central which graduated 11 and Class 1A runner-up Oran which lost the whole middle of its defense.

If the weather permits, most teams in the area will begin play on Monday.

NOTRE DAME

When it comes to this year's baseball team, Notre Dame head coach Chris Neff is as giddy as they get.

"In talking to my assistant coach and people who have been around this program, this is as talented as any team in the last few years," said Neff, who replaced Gregg Muench as coach. "We return a really good core of juniors. These guys have their sights on something. I don't think we have any limits."

Leading the Bulldogs, who went 13-9 before losing to Kelly in the district finals last year, will be junior shortstop Josh Eftink and junior catcher Scott Reinagel.

"They are really, really good baseball players and are well known throughout the state," said Neff.

Heading up the pitching rotation will be junior left-hander Brian Obermann.

"(Obermann) has great location and good velocity," said Neff. "And he'll be an every day player as well, either in the outfield or at first base."

Notre Dame's No. 2 starter will be Mark Ostendorf.

Ostendorf is coming off of a 9-0 season last summer, playing for an American Legion team.

"He may be a guy we throw a lot," Neff said. He's very capable and mentally tough.

Other likely starters will be Matt Bollinger at first base, John O'Rourke at second base, Todd Friend in right field and Wesley Steele at third.

Notre Dame opens the season Tuesday at Sikeston

CAPE CENTRAL

With 11 seniors soaking up the majority of playing time on last year's team, this year's Cape Central baseball squad enters the season relatively inexperienced.

But that doesn't mean the Tigers will fold.

"We won't be as deep as we were last year," said Cape Central coach Steve Williams. "But we feel our defense will be better. We feel we have a good nucleus of young kids.

"We don't feel we're in trouble or anything, we just feel it'll take a while to get where we need to be."

Senior left-handed pitcher Matt Welker will likely anchor the starting rotation. Welker saw limited varsity action last year, but was 3-0 with a 4.13 earned run average on the junior varsity.

Right-hander Travis Klipfel will also provide a lot of innings for the Tigers after going 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA last season.

Central ended last year's season with a 20-7 record and was beaten by Sikeston in the district finals.

The Tigers graduated a slew of college-bound baseball players, including Ross Bennett and Craig Ringwald, who both went to Baylor.

Central opens the season Wednesday at home against Chaffee.

JACKSON

The Indians are looking to improve upon last year's 8-14 campaign.

To do that, Jackson coach Sam Sides said the Indians will need more consistent pitching and fielding.

"We need to handle the routine plays more," Sides said. "We don't have any one person who will carry us. Everyone will have to contribute."

Chris Schlick will be counted on to pitch quite a bit, Sides said. Last year, he had the lowest earned run average on the squad, but didn't get much support in the field. Schlick will also play some second base.

Sides will also be giving the pitching nod to senior Josh Koehler this year. Koehler will also play in the outfield.

Senior catcher Ryan Beltz, who started the last half of last season, is one of several key returning position players returning along with outfielder Chris Kohm and second baseman/outfielder Andy Callis.

Cory Daniel, a senior who hasn't played since his sophomore year will compete for time at first base.

Junior Tory Meyr, who started at shortstop last year, will likely return there.

"He's pretty quick," Sides said of last year's No. 2 hitter. "He's not a real pretty hitter, but he gets the bat on the ball and gets the job done."

Jackson's most explosive player, Todd Wessel, is still out with a knee injury that he suffered during football season. The outfielder is expected to return in April.

"He's the fastest guy we've got and he's a good defensive player," Sides said. "We'll be looking forward to having him back."

Jackson will also look to several players who played on the junior varsity last season.

"Nathan Brown has been hitting well this spring and Josh Hopkins looks as well as anybody at this point in the season," Sides said.

Brown can play in the infield or outfield, while Hopkins will probably start at first base.

"We've got good competition," Sides said. "No position is in concrete."

Jackson plays its first game Wednesday at home against Ste. Genevieve.

PERRYVILLE

Seniors Joel Heuring and Shaun Duvall figure to provide a one-two punch of speed and power for the Pirates, who finished last season 14-12.

Heuring hit .420 last year as Perryville's leadoff hitter and is also the team's center fielder.

"We'll be looking for a lot of leadership from him in the outfield," said Perryville coach Dennis Glueck.

Duvall, meanwhile, will provide power at the plate and from the mound. Clocked in the mid-80s, he will be Glueck's No. 1 hurler this season. At the plate, Duvall hit .380 with a team-high seven home runs last season.

"He'll be a big power hitter for me," Glueck said. "We're looking for big things from him."

Perryville's No. 2 pitcher will be Ryan Tweedy, who went 4-1 last year.

"Shaun throws a little harder, while Ryan is a control-type pitcher," Glueck said.

The Pirates will be relying on a freshman catcher this season, Andrew Meyr.

"We're watching him to see how he reacts and we're anxious to see how he adapts," Glueck said. "Hopefully things will work out so I can rely on him for years to come."

Other key players in Perryville's lineup include outfielders Wade Weibrecht, utility player Ryan Wischern, first baseman Travis Mueller and third baseman Scott Engert.

Perryville lost six players to graduation, including Josh Moll and Ben Kohm, who are each playing college baseball.

The Pirates begin play Monday at Ste. Genevieve.

KELLY

Seniors Jim Hulshof and Jason Glastetter spearheaded their basketball team to Kelly's first district title in 16 years.

Now Kelly coach Mike Scott is hoping that the duo can lead the Hawks baseball team to their third district title in three years.

Hulshof and Glastetter will be Kelly's top two pitchers.

Hulshof is 9-0 as a pitcher over the past two years.

Glastetter went 3-2 last season, but was more of a force offensively, batting .421 with two home runs and 21 runs batted in. He is also the team's best base stealer.

"He can flat out run for a guy his size," Scott said.

Two other seniors, Vince Elkins and John Welter were both starters last year and will be counted on heavily.

Sophomore pitcher Justin Simpher will likely throw a lot, especially in the beginning of the season, since Hulshof and Glastetter are somewhat behind schedule with the extended basketball season.

Junior Bradley Kolwyk, a two-year starter in center field, will play a key role in Kelly's success after hitting .391 with 17 RBIs as a sophomore.

Several players will be needed to help fill in the holes left by Denver Stuckey, John Livingston and Ben Klipfel, who all graduated last year.

Stuckey earned a scholarship to play at Southeast Missouri State University.

"Those are some big holes," Scott said. "But it's time for these guys to step up."

Kelly begins the campaign Wednesday at Sikeston.

CHAFFEE

With the number of players returning for Chaffee, the Red Devils could be in position to make some noise come district time.

Chaffee, which went 15-8 last season, returns several seniors who have been starting for a few years.

"We're looking for big things," Chaffee coach Bruce Qualls said. "Most of these kids have been three- and four-year starters."

Jason Harrell is one of those who has started three years. The catcher led the team with a .397 batting average and also belted three homers a year ago.

The Red Devils' No. 1 pitcher Tom Stidham, a junior, also returns after going 7-1 with a 2.22 earned run average and two saves in 1998. Stidham also batted .375 last year.

Sophomore Matt Stroup, as a freshman, batted .333 and boasted a 4-0 record with a 1.95 ERA when he went to the hill.

"He's got a lot of talent," Qualls said.

Other players who will likely play key roles include senior left fielder Garrett Senciboy (.294), senior first baseman/designated hitter Jeremy Vandeven (.281), senior Dusty Leggett (.263, 19 RBI), senior Matt Graham, sophomore Jeremy Lynn, sophomore G.P. Glueck and senior Phillip Blevins.

"I think we'll hit the ball," Qualls said. "If we can play consistently, we'll put some wins on the board. Up and down the lineup we can hit the ball and I think our top four pitchers are as good as there are around."

Chaffee opens the season Wednesday at Cape Central.

SCOTT CITY

The Rams will be guided this season by a foursome of seniors: first baseman/pitcher John Wipfler, center fielder Lance Amick, pitcher/shortstop Brandon Amick and utility player Terry Enderle.

Wipfler, who recently signed to play football at Southeast Missouri State University as a defensive end, led the team with six homers a year ago.

"He's a big guy and he can swing the lumber," Scott City coach Mike Umfleet said.

Amick led the team with a .394 batting average last year.

Aside from the aforementioned seniors and junior catcher Wade Powers, no one has locked in a starting position.

"A lot of positions are open," Umfleet said. "Some young kids will have to step up and play."

Umfleet said 13 freshmen and 10 sophomores are on the team.

In addition to Lance Amick and Wipfler, Lucas Ward will round out the three-man rotation. Ward moved to Scott City from Southwest Missouri.

"They've all been looking pretty good, but it'll be tough this year because we don't have that one guy you can just stick out there like (Tim) Lowery," Umfleet said. "We'll have to rely on defense and score about five or six runs per game.

"I don't have kids who are outstanding players, but I do have about six or seven who are definitely above average. If we stick together, we'll have a good season."

Scott City opens the year March 29 at New Madrid.

ORAN

The only thing that could top last year's season would be a state championship for the Oran Eagles.

Oran took second in Class 1A last year, ending the season at 24-4.

The Eagles lost their top pitcher from a year ago (Justin McAlister), and were gutted up the middle losing their shortstop, second baseman, catcher and center fielder.

But they get their No. 2 and No. 3 hurlers back.

Dustin Dannenmueller will fill in the No. 1 role this year, with Dustin Glastetter being the No. 2.

Dannenmueller went 5-1 with two saves and a 2.31 earned run average last year. Glastetter was 7-2 with one save and a 0.77 ERA.

Adam Friga and Philip Seyer will also see time on the mound.

Offensively, the Eagles lost their leading hitter, Jeff Schaefer (.426) and leading run producer Justin Wierman (20 runs batted in).

But Oran does return several .300 hitters, including Dannenmueller who hit .392 and Chris Nichols who batted .373.

Oran plays its first game Tuesday, hosting Oran.

ST. VINCENT

St. Vincent didn't lose anyone to graduation, so the Indians will try to draw from their experience to improve upon last year's 10-14 record.

Dusty Wengert, a senior, is the team leader. The shortstop/pitcher hit .500 last year and recorded three wins and two saves.

Trent Sauer will be the team's No. 2 starter, with sophomore Derek Kutz rounding out the three-man rotation.

"All of our pitchers are throwers, not pitchers," St. Vincent coach Bruce Valeroy said. "We've got six or seven players who can throw, but no dominant pitchers -- no one who can give you a complete game, game in and game out."

Senior Bryan Meyer will anchor the outfield in center. He hit .350 last year.

Valeroy would like to see his team break even this year.

".500 would be a great mark for us," he said. "We play in a tough (Jefferson County) conference and we play a tough schedule. We want to be able to compete."

The Indians begin the season Monday at Meadow Heights.