Texas A&M baseball players need only look back to last season if they are discouraged about opening the 2010 campaign unranked.
A No. 1 preseason ranking in 2009 meant nothing for the Aggies, who ended their season earlier than expected at 37-24, just three games into the Fort Worth Regional.
The Aggies hope to reverse last year's fortunes starting Friday when they open with a three-game series against Seton Hall at Olsen Field.
"Our goals are the same, and that's to finish at the top of the Big 12 and have the opportunity to host come the postseason and do our very best to get to Omaha," A&M head coach Rob Childress said. "This season is no different. We aren't preseason ranked in any poll, and that is something we are going to have to earn each and every day."
While A&M has a solid returning core, the Aggies have only three starters playing the same position, two new weekend starters and a different closer.
Catcher Kevin Gonzalez is back for a third season behind the plate. Adam Smith again will start at shortstop, and Joe Patterson will get most of his at-bats as the designated hitter, where he played last season.
Patterson led A&M in hitting at .386, was third with 12 home runs and second with 52 RBIs despite starting only 33 games.
"He just needs to be productive in the middle of our order and drive in runs like he did for two-thirds of the season last year," Childress said. "For the last six weeks he was as good as anybody I've seen as far as being locked in and getting big hits. That's what we need from him."
Two other Aggie starters are returning but will play in new positions. Brodie Greene will take over for four-year starter Kyle Colligan in center field, and Caleb Shofner, last year's third baseman, will move over to first base where Luke Anders started for three seasons.
For the other positions, Childress said he has 15 players who will get a chance to play during the four weeks of nonconference play. Junior college transfers Matt Juengel and Andrew Collazo are expected to start at third and second, respectively, while the starting corner outfielders should come from Joaquin Hinojosa, Scott Arthur and Brett Parsons.
"Arthur made a major move, is playing with a lot of confidence, improved his swing and could play anywhere on the field for us," Childress said. "When you start talking about guys that have made a jump positionally, I'd say Scott Arthur, and Brett Parsons would be right there behind him."
Kenny Jackson can play either first or third base, while freshmen outfielders Tyler Naquin and Brandon Wood will get playing time.
The major reason the Aggies were a preseason No. 1 last year was the pitching staff. It's also why their season ended when it did.
The Aggies showed off their arms at times last season, breaking a team record for strikeouts with 568 in 539 2/3 innings, but those didn't always equate to wins.
"On the pitching side of things, it was one of the most talented on paper that I've been a part of, but for the last 10 years for me it was the worst numbers from an ERA standpoint that I've been a part of," Childress said. "It was an issue of getting it done when the game was on the line, whether it was on the mound or getting that key hit, and those are things we didn't do well as a group last year."
Former ace Brooks Raley and relievers Alex Wilson and Kyle Thebeau are among the pitchers who are gone. Wilson was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round last summer, while Raley went in the sixth to the Cubs. Raley, who also played right field, appeared to tire as the season went on, while the big inning often proved to be Wilson's undoing.
While the Aggies wait for sophomore Ross Hales to return from last summer's shoulder surgery, their weekend starters will be Barret Loux, Ross Stripling and Nick Fleece.
Loux (3-3, 4.12 ERA) was a weekend starter last year. Fleece seized the closer's job early and finished 4-1 with five saves and ERA of 3.54.
"Barret Loux has been the most improved over the course of the fall and has earned that opportunity for the start on Friday for us," Childress said. "I also feel Nick has an outstanding sinker, slider, and a great feel for the strike zone. He has a chance to chew up a lot of innings."
Stripling had the best ERA of the three at 2.51 but only threw 14 1/3 innings in 2009.
If Loux, Stripling and Fleece can hold down the starting rotation, A&M will use newcomer John Stilson as its closer.
"He's one of our best pitchers, and if [Loux, Stripling, Fleece] can give us five, six, or seven innings and we can use [Stilson] at the end of the game, we'll have a chance to be pretty good on the mound," Childress said, adding that 10-12 other pitchers will get a chance to audition over the next four weeks.
"Every year by the time we get to conference, there will be eight guys we are riding pretty good," Childress said. "If you are using more than that, then you are probably not very good on the mound."
Clayton Ehlert, Shane Minks, Estevan Uriegas and Denny Clement are returning pitchers. Uriegas was the most impressive of the foursome with a 3.09 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.
Hales, originally expected to miss the season, could return for the Aggies' Big 12 opener against Texas Tech on March 19. The tall left-hander who pitched a three-hit shutout against Texas was 6-2 with a 4.11 ERA.
A&M's stolen base numbers have gone down in each of the last two seasons from a record 151 in 2007 to 74 last year. That trend could change this season with speed throughout most of the batting order, especially Green, Arthur and Collazo.
A&M wasn't alone in getting left out by the pollsters. Top-ranked Texas and No. 22 Oklahoma are the only Big 12 teams in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25.
"I hope that as a group the big 12 takes it as a motivating factor," Childress said. "I guarantee you there will be more than one Big 12 team ranked at the end of the season. There will be three or four teams off to great starts, and we expect to be one of those."
Aggie Baseball
What: Season Opener
Who: Texas A&M (37-24, in 2009) vs. Seton Hall (25-24)
When: 6:30 p.m., Friday
Where: Olsen Field
Friday's starters: A&M's Barret Loux (3-3, 4.12) vs. Seton Hall's Joe DiRocco (4-3, 4.46)
Saturday: 2:05 p.m. A&M's Ross Stripling (1-0, 2.51) vs . Seton Hall's Henry Warner (1-2, 4.24)
Sunday: 12:05 p.m. A&M Nick Fleece (4-1, 3.54) vs. Benny Mejia (0-2, 8.39)
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