The West Texas A&M baseball program is ready to kick off its season this Saturday and improve from their 2009 season record of 20-33. The Buffaloes currently hold the No. 10 position in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll and look to face nationally ranked opponents in the upcoming season.
“Angelo and Abilene are always the two toughest teams that we play,” sophomore pitcher Zach Walker said. “Tarleton will be fun this year because we have a new pitcher, Brent Lewis, who came from Tarleton, so we want to beat them pretty bad.”
Walker and senior pitcher Darik Heider will return to the mound this season as the WT pitching rotation. Walker started six games last season with a total of 10 appearances on the field. He registered an 11.27 ERA with 32 strikeouts in his 30.1 innings for a 1-3 overall record. Appearing 10 times with two starts, Heider compiled a 5.25 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 24 innings for a 2-0 record.
“Overall, we have improved on every aspect, pitching and hitting,” Walker said. “We want pitching to be the bread and butter this year. We are going to be a highly offensive team, so we expect big things.”
Along with Walker, four position starters will be returning to the offense to trek towards the championship. Seniors Rob Mann, Heath Baker and Tyson Hickman and junior Brad Elders will be coming back to the Dilla Villa for the 2010 season.
Mann proved to be a force behind the plate as he led the 2009 team in homeruns (12), doubles (18), hits (75), total bases (133), slugging percent (.743) and runs batted in (61). Mann was named to the Lone Star Conference First Team along with gaining a spot on the ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central Region First Team. Mann looks to improve on these statistics in the upcoming season.
“I have set a couple personal goals,” Mann said. “I want to bat over 400, and I want to lead the conference in the area category and help the team get through whatever they need to get through.”
Baker will cover third base for the Buffaloes having led the team in at-bats (206) and runs scored (50) last season.
Hickman returns to the outfield coming off of a .308 batting average with 172 at-bats, 53 hits, 12 doubles and 19 runners batted in total for the 2009 season. Elders will join Hickman in the outfield. Last year, Elders led the team in triples (5) while ranking second in total bases (103).
“We have really good team chemistry,” Walker said. “Everyone gets along real well. We can’t wait to get out on the field and see what we can do.”
The Buffaloes open the 2010 season on February 6th against Howard Paine in Brownwood at 1 p.m.
“I think the upcoming games will be a good feel for us,” Mann said. “I think that we need to find who we are as a team. It’s going to be nice to see some competition.”
LSC play begins for the Buffaloes on February 12th at the Dilla Villa in Amarillo against East Central at 1 p.m.