First-year Manager Eric Frese is ready for 2007

The Show-Me State would have been the appropriate place for the UW-Platteville baseball team to open the new season, as the Pioneers will debut a new coach, a new field and plenty of new faces in 2007.

First-Year Manager Eric Frese leads the Pioneers into action Saturday, Feb. 24 in Fulton, Mo. UWP faces Rockford at 2 p.m. and host Westminster at 5 p.m. in single nine-inning games. (Updated Feb. 22 - those games have now been cancelled.)

"We've been practicing pretty well, and we're excited to get outside and see where we're at," said Frese, who coached the previous eight seasons at Clarke College. "I know we've lost a number of players from last year's team, so we're anxious to see where we stand with the new guys and the healthy guys."

The Pioneers lost nine players from last year's 19-19 team and will be further hampered by season-ending injuries to senior catcher Mike Flood (.301, 4 HRs, 29 RBIs), outfielder Alex Siehoff (.314), first baseman Mike Luchterhand (.254) and pitcher Bill Bulaga (5-3).

"On the positive side, we're pretty happy with where our younger players are right now," Frese said. "Several of the guys who didn't get a lot of time last year surprised us with how much they've improved. We have guys who may not have experience but excite us."

One player with plenty of experience is junior Ross Bennett, coming off one of the best seasons in Pioneer history. Bennett hit .385 with a school-record 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. He earned all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA III Midwest Region honors. He will switch from outfield to first base to anchor an infield that also includes juniors Jerod Haxton (.219, 83 assists in 33 starts) and Nick Aplin (.255), both of whom are two-year letterwinners. Jaxton will move from second to shortstop while Aplin will man third base. Sophomore Jacob Bandy and freshman Jason Jacobson are competing at second base.

With Flood's injury, Scott Dybevik is the lone senior. The centerfielder hit .245 and scored 24 runs while starting 26 games. Junior Gabe Neitzel (.305), who tied an NCAA III record with two triples in the same inning vs. UW-Superior, looks to open in left field, with Madison Area Technical College transfer Mike Kuhn bringing a power bat to right field, and freshmen Derrick Rice pushing for playing time. Sophomore Matt Paulus, freshman Wade Axelson and College of Lake County transfer Aaron Ciaburri are in the mix for the catcher position.

Ross Bennett had 10 HRs in 2006

Among the returning pitchers are Kyle Mack (2-3, 4.29 ERA), who was in the rotation as a freshman, and juniors Jay Lindner (0-0, 0.77) and Kyle Brudos (1-1, 2.01). Joe Lange (0-1 in 13 games) leads a host of talented sophomores. Mike Davis, who was 4-3 as a freshman in 2005, returns from an injury that sidelined him last spring.

"We feel we have the arms to get guys out, but these guys just don't have the experience yet," Frese said. "Pitching could turn out to be a real strength for us."

Another strength will be having a home field again. After playing all 38 games on the road in 2006, the Pioneers will christen the new Kendall Murray Field this spring. Located on the upper portion of campus, the complex will be the first baseball-only field for the Pioneers, as the former field used to double as football and soccer practice fields in the fall. UWP will debut its new field March 27 vs. Dubuque.

"There will be a lot of excitement when we get on the new Kendall Murray Field," Frese said. "We didn't get on the field in the fall, so it will be an exciting moment for our guys when we get on it for the first time. It's a beautiful facility, one that will rank up with any that we'll play on."

Frese is assisted by second-year coaches Mike Harmon and Rick Place and first-year assistant B.J. Miller.