This could be the year for the Auburn Mountainview baseball team.

It’s been four years since the school opened and turned out a team, and the freshmen who first donned Lion orange and blue in 2005 are now seniors, ready to reap the benefits of four years together.

It all starts on the mound for the Lions, said Glen Walker, who has been the head coach since the program started.

“In 2009 the Lions have a very strong pitching staff,” Walker said.

Auburn Mountainview will rely on the one-two punch of junior Brandon Williams, an all-South Puget Sound League 3A Division first team selection at third base and pitcher last season, and senior Cody Hebner, an all-SPSL 3A second-team utility player and a four-year starter.

“We will be living in the high 80s and low 90s (miles per hour) pretty much every game,” Walker said. “These two young men will carry the load for us.”

The team will also rely on sophomore Steven Johnson and junior Michael Patenaude as the No. 3 and 4 pitchers, both capable of throwing in the high 80s, Walker said.

“The pitching staff is going to be our strong point with our defense always being the part of the game we focus on the most,” Walker continued.

In the field the team will look to senior outfielders Nathan Hostetter, a 2008 SPSL 3A honorable mention, and Michael Winters, a four-year starter for the Lions.

Last year the Lions finished with a 7-12-1 overall record.

The team started this season with four straight victories.

“Early in the season it seems that our weaknesses will be our ability to push across runs in big bunches,” Walker said. “We will most likely work to put pressure on the defense and keep the game moving.

“If the offense contributes to the battle, we could move deep into the playoffs and hopefully make a run at the state tournament,” he added.

AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL TROJANS

This season the Auburn High School baseball team starts the season long on talent and potential but short on varsity experience.

Last year, the Trojans finished in first place in the South Puget Sound League 3A division with a 10-4 league record and a 17-6 overall record. The team reached the 3A state quarterfinals before Kelso eliminated it 10-8 in extra innings. According to first year head coach Ajibah Alastra, only two players with significant playing time have returned from that team.

“Really, there is not one guy who started every game last season,” he said. “This team is really young. There is real inexperience at the varsity level.”

The team returns junior shortstop Travis Hagel, who spent much of last year injured, and outfielder Clayton Brown who started a few games last season. Although Alastra said he hadn’t named any captains, he added that the team is looking to Brown and Hagel to provide on-the-field leadership.

“They are already showing leadership within the team,” he said.

Couple in the inexperience of the team with Auburn’s jump up from 3A to the South Puget Sound League North 4A Division, and the team will need to gain experience fast to continue the tradition of Trojan baseball that has seen an Auburn squad in the state tourney the last three years.

“It’s going to be on-the-job training,” Alastra said. “Every game is going to be really tough. I don’t think there are any easy games on the schedule.”

So far this season, the team has struggled, losing its first three games, but Alastra said he expects the team’s potent offense to break through soon.

“I think our strength is probably our offense,” he said. “We have kind of an even balance of left-handed and right-handed hitters in our lineup.”

“Pitching is a weakness just because of lack of experience on the mound,” Alastra continued. “We only have one guy who has varsity pitching experience, Jacob Carson. He threw a little bit at the varsity level as a sophomore. I would say that is a really important weakness. And that’s going to be a hurdle that we’ll have to overcome.”

Alastra said the team also needs to find its balance in the field.

“The first three games we haven’t been making the routine plays, and that’s hurt us,” he said. “I just think that’s a lack of experience. Everyone except Clayton is playing their first games at the varsity level at their position.”

Despite the team’s lack of playing time, however, Alastra said he still expects big things from his boys.

“At the beginning of the season before we played a game, I told them the only thing I know is getting into the state championships at Auburn High,” he said. “Those are always the two goals — league championships and the state championships. Those are what we work for and strive for.”

AUBURN RIVERSIDE RAVENS

Last year the Ravens finished the season with a 16-7 overall record. The team, led by SPSL 3A Most Valuable Player, Sean Rehon, qualified for the postseason, but Bonney Lake bounced it from the West Central District 3 tourney.

This year, Rehon is playing for the Puyallup Vikings. Also gone is a strong core of senior players, including Mario Marchitto, Kyle Bray, and Josh Hudson.

The team will look to senior catcher Joe Briggs, an honorable mention last season at third base.

Seniors Kyle Rogers and Sam Melick will look to lead the team on the mound, with sophomore Nick Alexander and junior RJ Gius adding their arms to the mix.