The pieces appear to be there for the Helias Crusaders.
Strong up the middle, good pitching depth, some proven bats - it could add up to a good baseball season this spring.
"We have a chance to be all right this season," Helias coach Chris Wyrick said as the Crusaders prepared for today's 5 p.m. opener against the Fatima Comets at the American Legion Post 5 Sports Complex.
The key component, especially early in the season, will be defense.
"I'm looking for nine guys who can play defense, because they can't beat you if they don't score," Wyrick said. "If you score one and they don't score any, you win."
With senior catcher Alex Barton and junior shortstop Alex Faddoul returning to their positions and the shift of senior Todd Buschjost to center field, the Crusaders have many of the most important positions covered.
Barton is a two-time all-state selection, while Faddoul also earned those honors last season. Buschjost is making the move from second base to the outfield this season.
"We want to use his speed to cut down the gaps," Wyrick said.
Buschjost and junior Clayton Winter figure to be the top pitchers for the Crusaders.
"That's a pretty good 1-2 punch," Wyrick said.
Cole Donaldson, a senior, has opened some eyes in practice and should see a lot of innings on the mound as well.
"He changed his delivery last summer and the ball is really jumping out of his hand," Wyrick said. "The ball is really moving and he's throwing a lot of strikes."
Others who figure to see time on the mound include juniors Kale Gerstner and Ryan Graessle, along with sophomore Drew Boessen.
Buschjost will be flanked in the outfield by junior Nolan Sachse in left and Gerstner in right.
On the infield, Chase Bexten will get the starting nod at first.
The biggest decisions the Crusaders faced as practice began was who was going to get the starts at second and third. Those questions still haven't been answered as games are set to begin.
Ryan Bounds and Will Blankenship, both seniors, are competing with juniors Alex Werner and John McDonald and sophomores Dylan Gaines and Matt Dampf for the starting spots.
"Right now, nobody has separated himself," Wyrick said. "It seems like if one guy has a good day, two or three others do as well."
Wyrick believes it will take a few games for things to sort themselves out.
"After that, I would like to have that set eight players on defense so we know what we're going to get on defense," Wyrick said.
Defense and pitching are always important for the Crusaders.
"If we can make the routine plays and throw strikes, I like our chances," Wyrick said.
Offensively, Wyrick isn't looking for the Crusaders to post a lot of big numbers this season. But he believes they will be consistent.
"We'll be competitive on offense," Wyrick said. "But it's not like we're going to put up nine or 10 runs per game."
The Crusaders will be looking to do the little things, such as moving runners, getting bunts down and taking extra bases, to get on the scoreboard.
The Crusaders look to use their overall team speed to their advantage.
"We have some guys who can run, we're going to try to use that as much as possible," Wyrick said. "We're not going to sit back and wait for home runs."
Josh Feather, a senior, will be a key player off the bench to help the offense.
The biggest change in the offseason was the Crusaders dropping down to Class 4.
"You don't have three of the biggest high schools in the state (Jefferson City, Hickman and Rock Bridge) in your district, you knew one of those was almost always going to be the team to beat," Wyrick said.
"There are very good teams in Class 4. It doesn't get any easier, but it gives us a chance to compete against schools our same size. The depth should be the same among the teams to help even things out."
The drop hasn't changed the schedule, which will still feature several games against the largest schools in the area.
Helias is now in a district that includes Bolivar, Buffalo, Eldon, School of the Osage and Southern Boone. None of those teams are on the Crusaders' schedule
"We tried, but we just couldn't get it to work out," Wyrick said. "It wasn't from a lack of trying."
Helias will host Boonville on Thursday before heading to Florida for a series of games next week.