WARDSVILLE - Nobody has to tell the Blair Oaks Falcons which team won the Class 3 state championship last season.
The players are well aware it was Mountain Grove, the team that ended the Falcons' season with a 7-5 win in the sectionals.
"They're very driven by that," Blair Oaks coach Travis Henke said. "We use it as an example a lot during practices, just to keep it fresh in their mind of how close they were to winning a state title or moving on to the next round. You can tell it eats at a few of them a lot."
Blair Oaks brings back four all-conference players from last year's squad, which posted a 23-7 record and won the program's first district title since 2012.
Jason Rackers, a returning all-state first team pitcher, is looking to succeed Austin Herigon as the Tri-County Conference pitcher of the year. The senior right-hander retired all three batters he faced during last Friday's Jamboree against the Jefferson City Jays, two via strikeout.
"He's every coach's dream pitcher," Henke said. " He's a big, strong kid who throws hard, and around this area, that gets a lot of guys out.
"I need him to be not only a leader on the mound, but a leader on the defense."
The Falcons will have plenty of depth on the mound this season. Henke will also turn to seniors Ryan Paschal, Ethan Rackers and Thomas Verslues. Paschal will be in the starting rotation, while Henke looks for Verslues to eat up innings and for Ethan Rackers to be a relief pitcher.
Blair Oaks will also have a pair of left-handed pitchers with Tyler Swehla and Colton Hoelscher.
"He is the guy who we're looking at to take Austin's spot on the left side," Henke said of Swehla. "We need him to throw strikes and be dominant."
Mason Gipe, who will start in center field, and Parker Bax also threw for the Falcons during last week's Jamboree.
Paschal, also a returning all-conference and all-state player for Blair Oaks, will start at shortstop, while Ethan Rackers will play second base.
"He's a very good defensive guy at shortstop for us," Henke said of Paschal. "He just needs to be a leader when he's on the mound."
Behind the plate, the Falcons will split time between Brenden Brown and Garrett Welschmeyer, who suffered a right ACL injury late in the football season but will be ready to go when Blair Oaks opens the season today against Eugene at 12:15 p.m. and Camdenton at 2:30 p.m., with both games taking place at Camdenton.
"You don't hear of many guys coming back in under six months from an ACL surgery," Henke said. " He's released to do everything: swing, run, throw, whatever it may be."
Jason Rackers and Swehla will work at first base, while Bryce Kempker will be on the other side of the diamond at third base.
Joining Gipe in the outfield will be Nolan Hair, Tyler Gish, Swehla, Hoelscher and Brown.
"We have a few guys who are going to take over one of the corner spots, and even in center field if Mason needs a breather," Henke said.
With several players capable of playing multiple positions, Henke has been able to experiment with various fielding rotations in the preseason. The mixing and matching could continue into the first week of the regular season as well.
"We've got a lot of athletic ability on this team," Henke said. "It shows that 90 percent of our starters played football or basketball. If a guy is playing two sports and having success with both, they're a good athlete.
"We have a lot of depth with athleticism, and that's something you can't coach."
Henke was also pleased with his team's hitting at the Jamboree, especially given the cold weather.
"At times, I thought we hit very well," Henke said. "Our 1-5 guys, they squared balls up and put them in play. We're just trying to get all nine guys to be on the same page and have the same approach. It just takes time."
Blair Oaks won't get a chance to face Mountain Grove in the postseason again this year. The Falcons have moved up to Class 4 for the next two years and will be in the same district as Helias, which was also a district champion last year and is ranked No. 5 in the MHSBCA preseason rankings.
"We're going to have to work harder with Helias and Southern Boone in the district," Henke said. "I'm not very familiar with Sullivan, St. James, Salem and Owensville, but they're good ballclubs and they have a history of having good ballclubs.
"It's just going to make us have to work harder, and I think they're capable of doing it."
Blair Oaks will play Monday at New Bloomfield before hosting Vienna and Linn next Saturday for their home opener.