Just like last year, the Pitt-Johnstown baseball team’s preseason rank is second in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but they hope for a different outcome this season.

Last season the team finished third in the conference with a 22-25 (19-14) record, which head coach Todd Williams attributes to most of his pitching staff being injured.

“Our pitching was hurting last year, but this, year, everyone on the pitching staff is back from injury and that should help us out a lot.”

This year could be interesting for the team, according to Williams, because they have only two senior starters in the field and 25 freshman and sophomores on the roster.

“We are a young team, but still have the same goal as we always have,” said Williams. “That is to come first in the (conference) and get the automatic NCAA tournament spot.”

The team hasn’t won the conference since the 2008 season when they went 38-19, but the weather has helped out a lot this preseason.

Williams said the 12 practices his team ran in the Point Stadium are the most they have ever had outdoors before the season started.

“The weather has been nice for us, we have practiced outside and it looks like we will get to play our first regular season game scheduled, which we have only done that one other year.”

The season started Feb. 21 with a double header win at the Point Stadium against Clarion University.

Senior captain Drew Westover said he expects the team to do well this season.

“We are deep in pitching and in the field, so, overall, I think we are pretty solid,” he said. “We got a lot of defensive work done outside that you can’t do indoors, and we haven’t gotten that in previous years.”