You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.

That old baseball adage has never been more true than when spoken about the 2008 Westmont Warriors.  Of the 32 active players on the roster, 18 are brand new to the program.  Head coach Scott Deck was hired in December 2006 — too late to recruit for last season.  But he and his staff have worked tirelessly to put together a fine recruiting class this year.

“Across the board we are better — defensively, on the mound, at the plate,” said Deck, who played for Westmont in 1996 and ‘97.  “It’s just a matter of putting those things together, staying healthy and playing at a higher level consistently.”

Senior infielder Anthony Martinez, one of four team captains, said team unity already is paying off.

“We’ve come together as one unit really quick,” he said. “A lot of credit has to go to the coaches, making sure we are incorporating each other in everything we do, and to the players themselves, making an effort to be sure it is one cohesive effort.”

Senior Cody Chapman, another team captain, agreed and said expectations have been raised.

“I see this year being a big turnaround year,” he said. “We have great team chemistry and I think this is the year that we start turning things around.”

Since the beginning of school in September, the team has been working hard to turn those increased expectations into reality. As a source of inspiration and reminder, the team has taken on the motto, “Deserve to Win.”

“I think it is fitting for where we are as a program,” Deck explained. “We can’t be whining about what we don’t have, we need to go out and deserve to win. We are in this process of forming who we are …

“If we are playing the game the right way and doing everything we can on the practice field, in the classroom and in the community, we are going to deserve to win and put ourselves in a position to win.”

Pitchers

“We now have 14 pitchers on our pitching staff,” Deck said.  “We had seven last year. As a whole, I think our pitching staff is very competitive.  We won’t have to leave a guy on the mound longer than he should be, like we have in the past.  We have a lot of options now.”

One of those new options is junior right-hander Max Gutierrez, a transfer from Ventura College who serves as another of the team captains.

“Max will come in and be one of our main pitchers,” Deck said. “He’s a big right-handed pitcher who throws very hard.  He is a competitor and has a very good mentality on the mound.”

Returning to the mound for the Warriors is senior right-hander Jon White, who posted a 7.31 ERA in 2007. White led the team with 50 strikeouts while giving up only 27 walks in 60 innings of work.

Joining White and Gutierrez is senior right-hander Erik Gaustad, who, although recruited as a pitcher, played at first base his first two seasons.  As a junior, Gaustad posted a 9.38 ERA in 47 innings of work.  As a hitter, he recorded a .313 batting average in 163 at bats and had 16 runs batted in.

Sophomore Tim Crabbe, another rightie, also returns after notching a 3-5 record as a freshman.  Posting a team-low 6.93 ERA in 2007, junior right-hander Kellen Skersies will look to help Westmont keep its opponents off the scoreboard.  Skersies is also a team captain.

Three freshmen right-handers could also provide the Warriors with some important innings — Kyle Noe of St. Joseph High in Santa Maria, Keith Johnson and Chris Plance.

“Kyle is a middle-relief guy with a good fast ball,” Deck said. “We are also working Kyle at catcher.”

Three southpaw returnees will help the Warriors mix up their look on the mound — seniors Brandon Downs and John Evans, and junior Jon Sakoda.  Downs led the team with 24 appearances in 2007 and posted an ERA of 8.35 in 50 2/3 innings of work. New to the staff are left-handers Ian Lawler and Matt Moore, who went to Oaks Christian High in Thousand Oaks.

Expected to serve as Westmont’s closer this year is junior right-hander Matt Boujikian, who will play in the infield.

Catchers

Sophomore Luke Montzingo will resume his duties behind the dish.  Montzingo hit .223 last season and had 12 RBIs.  He also led the team with nine steals.

“Luke Montzingo is our starting catcher,” Deck said. “He has improved both at the plate and behind the plate.”

Backing up Montzingo will be sophomore Ryan Haddock and freshman Ryan Peacock of La Mirada.

Infielders

Martinez, who drove in 16 runs during his junior year, will be a staple in the infield.

“Anthony will start the season playing at shortstop but will probably settle in at second base,” Deck said. “Robert De Leon is a transfer from Ventura JC.  He can flat-out hit and plays a very consistent shortstop.  He’s recovering from an injury but will be our starting shortstop when he returns.”

Third base is expected to be manned by freshman Jordan Bottenfield.

Also competing for a starting spot in the infield will be senior Phillip Valle, who hit .364 in 151 at bats last season and drove in 18 RBIs.  Aided by two home runs, a triple and six doubles, Valle posted a team-best .457 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage.

Junior David Stout and freshman Colten Christianson are among those who will compete to start at first base. Rounding out the infielders are transfers Mark Boujikian and Luke Yardy.

Outfielders

“The outfield is where we have the most depth,” Deck said. “We had a really good outfield recruiting class.”

The only returning outfielder is junior Derek Fuggitt, who posted a .271 batting average while driving in 10 runs. Also tabbed as a potential starter, in left, is junior transfer Taylor Grace. Another potential starter is freshman Brent Meschuk, freshman Taylor Maddox is likely to start in center field and Deck has tapped freshman Terrell Wong has the starting right fielder.

“Terrell has a cannon from the outfield,” Deck said. “He runs extremely well, he’s a good defensive outfielder and he has good bat control.”

Sophomore Charles Whitman and freshman Pete McCarthy will also take the field for the Warriors.

Offense

The 2007 Warriors recorded a .262 season batting average — a number that Deck hopes will change dramatically.

“Our goal is to be at the .300-mark for team batting average,” he said. “I want us to cut down strikeouts and put that ball in play.  If we do that, the team batting average will take care of itself.”

Critical to meeting that goal will be Chapman, who missed the first two-thirds of the 2007 campaign with an injury but still ended up as Westmont’s batting-average leader.

Deck, who values the small-ball approach to the game, also hopes to see a dramatic increase on the base paths.  Last year, the Warriors stole only 24 bases.

“In terms of speed, the difference between last year and this year is night and day,” he said. “We probably have six or seven guys with the potential to steal 10 or more bases.”

Schedule

With the majority of the schedule taken up by Golden State Athletic Conference games, the Warriors know every game is critical.

“Obviously, our league is about as good as it gets,” Deck said. “Every game for us is our toughest game of the year, and I love it.  Our guys are excited because we had a great off-season.  We were 12-0 in the off-season. They’re chomping at the bit to get going.”

Westmont’s nonconference season consists of two games with California Lutheran, two with UCSB, one against Wesleyan (Conn.) and one against Occidental. Last week’s season-opening double-header with Cal State San Marcos was rained out and is not expected to be rescheduled.

Ron Smith is Westmont College‘s sports information director.