Baseball season is just around the corner and no one is more aware of that than new University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Head Coach Scott Doffek, who will be leading the Panthers after 12 years of being an assistant to Jerry Augustine.

In the Horizon League coaches poll, which includes six coaches, the 2006 league runner-up Panthers, 32-25 a season ago, were picked to finish third in 2007.

The University of Illinois-Chicago was picked to finish first in the pre-season rankings with four of the first place votes. The Flames, which finished 35-20 last season, will be looking to win their sixth straight regular season championship.

The pre-season second-place team picked was the Wright State Raiders, which claimed the Horizon League Tournament Championship last season when they outscored their opponents 52-5 in just four games. The Raiders earned the last two first-place votes after putting up a 32-27 record just a season ago.

Rounding off the fourth through sixth positions in order were Butler, Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Horizon League baseball only consists of six teams, unlike basketball, which has nine “ soon to be 10 with the addition of Valparaiso.

The newly coached Panthers lost to graduation 10 players, two of whom went on to play professional ball. There are five everyday starters returning for the Panthers and five other players who earned playing time in 2006.

Juniors Jesse Hart and Grant Berkovitz will be returning to hold up a solid middle infield at second base and shortstop. Both had phenomenal sophomore seasons, with Hart hitting .315 with 23 extra base hits and 39 RBIs, while Berkovitz hit .298, but was injured throughout the season, limiting his playing time.

Third base will have split time between senior Kyle Silver and sophomore Andy Hetebrueg. With the exit of first baseman Joe Nowicki, the position will be tested throughout the season but will likely be filled by Josh Groves, with newcomer Shawn Wozniak most likely seeing some playing time.

The most damage to Milwaukee“s line-up was at the mound. UWM will be looking at its young pitchers to get the job done. Having only three returning pitchers and 10 newcomers, the line-up will be changing a lot throughout the season.

Coming back for the Panthers will be Mike Rauwerdink, who went 4-4 with 50 strikeouts last season; Kelby Mack, who went 3-2 with two saves; and Robert Michalkiewicz, who went 2-6 with 29 strikeouts.

Behind the plate will be sophomore Dan Buchholz, who started 19 games last season. Backing Buchholz will be newcomer Shawn Wegner, a redshirt freshman.

UWM“s most talented position will be the outfield. The Panthers return two of three starters from last year“s outfield, which included Ross McCoy and Rob Brockel. Combined they accounted for 18 home runs and 95 RBIs in 2006. Possible starters for the third position will include juniors Nick Wichser, John Sarcia and Troy Vesling, sophomore Tim Patzman and all-state Nicolet freshman Sam Sivilotti.

The UWM baseball team will be beginning its season in Arkansas on Feb. 16, playing the forth-ranked Razorbacks, according to the Collegiate Baseball poll. They play a three-game series to open the season followed by another three-game series in Kentucky at the beginning of March.

The Panthers“ first home game is on April 6 against Butler, at Henry Aaron Field at 2 p.m.

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