It was hard to know what John Smith had back in January.

The Hornet manager, entering his 26th season as the head of the baseball program, knew he had a bunch of new players, but that’s all he really could say.

And you couldn’t blame him for not knowing. The program had lost three of its best players the spring before and this new roster was filled with new faces and more than anything, uncertainty.

But first the bright spots. One of the new faces to the starting pitching staff, Ethan Katz, quickly stood out as the team’s ace. The transfer from East Los Angeles quickly made himself comfortable.

When Katz pitched, you knew the Hornets would have a real shot to win, no matter who they were playing.

Case in point, a 2-1 win over No. 2 ranked Stanford on Apr. 24, the Hornets most satisfying moment of the season, behind the complete game heroics of Katz.

It wasn’t that Katz overpowered opposing hitters with Roger Clemens-like heat. It was the way he picked apart hitters with pinpoint control, that would often leave catcher Buddy Morales raving afterwards.

It was the way he would scatter seven or eight hits, but leave those runners stranded at second or third base, closing the door shut at the sign of a threat.With an 8-5 record, including four complete game wins, Katz will likely have a shot at another this weekend in the final series of the season.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, when Katz wasn’t on the mound this team struggled badly. It’s as simple as that.

It was visible when the team started the season strong at 9-4, but then dropped seven of their next nine games.

The slide dropped the Hornets to maybe where they really belonged: right around the .500 mark. Their record would hover right around there for most of the season, until the final stretch where the pitching woes really became evident.

Coming into to the Katz-led Stanford win, the Hornets had lost five straight, while being outscored 60-14 combined in those five losses.

And just three days after Katz’s admirable outing to knock off Stanford, the Hornets hosted the struggling 22-25 Cal Golden Bears. Cal handed the Katz-less Hornets maybe the worst loss ever seen at Hornet Field, 25-3.

While the pitching struggled, the lineup lacked the power it had relentlessly unleashed a season ago.

Gone are Mikela Olsen and Jesse Schmidt, whose combined 32 home runs in 2003 would leave opposing pitchers wincing. Jack Arroyo and John Acha both led the team with eight home runs each, but couldn’t compare with last season’s team numbers. This season was more like a single here, a double there, and maybe we’ll steal some bases.

But while they didn’t smash the ball, this lineup worked well. Smith implemented a new strategy of “small ball” and it worked. When the games were close, in most cases they weren’t, but when it was late and the game on the line someone would step up with a clutch single or walk.

Acha and Arroyo shined with .313 batting averages, and Craig Johnson’s team leading 36 RBIs seemed to come at the most important times, including the game-winner against Stanford.

While their playoff hopes were shattered weeks ago, at least the Hornets may have another player represented in the Major League draft.

Katz’s chances look strong, the only real symbol of consistency in an otherwise roller coaster season.