After struggling through a 20-36-1 season in 2005, the Sacramento State baseball team looks to bounce back and make a name for themselves in a prominent NCAA conference.

The Hornets are the newest addition to the Western Athletic Conference, a conference that features the likes of San Jose State, Hawaii, and nationally ranked Fresno State.

For the 28th consecutive season, the Hornets will be lead by Head Coach John Smith. Joining Smith in the dugout this season are pitching coach Jim Barr, and Don Barbara. Barbara joins the staff this season after seven years as an assistant coach at Long Beach State.

“It’s great, I love it here,” Barbara said of Sac State. “It’s different here, but it is a good different.”Barbara a former two-time All-American first baseman at Long Beach will coach third base for the Hornets and is in charge of hitting and recruiting for the team.

“We are a better team than last years team,” Barbara said. “Being in the WAC is a great opportunity for us to make a name for Sac State.”

Barbara has implemented his style of hitting this season hoping to improve Sac State’s offense, which featured only one .300 hitter last season, and a team batting average of .251.

Barbara said every hitter is different and he wants players to stay comfortable within themselves, and he explained that if this leads to a few balls off the parking garage, “Well we gotta be happy with that.”

A major key to offensive success for the Hornets this season will be the performance of senior outfielder Jim Strombach. Strombach, who started in every game for the Hornets last season, was second on the team with a .291 batting average and led the Hornets in several offensive categories including stolen bases (15), runs scored (33), and hits (68).

Along with solid production from Strombach, the Hornets hope that seniors Brian Conradi, Brian Blauser, and Pat Keiper can also have good seasons with the sticks. All three finished last season batting above .260.

Also returning to the Hornets is Taylor Watanabe. As a freshman last season, Watanabe played in 34 games, 21 of the starts, and led the Hornets with a .313 batting average.

The Hornet pitching staff looks to improve upon a team ERA last season of 4.99. Gone from last year is staff ace Ethan Katz, who was drafted in the 26th round by the Colorado Rockies.

The Hornets staff this season features four seniors in Matt Campbell, Kyle Christiansen, Travis Kane, and James Wheeler. Campbell started in 13 games for the Hornets last season, and finished the year fourth on the team in ERA, second in strikeouts at 51. He also led the staff with 2 complete games.

Kane, started 11 games for the Hornets last season and finished the season with a 3-5 record and opponents batting average of .276.

The Hornets schedule this season features many key non-conference games against prominent opponents like Stanford, California, and No. 6 ranked Oregon State. The Hornets have had past success against powerful teams, including a victory over Stanford in 2004 and a victory over top-5 Arizona last season.

The Hornet roster this season features 13 seniors, 12 juniors, 4 sophomores, and one freshman. The Hornets open their season this Saturday against rival UC Davis at 1 p.m. in Davis.

Josh Oates can be reached at [email protected]