HUNTSVILLE — Fresh off winning their third straight Southland Conference tournament championship and another NCAA regional appearance, the Bearkats are preparing for baseball season with an all-too familiar task of having to fill the voids left behind from players who made significant contributions.

That has been the challenge the Kats have faced the past couple of seasons.

“Obviously, we lost a lot,” said second baseman Braeden Riley, who tied for the most hits (111) in the country last season. “That’s been the case the past couple of years. It seems every year we’re losing more and more guys.

“In losing something, you know you gain a lot of new things. Different guys have different talents and different tools.

“From what we’ve seen so far, as far as team chemistry goes, it seems we’re a better bonded team. I feel that as a whole everyone’s kind of bought into the system. That’s the most important thing.”

The Bearkats had to replace their entire outfield last season and went 18-14 in conference play with a 32-22 overall mark in the regular season. The Kats earned the seventh seed in the SLC tournament and swept through the tournament for the third straight season. They upset top-seeded Texas State 7-1 in the championship game at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi.

The Kats, though, had a short stay in the NCAA Houston Regional, getting eliminated in two games by Rice and Xavier.

To get back to the conference tournament for a chance to win their fourth straight title, the Kats will have plenty of work to do. That quest begins tonight in Fort Worth when the 2010 season starts against nationally ranked TCU.

“We have a lot of unanswered questions because we’ve got to replace seven position players,” SHSU head coach Mark Johnson said this week. “We think we’ll have a chance to compete.

“We’re not going to be as good now as we will 20 games in, but I think a lot of coaches around the country will say the same thing.”

A couple of offensive holes are ones that need to be filled left by graduating seniors Nick Zaleski and Mark Wyatt. Zaleski hit .419 and drove in 57 runs last spring. Wyatt batted .327 and blasted 14 home runs with 55 RBIs.

Looking to step into those shoes are several freshmen and junior college transfers.

Juniors Daniel Nottebart and Taylor Davis, a transfer from LSU who redshirted last season, will start the season splitting time at first base.

Johnson expected John Hale to take Wyatt’s place behind the plate, but Hale requires Tommy John surgery on his arm.

“We’ve got another catcher, Doug Oney, but he broke his hand in the fall so we didn’t get to see much of him. We’ve also got Brandon Yates, who’s a returner and been in our system and knows what we’re doing,” Johnson said.

Ryan Mooney will fill the void at shortstop left by Jon Reed, who failed to make grades in the fall, and Riley make up the middle infield.

Freshmen Kevin Miller from Pearland will start at third base and Jessie Plumlee from Rowlett will also see action there.

Junior Mark Hudson will start at center field. Michael Heard, who redshirted last season after transferring from Texas A&M, sophomore Tyler Fiebrich, a transfer from Galveston College, and senior Jared Wondra look to step in to fill positions in the outfield.

“We’ve got a lot of names,” Johnson said. “It’ll be a little bit interesting in that we’ll have some left-right situations.”

Unlike the everyday position players, the pitching staff remains mostly intact.

“I think coach (Chris) Berry has done really well in preparing us for the season as he’s done every year,” said reliever Matt Shelton, who was named the conference tournament MVP last May after pitching 9 1/3 scoreless innings, including 5 2/3 innings of work in the championship game. He will take over duties as the Kats’ primary closer.

“I think our arms are healthy. We’ve got good guys that can start games. We’ve got guys who can pitch in the middle of games and ones, like myself, to help finish games. It’s our time to shine.”

Johnson expects to see big things out of starting pitcher Dallas Gallant.

Gallant had a bit of a sophomore slump, posting a 4-4 record in nine starts with an earned run average of 6.52 last year. Those numbers pale in  comparison to his freshman season where he was 9-4 in 11 starts with a 4.98 ERA.

Gallant, though, had a productive summer playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He earned a spot in the Cape Cod All-Star Game and pitched an inning in historic Fenway Park.

“It’s time for (Gallant) to step up,” Johnson said. “Dallas will be one of our key guys and we’ll try to keep Matt Shelton in that closer role.

“That’s all incumbent upon the starters to get us to that spot. If Matt’s not going to be a factor, then he’s going to have to be a starter. He’s our best relief pitcher and that’s where we want to keep him.”

The Bearkats also have a number of other pitchers they will rely on to be effective this spring.

“We’ll see Jordan Westra, who is coming off surgery last year and didn’t get to throw a lot,” Johnson said. “Justin Jackson is coming on and (Brent) Powers will be there. We’ve just got to keep him healthy.

“We’ve also got Jacob McMurtry, a redshirt freshman, and Will Murray, another freshman.”

The Bearkats start the season with a three-game weekend series at 11th-ranked TCU, which has won the Mountain West Conference championship the past four years. SHSU plays its home opener on Tuesday against Prairie View A&M. 

“We’re a little tired of playing each other,” Riley added. “It’s real nice to get to go out and play somebody with a different color jersey on. Obviously they’re going to be a good team to start off with, but that’s what you want. You want a challenge.”