2010 SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW: Pinckneyville baseball expects good things

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[After an exciting conclusion to the 2009 season-which included a thrill-packed run to the Class 2A regional championship game-Pinckneyville Community High School's baseball team appears poised for another fine season.

The Panthers, 17-13 a spring ago, welcome back 13 letter winners.

Six of the returnees started for fourth-year coach Alan Engelhardt (81-28).

Standouts Garrick Hale (Shawnee College), Matt Gill (Kaskaskia College) and Thomas McConnell (three-year starter) must be replaced, but Engelhardt's confident in the 2010 Panther squad.

River-to-River All-Conference performers Michael Rakers (sr., 3B-DH), Bryant Shute so., OF-P), Drew Dudek (sr., IF-P) and Adam Barczewski (jr., C) will lead the Pinckneyville line-up, which also includes experienced seniors Jeff Thornton (1B-P) and Landon Chandler (2B).

Christian Shopinski (jr., OF), C.J. Opp (so., P-1B), junior Brandon Long (SS), Matthew Nichols (P-OF, jr.) and Noah Hepp (so., P-OF) are also back.

"I have really been impressed by the leadership and effort so far this spring," Engelhardt said. "I think our experiences last year-and the young kids learning how to win-will really benefit us this year."

Engelhardt-a standout pitcher at PCHS and Greenvile College-who also starred in Du Quoin's now-defunct Post #647 Senior American Legion program-has .300-plus hitters returning in Rakers (.393, 6 HR), Shute (.390), Shopinski (.337, 33 RBI) and Thornton (.311, 4 HR).

On the mound, a youthful staff will rely on Shute (3-0, 4.02 ERA), Dudek (3-2, 2.33 ERA), Opp (2-0, 1.50 ERA), Nichols (2-2) and Hepp (1-1).

"I think if our younger pitchers continue to progress and develop, along with our position players playing as they are capable, we can be pretty scary by the time we reach post-season," Engelhardt concluded.

PCHS opens its 2010 campaign at Mt. Vernon Wednesday.