SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - With three starting pitchers and six position players returning, the Western New England College baseball program looks forward to another successful campaign in 2010.

Last year the College posted a 30-17 mark for the program’s fifth 30-win season since 2004. The Golden Bears repeated as The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament champions and earned its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Championship and sixth visit since 2001. Competing in the New York Regional, the Golden Bears defeated No. 20 Ithaca (16-5) before dropping close contests to Rensselaer (3-1) and Clarkson (5-2).

Heading the list of returning players this spring are senior tri-captains, outfielder Steve Kearney, first baseman Joe Griglun, and shortstop Justin Walz.

Kearney, who hit a career high .364 last year, has been a mainstay in the outfield for three seasons. Walz took over at shortstop a year ago after starting at second and enjoyed an outstanding campaign with a.356 average and a .477 on-base percentage as the team’s leadoff hitter. He earned All-TCCC honors and was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team. Griglun also earned All-TCCC honors after hitting .351 with 46 runs-batted-in.

The Golden Bears also return two juniors who hit over.400 hitters, second baseman Andrew Fatse (.420) and third baseman Tony Trubia (.402).

Fatse led the team in several offensive categories in his first season with the program, including average (.420), RBIs (68), slugging (.636), and total bases (103). He capped a great year by earning a spot on both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III (Second) and d3baseball.com (Third) All-America Teams. Trubia set a school record with 70 hits and and made both TCCC First Team and New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Second Team.

The coaching staff also is excited with the return of junior catcher Jason LeClerc and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Tom Bouvier who hit .323 in his rookie campaign.

Senior Matt Roger (5-3, 4.20 ERA), junior Evan Michaud (4-3, 2.93 ERA), and sophomore Mark DiTommaso (6-1, 3.35 ERA) head the pitching staff. Sophomore Mike Lawlor (1-1, 3.27) was very effective out of the bullpen and will be counted on once again to anchor the bullpen.

“Back-to-back conference championships in our first two years in the league is a real source of pride for this program,” said veteran coach Matt LaBranche. “As always, this year’s team is focused on returning to the NCAA tournament and competing for a regional championship.”

Western New England College will open its season for the first time with a visit to Long Island to meet last year’s New York Regional champion Farmingdale State on March 6. The Golden Bears will then play six games in the RussMatt Greater Phoenix Invitational in Arizona from March 13-18 during spring break.

LaBranche noted that the challenging schedule will prepare his team for its TCCC title defense. “This year’s team offers a nice mix of youth and experience, he stated. We have a lot of strike throwers on the mound and some real depth in the offensive line-up. We should be very tough to beat day in and day out.”