A youthful team with a pair of seniors, unproven pitching, and for the first time in several years, not a pick for the conference favorite — that’s how the preseason summary of the Bangor High School baseball team reads.

However, as much as some things change, some things stay the same. That’s the case with the 2009 incarnation of Bangor baseball.

“The season is very different,” said Matt Christopherson, the only returning senior letterwinner, “(We’re) just trying to shuffle people around to get the best lineup and with the lack of seniors, I feel that the underclassmen are stepping up well. I feel our strength is our hitting because everybody in our lineup has the ability to hit the ball well.”

In the season opener, the team pounded Wonewoc-Center for 13 hits and 12 runs, possibly quelling any talk of a “down year” for the Cardinals.

For second-year head coach Todd Grant, it was a successful test drive for the team.

“Right now we look pretty confident at the plate, but we can’t take that for granted.” Grant said.“It’s good to know there’s a good lineup. Batters one through nine, we send a hitter to the plate. There’s really no let up inning for the other team.”

Pressure, however, is something that Grant hopes to put on his own team, as well, with a tough nonconference schedule that includes games against Sparta and Aquinas.

“If you’re going to improve, you have to stretch yourself.” he said. “We need to play teams that will expose some things. Strong nonconference or conference teams will expose that.”

Grant is hoping that competing against some different competition will help the team down the road in playoffs, an area in which the Cardinals have struggled recently.

Since making a sectional final appearance in 2006, Bangor has gone 0-2 in postseason play, falling to eventual state champs Aquinas in 2007 and to Westby in 2008.

A key element for success this season and beyond will be pitching.

Even though the Cardinals may not have a lights-out veteran pitcher, Grant is confident in what he does have-an array of capable arms.

Grant listed six potential hurlers in his arsenal for the season — none of whom pitched at the varsity level last season.

“I told the pitchers to keep the ball low and throw strikes,” Grant said. “I almost think it’s more fun not to rely on double-digit strikeouts.”