If the baseball cliche that "pitching is 90 percent of the game" is true, the La Roche College squad should be well armed for the coming season.

La Roche finished 25-17 last season in Chase Rowe's first as head coach, tied for the regular-season championship in the Division III Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and was the runner-up in the conference tournament.

The Redhawks accomplished all of that without a true No. 1 starter. Instead, lefty Phil Avolio and right-hander Nate Fillip shared that role, but after them, Rowe scrambled to find reliable starters.

That shouldn't be the case this season.

"We have four legit starters this year," Rowe said. "Now, when we have a doubleheader on a Thursday and then have a game the next day, we shouldn't be scrambling for a starter."

Avolio, who was 5-3 with a 4.39 ERA, and Fillip, who was 4-1 with a 4.11 ERA, return. They will be joined by right-hander Max Zingle, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound senior transfer from Pitt, and Anthony Cirocco, a 6-2 lefty from Community College of Allegheny College. In 7 innings for Pitt, Zingle had nine strikeouts, 10 walks and a 3.86 ERA.

Kurt Krejocic, a right-hander who started six games last season and was 3-3 with a 6.99 ERA, might develop into the closer. Ryan De Mary, a right-hander who was 0-2 in two starts last season, also returns and should add depth to the staff as will left-hander Tom Onyshko, who was 1-1 with a 6,41 ERA in nine appearances, three starts.

"I think pitching is going to be a strong suit for us," Rowe said. "We have two righties and two lefties in the top four and that will allow us to mix and match some when we get into the conference. We can go with Zingle, who throws hard from the right side, and then come back with Avoilio, who's a crafty lefty, in the second game of a doubleheader. We'll be able to keep teams off balance with our pitching."

Since this is Rowe's third year with the program -- he was an assistant his first year -- he said players will better know what to expect from him and what he expects of them.

"We lost seven seniors from last season, but I think we're all on the same page," Rowe said. "I feel good about where we are headed."

The Redhawks were in Florida this past week for their annual 10-day, warm-weather swing. Through Wednesday, they were 2-2. They won their first two games, beating Eastern University, 13-6, and Juniata College, 16-13, but lost a doubleheader to Kenyon College of Ohio, 7-3 and 11-3, in Fort Pierce, Fla.

La Roche isn't scheduled to play its first home game until 3 p.m. Wednesday against Saint Vincent.

In the infield, Rowe, a Knoch High School graduate, believes the defense will be a notch above last season. Drew Bosco, a junior from Blackhawk High School, will shift from second base to third after hitting .340 last year. Sophomore Keith Borman, a Penn Hills High School graduate, is moving from right field to shortstop. He hit .333 last season.

The second baseman will probably be Zac Coleman, a junior transfer from CCAC South and a Central Catholic graduate. He was a junior college Gold Glove winner last year. Justin Alessio from Shaler Area will start at first base after hitting .291 with a home run and 19 RBIs in 2007.

Senior Eric McCombie, who hit .311 and drove in 12 runs last season, has a lock on the center field spot. Sophomore Brett Spagnola from Seneca Valley, junior Erik Densmore from Ford City and freshman George Nahay from Thomas Jefferson are competing for the corner spots in the outfield.

Spagnola hit .319 in 38 games last year, while Densmore hit .292 in just 24 at bats.

"We're faster than we were last year and we're going to try and use that to our advantage," Rowe said. "Every year is a learning experience. I'm still trying to get as much knowledge as I can, and every season is a little different from the last."

Sophomore Nick Valadja and freshmen Chester Kirkwood and Marcus Cook are the only catchers on the roster.

In the preseason AMCC coaches poll, La Roche was picked to finish third behind Penn State Behrend and Frostburg State. Pitt Bradford was picked fourth.

"We think we'll be in the hunt for the conference title again this season," Rowe said. "That's the goal after being the runner-up last year.

"With the improved starting pitching, I like our chances. Being picked third in the poll will give us some motivation."