Print edition: 
Seventeen new faces. The loss of three key players. A schedule that has 28 baseball games against teams that were ranked last season.
Enough to have a coach crying the blues, right?
Not if you're Newman manager Leonard Rau.
"I think we will be much improved, both on offense and defense," said Rau, whose Jets open the season Monday at St. Edward's in Texas.
Rau is having to deal with the loss of .400-hitter Jeff Hutton, who is out with mononucleosis.
"He will be evaluated in about a month. We will know more then. He's lost a lot of weight,'' Rau said.
Adam Clerici, who was expected to be the closer, signed with the California Angels late last summer.
Kyle Burkhardt, who was counted on as a starting pitcher, is out with elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.
Four starters return, but two will be playing new positions.
Shortstop John Bonebrake will move to center.
"He's fast and is a good fit for center,'' said Rau.
Another shortstop, Ryan Peterson, will move to second base.
Brandon Cox will return to play the outfield, and Trent Bierman will be back at catcher.
Picos Soto, who sat out last season with a back injury, will play short, along with Brett Delcambre.
Kori Melo will play third.
"Melo plays hard. He fields well, and he hits,'' Rau said.
Mike Williams and Jeff Oldenburg will play first.
Jay Hall, Thomas Robulack, Brandon Dene, Brock Helfrich and Matt Cardona will get time in the outfield.
Steven Trevino, who will begin his fourth season as a starter, will anchor the pitching staff.
"Steve throws a lot of strikes. He keeps us in the game,'' Rau said.
Others expected to start are Brent McKinnon, Kenny Licea and Jacob Burch. Zach Biery is expected to be the closer.
Notes — Former Newman coach Paul Sanagorski will be inducted into the Kansas Hall of Fame on Saturday.... The Heartland Conference will conduct its first postseason tournament May 6-10 at the University of Texas.
Schedule
February
Monday—at St. Edward's (2), noon; Tuesday— at St. Edward's, noon. 6— at Incarnate Word (2), 1 p.m.; 7— at Incarnate Word (2) noon. 13— Lincoln (2), 1 p.m.; 14— Lincoln, 1 p.m.; 16— Pittsburg State, 3 p.m. 19— St. Mary's (2), 3 p.m.; 20— St. Mary's (2), noon. 26— at Texas A&M International (2), noon; 27— at Texas A&M International (2), noon.
March
2—Sterling, 7 p.m.; 6— at Oklahoma Panhandle (2), noon; 7— at Oklahoma Panhandle (2), noon; 11— Central Christian, 7 p.m. 13— Texas-Permian Basin (2), 2 p.m. 14— Texas-Permian Basin, 1 p.m.; 19— St. Edward's (2), 1 p.m.; 20— St. Edward's (2), noon; 26— Incarnate Word 92), 5 p.m.; 27— Incarnate Word, 1 p.m.; 31— at Arkansas-Fort Smith, 4 p.m.
April
3—at Lincoln (2), noon; 4— at Lincoln (2), noon; 9— at St. Mary's (2), 2 p.m.; 10— at St. Mary's, noon. 16— Texas A&M International, 5 p.m.; 17— Texas A&M International (2), noon; 20— Arkansas-Fort Smith (2), 5 p.m.; 22— Oklahoma Panhandle (2), 5 p.m.; 23— Oklahoma Panhandle, noon; 30— at Texas-Permian Basin (2), 1 p.m.
May
1—at Texas-Permian Basin (2), noon. 6-10— Heartland Tournament at Austin.
