But that’s about it.

With a team fairly inexperienced on the varsity level, the Wildcats are looking to returning left-handed pitchers Michael Lollman and Kevin Lock to keep them in games early on.

“They’re going to have to keep the game close,” said Temple coach Larry Haynes, entering his 23rd year. “Right now we don’t have an explosive offense, so we’re going to have to play station to station and really scratch hard to earn a run. We’ll have to keep games as low-scoring as possible.”

The Wildcats open their season today at Austin Lake Travis with a pair of games in the three-day Centex Hardball Tournament. Temple faces Arlington Bowie at noon and Lake Travis at 5 p.m. Temple also plays two games Friday at Round Rock Westwood and a final pair Saturday in Pflugerville.

The Wildcats field a largely untested team, with only four starters returning from last year’s team that finished 10-17 overall and 4-8 in District 13-5A.

Third baseman Abe Garcia, catcher Zach Crosswhite, center fielder P.J. Dacus and Lollman are the Wildcats’ only returning starters.

Lollman, a senior, had a 2-8 record and a 3.16 ERA. His 48 2/3 innings led the team. Lock, a junior, went 2-2 with a 4.12 ERA.

Though the Wildcats’ 16-man roster is dominated by seniors - 13 in all - not many saw significant varsity time last season.

“We’re hoping to get them some experience and grow up real fast,” Haynes said.

The Wildcats will need to grow up in a hurry if they want to get back to the Class 5A playoffs after missing the postseason for the second straight year.

Haynes said early projections had Belton, Bryan, College Station A&M Consolidated and Harker Heights above the Wildcats in seven-team 13-5A.

For Temple to sneak into one of the district’s four playoff spots, the Wildcats know they’ll need some help.

“Hopefully they’ll beat each other up and we can catch one of them coming off a rough night and we’ll put together a good game,” Haynes said. “We think that our starting pitchers can be quality starting pitchers. I hope we can keep it a close game . . . in a close ballgame anything can happen. That’s what we’re hoping for.”

Lollman said the Wildcats are aware of the projections - but that doesn’t mean they agree with them.

“We’ve just got to go out there and prove everybody wrong,” he said. “We’ve got that us-against-the-world mentality. If we just play how we all know we can play, it doesn’t really matter what everyone else thinks. I know half these guys play better than anybody’s expecting.”

Along with his duties on the mound, Lollman will split time at first base with senior Matt Calhoun. Senior Crosswhite will be the Wildcats’ starting catcher for the second straight season.

At second base, C.J. Reid is penciled in as the starter but will split time with Garcia and Adrian Rodriguez.

Senior Garcia will start at third base, with junior Andrew Rayas at shortstop, replacing Danny Hernandez. Hernandez had been the Wildcats’ best offensive player for the past several seasons.

In the outfield, senior Dacus will start in center, with Cory Ellison in left and Lock in right.

rschneider@temple-telegram.com