Another season of Ohio Monarchs baseball is about to begin, but the team still includes many of the players from last year’s championship squad.

Two new goals lie ahead for the 2008 Monarchs: establishing a strong first-year presence in the Toledo NABF college league, and performing community service projects as part of their new affiliation with the Catholic Baseball Players for Christ.

This year’s Blue Team will feature a pair of returning players from Bluffton University, Cody McPherson and Dustin Zizelman. McPherson finished the season for the B.U. Beavers with a .327 batting average, 10 doubles, 5 home runs, and 35.1 innings on the mound. Zizelman helped Blufton’s pitching by striking out 11 in 19 innings of work, primarily in relief.

From Bowling Green State University the Monarchs will have Ryan Price, Dan Parsons, Charlie Wooten, and Phil Hettering . Ryan scored 4 runs for the Falcons while having an on base percentage of .353. He also had 2 doubles and 4 rbi’s in his 14 at bats. Parsons pitched in relief for the Falcons. He compiled 6.1 innings of work and struck out 3. Charlie and Phil will be adding much needed pitching to the Monarchs organization. They have a very busy schedule that will require a large and very deep staff.

From Defiance College the Monarchs pick up 4 players this year in Alex and Brad Timofeev, Casey Kahsen, and Nick Picciano. Alex, the younger Timofeev, had 9 plate appearances for the Yellow Jackets and played a flawless first base. Brad Timofeev put together a .319 batting average through 47 at bats, and pitched well in 53 innings as a starter. Kahsen had a solid season as the Jackets’ catcher with 112 put outs and 37 assists from behind the plate. Picciano started 8 games and threw 44.1 innings. He was also used in relief on a few occasions.

The Monarchs are pleased to welcome back Christopher Pfund from Eastern Michigan University. He was a solid hitter and outfielder for the Monarchs last year and added some nice speed on the bases. He’ll return to (POSITION) this season.

Joining the Monarchs from Evangel University will be Phil Reed. He hit .354 in 127 at bats this year with 7 doubles, 3 home runs and 26 RBI’s. Reed also turned in a .988 fielding percentage this season.

The Monarchs also have three players from Owens Community College in Austin Ritson, Michael Nyitrai, and Mila Vasilios. Ritson will reprise last year’s dual role as pitcher and third baseman. Nyitrai will bring new depth to the Monarch’s catching, while Vasilios, who joins the team from Florida, will add versatility, playing both infield and outfield positions.

Scott Sligh will return from Sienna Heights University to help in the outfield again. Though he had limited playing time with the Saints this season, Sligh will add valuable experience to this year’s Monarchs.

The team will add a new shortstop and pitching depth in the form of UC Clermont’s Tyler Vance. And from the University of Toledo come Chris Dudics and Ross Hartwig. Dudics is an infielder who plays all positions except first base, while Hartwig is an outfielder.

Shane Pfouts from Urbana University will rejoin the team for the ’08 season. He’ll bring his mound experience from both Urbana and last year’s championship run with the Monarchs.

Greg Patterson of Youngstown State University is another pitching arm the Monarchs will depend on. Patterson is an outfielder too. Caullan Owens from Kalamazoo Valley Community College has also signed on as a pitcher and outfielder.

Rounding out this year’s Ohio Monarchs is another pitcher - Chris Bassitt from the University of Akron. The right-hander from the Genoa area is expected to be a key ingredient in this year’s success.