The St. Edward’s University 2011 baseball season opens Friday with a new-look team.

After losing 11 seniors last season, the Hilltoppers added 16 new players. Nine of them come from junior colleges, and seven are true freshmen.

Even with the large number of new players, junior Dustin Johnson said team chemistry is the best he has seen it since his freshman year.

“Everyone’s got a great work ethic, and everyone gets along with each other,” Johnson said.

There are still many key players returning from last season, including junior pitcher Jeff Rohrbach, who ended the 2010 season with a 9-0 record and 2.88 ERA. Senior Dylan Schuch returns after leading the team in runs last season. He is also fourth on the career list for stolen bases.

Also returning to the middle of the Hilltopper lineup are senior Eric Morgan and junior Adam Shank. Morgan was second on the team in homeruns and third in RBIs while Shank was second in RBIs and third in homeruns.

Another addition to the team is new Assistant Coach Nate Schwartz, who came to St. Edward’s this semester. Schwartz spent the 2007-2010 seasons at Heartland Conference rival UT-Permian Basin working with the team’s pitching staff. Each year he was with the Falcons, the team’s earned-run average improved. Schwartz will primarily fill the same capacity with the Hilltoppers, replacing coach Chris Young, who recently took a job as a professional scout for the San Diego Padres.

The team also has a new cage facility next to their field. The versatile indoor cage can be used for batting practice as well as pitching. It will be especially helpful to the team when bad weather does not permit them to use the field.

As for changes, the team will only play in three-game series. Last season, there was a mixture of four-game and three-game series.

“It’s probably better [having three-game series] because now instead of having four starters, that fourth start can throw on Tuesdays or it gives us an extra arm in the bullpen,” Johnson said.

Also, last year’s conference rival University of the Incarnate Word is no longer in the Heartland Conference. The Cardinals knocked St. Edward’s out of the conference tournament last year. and then went on to beat UT-Permian Basin to win the tournament.

The Hilltoppers will still play Incarnate Word in a weekend series in April.

After finishing last season fourth in conference, St. Edward’s was picked by league head coaches and Sports Information Directors to place third this season.

The Hilltoppers first game is Friday at noon against Arkansas-Fort Smith.