A district title, regional title, state berth: last season was one to remember for the Brentsville District baseball team.

Sixth inning heroics. Walk-off game winners. Fans scaling fences in excitement.

For fans of sports drama, the 22-3 Tigers had it all last year.

That team ended up losing five senior starters to graduation, including the starting battery of catcher Tyler LeGrand and all-state second-teamer Scott Betterly.

But it's not like that's actually affected morale in the BD dugout.

"Well, we had a lot of other guys that could have played some last year, but obviously, they had the seniors in front of them, so they weren't able to," said manager Brian Knight.

Knight and his players both expressed a can-do sense about the upcoming season given the depth of the team's lineup. Senior ace Richard Lindsay is a potential all-state pitcher in his own right.

The 6-foot, 3-inch veteran had the numbers to be an all-district selection last year, said Knight, adding that he was personally surprised Lindsay did not make it. Now, he is hitting his spots even better by pinpointing his pitch location.

Catching him will be veteran sophomore Brian McBride, the team's DH last season. McBride will have the luxury of also working with his best friend and possible closer Austin Hale as a battery mate.

"I think we've got a lot of solid replacements," said Hale. "I think we have a better team this year than we did last year. I mean, we had a lot of holes to fill."

Plugging those holes are sophomores Mike Lennox and vet Justin Weaver at shortstop -- they'll play by committee, according to Knight -- second baseman Zach Stronko and junior newcomers to the outfield Drew Spencer and Matt "Texas" Holman.

"He can hit the crap out of the ball," said Hale of Spencer, who may also pitch for BD.

Some of the big bats returning this year include Kerns and McBride, both of whom reveled in some late-inning glory during the Tigers march through the post-season in 2008.

There are other key holdovers from the last's team too as senior pitcher Jonathan Desiletes and first baseman Hayden Gilmer are expected to frequently appear in the starting lineup.

"Well, I hope we hit the ball early this time," said Kerns, echoing what has basically become a team mantra this year.

Kerns and McBride will also be expected to lead the Tiger runners with speed along with Lennox and Weaver.

Because of what Hale called an emphasis on some small-ball tactics like simple base running, the Tigers may have more of an option this year to successfully convert hit-and-runs. Kerns said Knight has given him "the green light" much more often during spring training this year compared to 2008, and he is personally aiming for 18 to 20 steals.

"Everybody, when they see Brentsville, they're going to see a target," said Knight. "We've got to play loose, we've got to have fun, but at the same time, we've got to be ready to take care of situations."