Four members of the Troy High baseball team, along with head coach Curtis Nobles, sat down to discuss their hopes for the 2010 season Friday morning after practice at Doyle Middle School.

Steve Ziter, a senior outfielder, will be a major bat in the middle of the Flying Horses' lineup in 2010. He's considering playing baseball in college at schools such as Clarkson or Union.

Matt Krogh will shift from second base to shortstop for his senior season. His four older siblings - Mike, Bobby, Lynn and Lauren - have been a dynasty on the playing fields at Troy in the past and Matt is the last of the line.

Anibal Maldonado was a first team All-Area outfielder on The Record's 2009 All-Star squad and he will put his defensive skills on display every time the Horses play at home on their fenceless field. He'll also be one of the big boppers among all the hitters in the Big 10.

"I think the main thing is that we have a lot of leadership," Maldonado said. "And not just with the nine guys returning. With everyone. We have a load of pitching. We have depth with that and our lineup is pretty strong and that's going to be key for us."

Jesse Twiss was a hard-throwing righty out of the bullpen a season ago - I can't think of a better baseball nickname for him than 'Twiss Cheese' - but he'll be a starter as a junior in 2010.

"We get CBA and La Salle back-to-back (on April 28 and 30)," Twiss said. "It will probably be the biggest week of my high school career."

Other Troy High players to watch in 2010 include senior pitcher Iziah 'Ziti' McCowan and senior first baseman Mason Duncan.

Sophomore Zeb Gaston will fill Krogh's old spot at second base and Troy High head coach Curtis Nobles might just have to let the diminutive 5-foot-7 righty take the mound on occasion as well. Gaston pitched the Lansingburgh Royals' 15-and-under team to the Mickey Mantle World Series last summer.

It is shaping up to be a wild race to the finish in the Big 10 Conference regular season. Troy High figures to be toward the top, but Albany, La Salle, Schenectady and CBA all have the same idea. And don't count out Catholic Central or Amsterdam.

"I believe that the league keeps getting stronger and stronger," said Nobles, who played at Bishop Maginn. "The thing is, you always have your preliminary top teams, but when it comes down to the end of the season, it's all about who is executing and who is just getting it done."

The Flying Horses are always looking to get it down off the field as well. Nobles heaped praise on all his players for maintaining high averages in the classroom and also volunteering around the community at a soup kitchen and the annual "Walk a mile in her shoes" breast cancer awareness event at HVCC every spring.

Check out The Record Monday morning for our complete 2010 season preview, where I will have a story on the Flying Horses. Lacrosse previews will be published this week and our softball preview will also be published Monday, if not sooner.