The 2009 season was an uncharacteristic down year for the Stanford baseball team, which finished in the bottom half of the Pac-10 Conference and spent the end of June on the Farm instead of in Omaha. As a baseball program that has appeared in 14 of the last 28 College World Series and won more games than any other Pac-10 club since 1999, this year’s squad hopes to revert back to the team it used to be and regain Stanford baseball’s tremendous reputation.

With this weekend’s three-game home-opening series against No. 4 Rice, the No. 25 Card has no time to waste. Head coach Mark Marquess arranged a brutal nonleague schedule in order to prepare his team for the difficult Pac-10 matchups later in the season, in addition to potential postseason play. By facing Rice at Sunken Diamond this weekend and traveling to No. 2 Texas next weekend, Stanford enters its first two series with confidence and excitement, as well as a touch of apprehension.

“There is no substitute for playing teams like these,” Marquess said. “If we have a weakness, it’s going to become obvious. So if we can keep our heads above water and play well against these two teams, it will get us ready for Pac-10 play. If it doesn’t kill us, it will make us stronger.”

Rice is a relatively unknown entity to the Cardinal, as this will be only the third meeting between the two teams in the history of the Farm’s baseball program. Their last matchup came in the 2003 College World Series, when the Owls beat the Ryan Garko-and Carlos Quentin-led Stanford team to claim Rice’s first and only national title. But Stanford has won seven of its last eight opening series since 2002. If the Cardinal can continue this trend of early-season success, an upset is certainly possible.

This would be due to a combination of factors, and according to junior starting catcher Zach Jones, entering the season with a different mindset than past years might be the key.

“Last year we had such high expectations, and we thought we were going to do better than we actually did,” Jones said. “Now we’re coming into this season as the underdog. We have a lot of good talent and good players, so we just have to keep our heads on straight.”

Junior starting left fielder Kellen Kiilsgaard agrees, also anticipating a different outcome from last year’s season and noting that the name of the game this season will be confidence.

“Last year was a down year, but this year we’re ready to get out there,” Kiilsgaard said. “We’ll show everyone that we’re going to put together a great lineup and turn some heads.”

And a crucial component of this great lineup will likely be Stanford’s stellar freshman class, which was ranked second nationally, and according to Marquess is the Cardinal’s “best freshman class in the past 10 to 15 years.” Bay Area native Kenny Diekroeger in particular, a second-round draft pick by the Florida Marlins, chose to remain on the Farm before making his major league debut and is expected to have an enormous impact in the infield.

“Kenny can do it all. He is an outstanding player with good speed and power,” Marquess said. Diekroeger will play third base this weekend against Rice, and he will be joined in the starting lineup by a fellow freshman, center fielder Jake Stewart. Mark Appel, Stephen Piscotty and Eric Smith are also freshmen that are likely to be in the mix at some point in the season.

Sophomores will dominate the mound this weekend, however, as the projected starting pitching rotation will be comprised of Brett Mooneyham, Jordan Pries and Scott Snodgress. All three had successful freshman years, and Marquess has high expectations, especially for Mooneyham and Pries, who are planned to start Friday and Saturday games throughout the season.

“Last year, the Pac-10 was more of an offensive league, but this year will be just the opposite,” Marquess said. “Our conference has the best young pitchers of any conference in the country, and we will need Mooneyham and Pries to match the opposing pitchers. They were darn good last year, and this year they should be even better.”

Along with pitching, Stanford’s success against the Owls will be heavily reliant upon base-running and strong middle defense. The team lost some power in the lineup from graduated seniors and does not expect to have the same home run numbers as last year. Emphasis will therefore be placed on speed and defensive talent, both of which can be expected from junior shortstop standout Jake Schlander. Schlander was awarded Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year last season, and according to Marquess, he is “easily one of the best defensive shortstops in college baseball.”

Thus, Stanford is prepared for a fresh 2010 season, armed with freshman talent, a solid pitching rotation and veterans eager to do some damage to their Pac-10 rivals. First, however, the Card battles Rice. And with the proper combination of individual efforts and overall team motivation, the Card could emerge from this weekend with just the momentum it needs for yet another demanding season of Stanford baseball.

First pitch against Rice will be at 5:30 p.m. tonight at the Sunken Diamond.