Led by power hitters Alex Dickerson and Jerrud Sabourin, the IU baseball team brings back an offense that led the Big Ten in home runs, was second in doubles, and third in RBI.

Dickerson, a junior, won the the Big Ten Triple Crown last season, batting .419 with 24 homers and 75 RBI.

“The beautiful thing about him is that there is not one kid that handles success and failure like Alex Dickerson,” IU coach Tracy Smith said.

Fortunately for the Hoosiers, Dickerson has not had many failures to deal with.

Now entering his senior season, first baseman Jerrud Sabourin is 37 hits away from becoming Indiana University’s all-time leader in hits. Last season, he batted .394 with seven homers and 45 RBI. Being a senior, younger teammates look up to Sabourin as the leader on this Hoosier team, and he does this by his actions on the field.

“He doesn’t say a lot,” Smith said. “But he is a coach on the field.”

This season however, Indiana brings something to the table it did not have last year; a deep pitching staff. Junior Drew Leininger will be coach Smith’s No. 1 guy on the mound after posting a 9-3 record and a 4.04 ERA in 98 innings of work last season. Helping him in the starting rotation will be fellow junior Blake Monar and freshman Joey Denato.

In his freshman year, Monar rounded out a weekend starting rotation led by future first-round draft picks Eric Arnett and Matt Bashore. His sophomore year was cut short due to a shoulder injury after only pitching 3 1/3 innings.

“Having Monar healthy is a big plus,” Smith said. “Of our projected 2010 pitching staff, based on draft or injuries, we were going without seven of our top nine guys that we thought would be there, so depth will be the most noticeable difference for us. We will be able to match up much better in different roles.”

The Hoosiers begin their season this Friday at the Caravelle Resort Invitational in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Indiana will begin by playing Virginia Tech Friday afternoon, followed by Boston College on Saturday, and closing out the weekend by playing host Coastal Carolina on Sunday afternoon. After a long offseason practicing indoors, the team is anxious to finally get out and compete against other schools.

“Our first time on a field will be Friday,” Smith said. ”I’m sick of looking at each other, and they are probably sick of looking at me. So it will be nice to play somebody in a uniform.”

This weekend’s trip is one of many that the Hoosier baseball team will make early this season, something the younger players may have trouble adjusting to.

“It’s hard not only on the baseball side, but also just keeping the rest of your life in order,” Smith said. “It’s a big adjustment for guys, so hopefully the upperclassmen can help out the younger guys with that.”

Coach Smith is confident about the freshmen he plans to have come in and make an immediate impact. Dustin DeMuth will be starting the season as the everyday third basemen.

“He has the best infield arm that I have coached.” Smith asserted.

Two other freshmen, Ty Downing and Joey DeNato, will also get their chance to prove themselves in South Carolina this weekend. Downing will be placed behind the plate for one of the games, and DeNato will be making his first collegiate start on the mound against Boston College on Saturday.

The Hoosiers will play 22 games away from home before returning to Sembower Field to play Evansville on March 27th. After that the team will have only four days to prepare themselves for the Big Ten season; a league separated last year from top to bottom by only six games. Entering the season, the Hoosiers are predicted to finish third in the Big Ten.

“I think it’s a fair assessment of where we are, if we live up to what we are doing,” coach Smith said. “I think we should compete for the title this year.”