(Editor's Note: This is the sixth in a series of preseason stories about Metro baseball teams. Next: Xavier)

This has been an eventful year for the Cedar Rapids Washington baseball team. Oddly enough, the season hasn't begun yet.

The Warriors had to change coaches on the second day of practice after Byron Schlotterback asked for a leave of absence and then resigned. And they'll have to play their first seven games without Dakota Freese, their all-state pitcher who has been suspended.

On top of all that, the Warriors finished 11-25 last season and have only 12 or 13 players on the varsity.

"I imagine that the expectations, outside of the program, are not going to be very high," new Coach Brent Henry remarked. "The only thing we can do about that is come under some people's radar and relish the underdog role.

"But how other people see us now isn't really our focus. We're focusing on the things that we can control, and I'll tell you what, we're really excited about the guys we have."

Henry served as one of Washington's assistant coaches for three years before getting the battlefield promotion on May 3. He welcomes the challenge and is eager to get started.

The Warriors open the 2011 campaign Monday against Marion in the opening round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament. The game is scheduled for Xavier High School at 5 p.m.

Most Class 4A baseball teams carry at least 15 players on the varsity, but the Warriors don't have the bodies this year.

"We'll make it work," Henry said. "Obviously, this team already has faced some obstacles. If we're a little bit light, that will be just one more obstacle that we'll face and have to overcome.

"The guys that we are going to have on the varsity, I'm really comfortable with. I'm confident they'll all play well."

Freese was suspended for violating school rules and will not be eligible to play until Washington's eighth game of the season on Friday (June 3) against Jefferson. The major league draft will begin just three days later on June 6, and Freese told the Metro Sports Report he'll turn pro if he gets drafted and likes the offer.

"Dakota is a special young guy and a special talent," Henry said. "And, obviously, I want the best for all of our players, and if that means getting drafted, we're certainly going to applaud him for that.

"Whatever happens with him, I'm going to be his biggest supporter. And if we're lucky enough to have him for a week, we'll take him for a week. If we have him for an entire season, we'll certainly take that, too."

Freese is a 6-foot-3 righthander with a 92 mph fastball and an effective breaking ball. He compiled a 17-5 record and 1.76 ERA as a sophomore and junior, with 197 strikeouts. He also hit .301 with three homers and 17 RBIs last year, so he'll be missed early in the season.

Freese is not the entire team, of course. The Warriors feature Jordy Brown (.406), Sam Kacena (.359), Dan White (.336), A.J. Puk (.261), Zach Zingula (.250) and Mike Troendle (.218). They all played for the varsity last season and form the nucleus of this year's team.

"We certainly expect good things from those guys," Henry said.

Puk hit .321 for the varsity as an eighth grader, but slipped 60 points last season. He also struggled on the mound in 2010, going 0-3 with an 8.88 ERA, but Henry said he's one of the leaders on the club. Puk was Washington's starting quarterback last fall as a 10th grader.

"He's a guy who as a sophomore carries himself like a senior," Henry remarked. "He's a guy that other guys look up to."

Zingula (0-3, 3.25), Troendle (0-3, 4.57), White (1-7, 4.60) and Robert Hogg (1-0, 5.83) all pitched at least seven times for the varsity last season and gained experience. They'll have to carry the ball until Freese returns.

"We have a lot of quality arms," Henry said, "and I really feel like our pitching staff is going to be one of the bigger plusses for our lineup defensively."

Josiah Javier, Max Versteegh, Zach Scriver and Noah Dostel all hope to lend a hand this season. Dostel is a catcher who can play other spots as well. "He's going to find his way into the lineup somehow," Henry said.

After all the preseason turmoil at Washington, Henry is anxious to start playing games. "Our first game in the Metro tournament can't get here soon enough," he remarked.