The Mission Bay High School varsity baseball team opens the 2012 campaign March 1 on the road against Chula Vista when the Buccaneers begin sprint rites in the Bill Whitaker Baseball Classic Tournament. The Bucs will then play in the City Conference Tournament from March 19 to March 31, followed by the Lions Tournament from April 2-5 before they launching into Western League play at home on April 9 against the Point Loma High Pointers. Mission Bay will be trying to rebound after a sub-par season in 2011 (13-16 overall, 4-8 league), capped by a first-round CIF playoff loss. Rick Frink takes over as the Bucs’ head varsity baseball coach, replacing Greg Farrar, who stepped down after five years as the head man. “Greg said he was stepping down and asked me if I wanted to take the job and I accepted,” Frink said. Frink and Farrar have similar baseball backgrounds. Both men are Mission Bay High alums, both played under longtime Buccaneers’ skipper Dennis Pugh and both were assistants at Mission Bay High before becoming head varsity coach. Farrar played on Mission Bay High’s 1983 CIF Championship team, which was Pugh’s first CIF championship at Mission Bay. Farrar spent 11 years (1996-2006) as an assistant under Pugh before he replaced his mentor in 2007 after Pugh’s retirement. Frink played baseball for Mission Bay in the late 1990s and has spent the last five years as the Bucs’ junior varsity coach. As a result, he is familiar with the current roster, which is filled by upperclassmen. “Most of them played for me, so I know their strengths and weaknesses,” Frink said. “The overall strength of our team this year will be our experience … a pitching staff that goes nine deep and a solid infield defense,” Frink said. The top returning senior players on offense are outfielder/pitcher Sergio Beccera (.293, five stolen bases), third baseman/pitcher Sam Elgoual (.282, 17 RBI). The top senior pitchers are Leslie Caibling (4-1, 2.33 ERA, 30 IP) and Alejandro Zavala (47 strikeouts, 58 IP). Newcomers Luis Osuna and Jesse Sullivan, along with returning player Conner Vaughs, are expected to be among the top juniors this year. Other seniors are Richard Macias (outfield), Jorge Rodriguez (catcher/pitcher) and OF/2B Anthony Torrescano (outfield/second base). Other juniors are Dave Arreola, Lorenzo Pamaran and second baseman Cole Bennett. The only sophomore is catcher Joey Wozniak. Other home Western League games this season: • Cathedral — April 25 • Coronado — May 4 • La Jolla — May 11 and • Madison — May 16 All home games are at 3 p.m.