The grass is green, the uniforms are clean, and the DVC Vikings are ready to raid another Big 8 season.

DVC finished second in the conference last season, followed by a placement in the final eight in the North Coast Section.

Coach Dennis Luquet leads a primarily young squad into the new season. Just seven of the 27 players on the roster are sophomores. But Luquet believes he has a really strong group of returnees, both talent and leadership-wise.

The returning players are led by two league honorees: first baseman Devin Alexnder and third baseman Ryan Kochan, first-team all-league and second-team all-league, respectively. Outfielders Michael Mann and Marquis Cox are two more sophomores to watch, Luquet pointed out, due to their prowess at the plate. The Vikings also get Michael Leal back, their catcher from the 2011 season.

Coach Luquet’s main concern is the pitching. The staff is highly inexperienced, with freshmen taking eight of the ten spots.

“The one question mark is: how will the pitching develop?” he said.

When it comes to exploiting the opposition’s pitching, Luquet thinks his team should be just fine offensively.

“I’m sure the returnees will carry the load offensively. Not only are they the returning players, they’re also the best players,” he said.

But it’s not all about the sophomores.

“I think that we recruited a really good double play combo, with Michael Brdar and Michael Lanter,” said Luquet. Both are freshmen, Brdar playing shortstop and Lanter manning second base. That connection up the middle could be the foundation of a stout defense, one Luquet says will be “pretty good.”

Regardless of how young his team is overall, Luquet still expects them to contend in conference and state.

DVC opens their season at home against Solano College on Friday, Feb. 1.