After finishing last in the Golden Valley Conference last season, the College of the Redwoods baseball team has revamped its image and approach, with interim head coach Todd Zeigler attracting a number of premier prep players to the team.

In order to better prepare next year’s team for the season, Ziegler has upped the number of fall baseball games the Corsairs will play as well as the number of coaches that will be involved during the preseason practices.

“In the past, there has been at the very most, two coaches at fall ball,” Ziegler said. “Some days Brown was all by himself, so this upcoming fall, we want to have more eyes out there. We want to be able to run more position specific drills rather than just team drills.”

Ziegler was appointed interim head coach after longtime CR baseball head coach Bob Brown decided to take the 2009 season off.

One of the players that Ziegler hopes will make an immediate impact on the team is the Big Five MVP, Ryan Stearns.

Stearns, along with several others, played for Ziegler when he was the head coach of the Eureka Falcons, and the relationship that they forged during that time played a crucial role in enticing local players to commit to CR.

“We know what to expect with him,” said Stearns. “Ziegler is a great coach and a great friend. He’s going to do whatever he can to get you to the next level. He’s a hard worker and totally committed to the team.”

Falcons teammate Chris Gutierrez echoed Stearn’s sentiment.

“He has done an incredible job recruiting,” Gutierrez said of Ziegler. “He was able to attract a lot of local talent, and that will make the adjustment to the college level much more smooth. Ziegler is going to do whatever he can to help us, both at CR and beyond.”

Although Ziegler has indeed attracted many of the local stars to play at CR, he has also recruited plenty of players from as far as Oregon, Hawaii and Canada to join the club.

Ziegler is hopeful that these recruits from out of the area will bring fresh energy to the roster and add something new to the clubhouse chemistry.

Among the transplants joining the team will be Andrew DeForest, a 6-foot 1-inch right-handed pitcher who hails from Kuna, Idaho.

Another is Justin Baker from Enterprise High School in Redding, a heavy-hitting first baseman and pitcher who Ziegler expects to step in and make positive contributions next year.

“Justin batted .567 during his senior year, and we think that he’ll make a great addition to our team,” Ziegler said.