PLATTSBURGH — It's the usual good and not-so-good when it comes to the Clinton Community College men's baseball team this season.
"We have a lot of good players," said Cougars' head coach Tom Neale. "I usually know who our No. 3 hitter is going to be. But we have a lot of players similar this season who can all put the ball in play.
"We also have eight players who can pitch. They've been throwing strikes in the cage, and that's not always easy to do."
Now, the not-so-good news.
"We only have 13 players, and I would have liked at least two more," Neale said. "If we had 15 players, I would be real happy.
"We need to keep playing hard and stay up. We also need to stay healthy — we can't afford to lose guys to injury. But we're in fairly good condition. If we stay away from injuries, put the ball in play and field the ball, we're going to be competitive."
The Cougars will also need to be versatile.
"Everyone's going to play," Neale said. "We're going to have to move people around, depending on who is doing the pitching."
The Cougars have a 28-game schedule that will feature 14 doubleheaders.
"We playing some real good teams," Neale said.
Clinton has eight home games this year, all coming in succession from April 17-25.
The Cougars open up on the road at SUNY Canton on Monday afternoon in a twinbill.
Only first baseman Matt Daunais and infielder/outfielder Adam Trim return from last year.
On the mound, Clinton will be led by Kris Chase, Andrew Stanley, Will Latour, Ryan Bartels, Brian Brothers, Chris White, Matt LaVarnway and Dan Elder.
"We're going to need all of our pitchers," Neale said. "We're a little concerned behind the plate, however. Kris Chase is our best pitcher, but also our best catcher. Adam Scharf and Matt LaVarnway are also getting a shot behind the plate. We're going to have to rotate our catchers."
Daunais will be at first base, either Trim or White at second, Brothers or Latour at shortstop and Bartels or Stanley at third base.
Stanley, Scharf, Travis Love, Trim and Jerry Wong are all in the mix in the outfield.
"We're definitely going to move people around in the outfield as well," Neale said.
"With only 13 players on the roster, we don't want anyone to hang their heads because they will keep getting their turns.
"We're not going to drive the ball out of the park, but we want to try and put it in play. We need to cut down on our strikeouts."
Like everyone else up north, the Cougars have spent little time outside.
"We were able to get outside on the soccer field, and the guys looked pretty good catching the ball," Neale said.
"Then we come inside and hit in the cage."
Clinton Community College
2007 roster
1 Brian Brothers, shortstop/pitcher, Massena
2 Andrew Stanley, infield/outfield/pitcher, Moriah
3 Chris White, infield/pitcher, Westport
5 Jerry Wong, infield/outfield, Brooklyn
6 Ryan Bartels, infield/pitcher, Lansingburgh
7 Adam Scharf, outfield/catcher, Malone
10 Matt LaVarnway, infield/pitcher, Saranac
11 Kris Chase, catcher/pitcher, Chateaugay
12 Adam Trim, infield/outfield, Saranac Lake
15 Travis Love, outfield, Ellenburg
21 Dan Elder, outfield/pitcher, Elizabethtown-Lewis
22 Matt Daunais, first base, Saranac Lake
25 William Latour, infield/outfield/pitcher, Peru
2007 schedule
Monday, April 2- at SUNY Canton (2), 3 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4- at Schenectady C.C. (2), 2 p.m.
Friday, April 6- at Hudson Valley C.C. (2), noon
Thursday, April 12- at Adirondack C.C. (2), 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 14- vs. Jamestown C.C. (2), at Fulton-Montgomery C.C., 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 15- at Broome C.C, (2), noon
Tuesday, April 17- Columbia-Greene C.C. (2), 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 21- Onondaga C.C. (2), 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 22- SUNY Cobleskill (2), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, April 25- SUNY Canton (2), 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 28- at Finger Lakes C.C. (2), 2 p.m.

Sunday, April 29- at Fulton-Montgomery C.C. (2), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 2- at Jefferson C.C. (2), 3 p.m.
Thursday, May 3- at Herkimer C.C. (2), 2 p.m.