Spring, the time of year when flowers bloom, the birds sing and sports fans turn their attention to baseball.

With that in mind, another season of Defiance High School baseball officially begins on Saturday when the Bulldogs welcome Wauseon to Booster Field for a 1 p.m. encounter. For a program that hasn't had a losing season since 1980 and has stockpiled Western Buckeye League championships in bunches, what will 2012 have in store for this edition of the Bulldogs?

Here are just some of the questions surrounding a Defiance baseball team that welcomes back six lettermen.

• Can the Bulldogs add to their 50-game win streak in the WBL and win another league title?

• How will losing last season in the sectional finals affect this year's club?

• How will last summer's run to the ACME State Tournament benefit this year's varsity season?

• What will the loss of 10 seniors mean for 2012?

"Expectations are always high and we want them that way," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held, who is entering his 14th season at the helm of the Defiance program. "But, this is a whole new team and they need to learn quickly that everyone wants to knock you down. Napoleon got us last year in the sectional finals, Bryan beat us during the regular season ... those are teams that play at our sectional and are our rivals.

"We have a great tradition and have won some close games against those teams over the years, but if they get you a couple of years in a row, what happened in the past fades away and the doubt is gone," continued Held. "When you're competing, against whoever your opponent is, you want to beat them no matter what. Competing is the name of the game and I think this group understands what it takes to compete."

The Bulldogs do have some holes to fill after losing four starters, and large group of seniors who filled their roles on a team that finished 21-4 overall and went a 9-0 in the WBL.

Gone is No. 2 pitcher Kurt Belau who finished 8-0 with 0.87 ERA, while also batting .375 with four home runs and 24 RBI, along with battery mate Gabe Vittorio, who batted .222 with three homers and is currently playing baseball at West Virginia after walking on for the Mountaineers.

Shortstop/pitcher Ryan Cordray also graduated after batting .357 with 32 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Cordray also went 5-0 on the hill with a 1.47 ERA, while starting right fielder Mike Ramirez is gone after hitting .289 on the season. Relief pitcher Jake Sanchez and utility player Jake Thomas also saw plenty of time on the field for the Bulldogs in 2011, while Zach Jimenez, Cody Barratt, Garret Wood have graduated along with Eric Stapleton, who was injured the entire spring.

"We lost four everyday starters and a good group of players who filled their roles and loved to play baseball," Held said. "Kurt Belau was our No. 2 on the hill and had the numbers of a No. 1, plus he had a good offensive year and was a solid first baseman. Ryan Cordray was a three-year starter who played middle infield, was right there in the middle of our order hitting-wise and was solid in relief and as a spot starter. We lost our starting catcher in Gabe Vittorio (only allowed 12 stolen bases), who has since walked on at West Virginia and we lost our right fielder Mike Ramirez.

"We'll also miss guys like Jake Thomas who started games and played different positions, and Jake Sanchez who came out of the pen for us," added Held. "Then guys like Zach, Cody and Garret really played their roles well, which was nice because it's tough when you have 10 seniors. These are guys who all helped us have a good year in 2011."

Pitching will be a strength for Defiance once again, with No. 1 starter Anthony Kidston (6-1, 190, senior, first team Division II all-Ohio, Louisville signee) returning, while Robert Zeigler (6-4, 210, junior) will fill the No. 2 role. Kidston, a righty, went 6-2 with a 0.90 ERA, while Zeigler, a righty, was 2-2 with a 0.95 ERA. After that, the Bulldogs have a wealth of arms that are battling to fill out the DHS staff.

"With Anthony, we know we've got a guy who is going to compete every time he's out there," said Held. "With Robbie, pitching-wise, there are no ill-effects since he got hurt (in a car accident) last summer. Only when he runs can you tell he's not 100 percent. If he wouldn't have missed six months, he'd be better, but he's throwing really well right now.

"These two guys have the potential to be a very good 1-2 and we've had some very good 1-2 guys before," continued Held. "But, both these guys need to stay healthy for that to happen. Anthony comes into the season as healthy as he's ever been and hopefully it stays that way. Robbie could have issues because of his injuries from last summer, but if those two stay healthy, that gives us a shot in every game they pitch."

Also looking to pitch will be Tyler Batt (6-0, 155, senior, 8-1, 2.29 ERA during ACME), Weston Rivers (6-4, 240, junior, 6-1, 2.51 ERA during ACME), Derek Turner (6-2, 160, sophomore, 5-1, 2.81 ERA during ACME), Taylor Cooper (5-7, 155, senior, 0-3 ACME) and Ethan Willitzer (5-10, 152, junior, 1-1 ACME).

"The thing about last summer is that Anthony wasn't with us and Robbie wasn't with us during the tournament so guys had to step up," Held said. "These guys know that they got some valuable experience last summer and that's only going to help them. During the spring, four maybe five guys get to throw, but the other guys better be ready if a situation arises where we need them. That's where the competition among everyone can really help this club."

Kidston, who will play center field when not pitching, is Defiance's leading returning hitter after finishing with a .486 average with six home runs, one triple, nine doubles, 33 RBI, 27 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. Also returning will be Joe Gentile (6-0, 175, senior) who battled .390 with 25 RBI and nine stolen bases, while Austin Hancock (5-9, 155, sophomore) hit .350 with 16 runs and 13 stolen bases. Gentile could see time at catcher, first or in the outfield, while Hancock will start at second base.

Jacob Moore (5-9, 147, senior) will move from second to shortstop after hitting .208 last season, while Shea Murray (6-6, 190, senior) returns to the outfield after batting .309 with 17 runs scored and eight stolen bases. Dom Gentile (5-11, 155, sophomore) will start third base job, Rivers, Zeigler and Joe Gentile are vying for time at first, Joe Keween (5-10, 175 junior) and Joe Gentile are fighting for time as the starting catcher and one outfield spot is up for grabs with Joe Gentile, Turner, Alek Smith (6-3, 160, junior) and Dom Romero (5-9, 145, junior) all in the mix.

"We're really excited about our defense, we feel we have guys who can do the job and we have a lot of guys who played very well during the summer," said Held. "Offensively, we'd like to put Anthony in the three-hole, put Austin at lead-off and have Joe Gentile batting behind Anthony. In the two-hole, we'd like to have Joe Keween (a left-handed batter), and in the five-hole we'd like to have Robbie. After that we're still working on six through nine, but we like our choices and we feel good about getting production there."

A probable starting lineup for opening day could look like this for DHS: Leading off and playing second would be Hancock, followed by Keween in left, Kidston in center and Joe Gentile at catcher. Zeigler would start on the hill and bat fifth, Dom Gentile would be at third, Rivers at first and Murray in right. Moore would start at short and Nic Vittorio (5-8, 175, senior) would fill in at DH in the bottom half of the lineup.

Meanwhile, when the league slate kicks off Tuesday, April 3 at Kenton, Defiance will be looking for its sixth consecutive outright WBL title and to keep intact a WBL win streak that has swelled to 50 games. The last time Defiance lost in league play was April 28, 2006 in a 6-3 setback at Elida.

"I don't care what anybody says, you've got to have luck to do that and we have. I'm not taking anything away from the kids who have been a part of that, but you can't win in baseball without getting breaks," Held said. "It's neat because there's a lot of players who have been a part of that, but we don't go into the season and discuss it. The thing is that in 2012 our WBL record is 0-0 and anything can happen."

Along with his club, Held likes Wapakoneta, Lima Shawnee and Lima Bath to also be contenders, with Celina and O-G as his darkhorses.

"I think this year is going to be the year of the pitcher in the WBL," Held said. "Shawnee and Wapakoneta have two really good pitchers and I like what Brian Jesko is doing at Bath. Bath has been good, but I think he has them turning the corner to really be a contender. Shawnee and Wapakoneta are always going to be the hunt and O-G and Celina are always dangerous too. It's going to be a good year in the WBL."