The Lindbergh High School baseball team returns six position starters and three starting pitchers for the 2007 season.

Lindbergh head coach Darin Scott hopes the Flyers can improve on last season’s mark of 14-11 with a 5-3 record in Suburban West Conference play.

“I think that overall, we made some strides last year,” Scott told the Call. “We’ve got some good kids that are pretty coachable.”

Senior Tom Henke returns behind the plate after batting .382 last season with six doubles and 16 runs batted in.

“Tom was one of our offensive leaders last year,” the Lindbergh coach said. “He knows our pitching staff pretty well, and we’re looking for big things from him.”

At first base will be senior Robby Meeh, who carried a .290 batting average last season with 11 runs batted in. Meeh also racked up two doubles and one home run.

“With Robby coming off the Final Four run with the basketball team, he’s going to start practicing on Monday,” Scott said. “He’s a guy that leads by example and has been a three-sport starter the last three years.”

Senior Nick Higgs will play in the infield and also will see time on the pitcher’s mound. Higgs batted .328 with five doubles and 15 runs batted in. He appeared on the mound in one game last season and gave up one hit and struck out one batter.

“Nick came into the season in pretty good shape,” Scott said. “He’s been playing on the varsity since his sophomore year and he really came strong at the end of the year.”

Senior David Heine returns to left field after batting .228 with three doubles, two triples and four runs batted in.

“David’s very athletic and does a nice job in left field for us,” Scott said. “He showed some pop in his bat at times, and we look for him to being a good, solid role player for our team this season.”

In center field will be senior Eli Jump, who batted .182 with two doubles, one triple and five runs batted in. Scott hopes Jump’s hard work in the off-season yields huge dividends this season.

“Eli’s a spark-plug type of player,” Scott said. “He really worked hard in the off-season and he just gives you 100 percent every time he’s out there.”

Right fielder John Meyer also looks to im-prove on his .270 batting average that included two doubles and eight runs batted in.

“John started out the season absolutely on fire,” Scott said. “He’s probably one of our most consistent hitters this season.”

On the mound will be senior Tim Eikmeier, who posted a record of 2-1 overall with a 4.40 earned run average.

“Tim had a great summer,” Scott said. “He was one of the aces on the Crestwood American Legion team and is always looking to log in innings.”

Junior Bryce Snelson had a solid season with the Crestwood American Legion team after posting a record of 2-4 with a 4.89 earned run average.

“Bryce also had a nice summer,” Scott said. “Once he gets things going and gets into baseball shape, he’s going to play a prominent role on the staff this year.”

Rounding out the trio of returning pitchers is junior Andrew Keltner who went 3-1 overall with a 2.86 earned run average.

“Andrew had some really good, qualifying last year,” Scott said. “He’s a real competitor on the mound.”

Scott hopes seniors Derek Davis and Bran Renner have a big impact this year.

“Derek played a utility role for us last year and he’s battling for one of the infield spots next year,” Scott said. “Brad didn’t play last year, but came out again this season. We’ll use him as a pitcher, and he’s kind of a work in progress. So hopefully when the time comes that we need him, he’ll be ready to go.”