After a disappointing 9-33-1 season last year, and only two years removed from the championship season of 2012, the Wareham Gatemen are looking to right the ship and get back to their winning ways when the Cape Cod Baseball League season kicks off this month.

Cooper Farris is in his 14th year as manager of the Gatemen, and has seen them win the championship in his first year as coach in 2001, again in 2002 and a third time in 2012.

"I think we've got some good players here, guys who have some potential," he said of this year's squad.

Farris had a few players come to mind off the top of his head. One was Kyle Cody, who is coming into his second year as a pitcher with the Gatemen. Cody is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky who at the end of May had a record of 3-0, a 2.53 earned run average and was also the team leader in saves.

Another was catcher John Clay Reeves, who has a .317 batting average and .439 slugging percentage on perennial college baseball powerhouse Rice University.

He also mentioned Trey Killian, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Arkansas and Chris Chinea a catcher at Louisiana State University as players to watch out for in their second season playing for the Gatemen.

Farris said the players selected for the team are recommended by college coaches and and professional scouts and tend to come from similar teams year after year.

But Farris said one of his most important jobs was getting all the different college players to come together as a team.

"It's a lot of attitudes. You have to try to get them to mesh as quick as you can," he said. "You'll watch, the quicker they become teammates the better they'll play."

He said last year's team was hampered because they didn't have a full roster until July because of players in the College World Series or on other teams. Farris said in the past his teams have won because they got together and meshed early.

Another part of his job is helping players transition from using an aluminum bat during the college season to a wood bat in the Cape Cod League.

"Some guys hit better with one of the other, it's just about the feel," he said.

Farris aid early in the year there will be a lot of low scoring games as pitchers get ahead and hitters are still trying to make that transition, then later in the year there will be more high scoring games.

"These guys have probably never played in as many 1-run games as they will this summer," Farris said.

The first chance the players will get to be in a 1-run game will be on Wednesday, June 11 when Cape Cod League action kicks off and the Gatemen take on the Bourne Braves.

The first home game at Spillane Field for the Gatemen will be against Harwich at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 14.

On his goals for this season, Farris said, "We're going to help players with their careers and try to win the Cape league."