With pre-season games beginning June 7, the Wareham Gatemen players are finishing their college seasons and gearing up to take on the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer.

Gatemen General Manager Tom Gay says he has high hopes for the upcoming season.

"Right now we look like we have a very good squad coming in," he said of the 26-player roster. "We have a number of returning players but also a number of new kids coming in who are doing very, very well with their spring seasons with their colleges."

Among the returning players is pitcher David Fischer, who played with the Gatemen two years ago but had to sit last season out due to injury.

Also returning are UConn teammates John Andreoli, an outfielder, and LJ Mazzilli, a shortstop and third-baseman.

"That's a good nucleus," Gay said of the teammates.

Other infielders back on the roster are Max Muncy (Baylor), Derek Dennis (Michigan), and Josh Ludy (Baylor). Returning to the pitcher's mound are Josh Urban (Texas), Daniel Feehan (UConn), and Joseph Flynn (Franklin Pierce).

The Gatemen are returning from a tough 2010 season, during which the team lost three of the best players in the Cape Cod League - Matt Barnes, Alex Dickerson, and George Springer - to Team USA.

"That hurt when we lost them," Gay said, adding that when Baseball America announced the top 30 college players in the country, Barnes, Dickerson, and Springer were all in the top five.

This year, however, may be a bit easier on the team. Team USA is not holding tryouts. Participation will be invitation-only and the Gatemen should know who has been invited by June 3, Gay said.

That, coupled with roster changes, should help the Gatemen keep their best players in Wareham.

"We tried to do the roster a little different this year," Gay said. "We didn't go for the real high-profile kids. We went for kids who have the talent but are maybe flying a little under the radar."

One of those players is pitcher Justin Amlung, a freshman from Louisville picked up by the team late last fall.

"[Amlung] is going to be a good surprise to everybody," Gay said. "He's doing very well for Louisville. ... It's looking good for us as far as having him on board."

So now the countdown begins. Spillane Field has been seeded and aerated and work as been completed on the stands for the 2011 season. Opening Night is scheduled for June 10, with the Gatemen will taking on the Hyannis Harbor Hawks at 7 p.m.

Spillane Field is located directly behind the Town Hall parking lot at 54 Marion Road.

Want to catch a pre-season game? The Gatemen will play the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League at 6:30 p.m. at Spillane Field on June 7. The team travels to New Bedford to play the New Bedford Bay Sox at 6:30 p.m. on June 9.

For more information about the Wareham Gatemen, including a full schedule of games, visit www.gatemen.org.