ANDERSON, S.C. -- Anderson head baseball coach Joe Miller doesn't want to dwell on last season. A tough start and some bad luck led to a 20-33 overall record and a 7-16 record in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference. For the first time since the Trojans have been in the CVAC, they missed the conference tournament. "We never hit a good streak where we rattled off six or seven wins in a row," Miller said. "We would play well for a couple of games then we would have two or three bad games." The Trojans also had some frustrating finishes. Anderson lost four games last season to walk-off home runs, two in a doubleheader at Limestone. "We don't want to dwell on it, but we lost seven games in the last inning last year," Miller said. "That's two or three spots in the conference standings and the difference between being 20-33 or being .500 or better. We gave up four walk-off home runs last year. I could coach for 30 years and I won't see some of the stuff I saw last year. "The thing that bothered me more than anything was we held our own with the Peach Belt teams. Three of the walk-off home runs were in the conference - two at Limestone and one at Erskine. We were a better ballclub than 20-33." The Trojans open the 2006 season Friday at 3 p.m. against CVAC foe Barton. Before the '05 season, the theme was to make up for a losing 2004 campaign. During practice last fall, Miller changed his approach. He told his team what's done is done and that it was time to move forward. "We lost the first three games of the season and we were climbing uphill all year long," Miller said. "It seemed like when we were in a situation to win a game that we started thinking about how we were going to mess up. We're trying to get away from that and get back to the approach of playing every day." Miller welcomes the largest number of newcomers"- 18 - that he has ever had as a head coach. "The seniors are the only ones who have been through a winning season at Anderson," he said. "The attitude has been what I wanted to see. The seniors are doing a good job leadership-wise." Depth on the pitching staff is going to give Miller a lot of options against CVAC competition on the weekends. "I would be surprised if you see the same three conference starters week in and week out," he said. "There's enough depth there. None of our pitchers are going to strike out eight or nine a game, but they're going to give us a chance to win. They're going to keep us in the game." The pitchers who will be battling for the conference starts are Desmond Robson (6-2, 4.74), Aaron Griffith (5-0, 5.46), Nate Miller (0-6, 6.46), Gib Bethea (3-4, 3.88), Kevin Young, and Chris Pitts. Robson is a two-year conference starter. Griffith was one of the Trojans' top mid-week starters last season. Miller believes the bullpen, a sore spot last season, will be improved because of increased depth. "One of our biggest problems last year was our bullpen," he said. "This year, I think the bullpen can be one of our strengths." The lead for the closers role is Will Cheatham (2-4, 5.91, 3 saves). Brad Owens (0-3, 8.65), Brandon Sheriff, Chris Pitts, Brandon Johnson, and Justin Lovvorn also will be called on out of the pen. Here is a look at the other eight positions: Catcher - Clint Neville (.293, 6 HR), who missed the fall recovering from appendicitis, and Jessie Whiteside (.316, 4 HR) will get most of the work. Ed Johnson also is available behind the plate. "Clint and Jessie will do a solid job for us," Miller said. "I feel good about those two guys." First Base - John Mac White returns after missing last season because of arm trouble. Marcus Smith and Don Ballard also will get some time. The decision on who plays may come down to who has the best glove. "We've got to get some defense out of one of those three guys," Miller said. Second Base - Tony Graham (.261), who played in a fill-in role last year, now gets the chance to be the starter.-"Tony has some game experience," Miller said. "He will get the opportunity to lead off, which means he will be a big key to our offense." Shortstop - Kyle Lewis (.274, 4 HR) has settled in as the starter. "Kyle could hit second in the lineup, which would get him some more fastballs," Miller said. "He has turned into a real good defensive shortstop." Third Base - Miller is hoping Jonathan Pitts (.335, 20 doubles) can improve his glove work. "Jonathan has struggled defensively, but he had a good fall," Miller said. Blair Carson also is available at third. In addition to playing at third, both Pitts and Carson have done some work in left field. Outfield - The top candidates are Creg Green (.267) in left, Josh Grubbs and Josh Harrison (.364) in center, and Cody Nye in right. "Both Grubbs and Harrison can handle center defensively," Miller said. Miller believes improved offensive execution and improved team defense will get the Trojans out of their two-year slide. "I think we will surprise people offensively, especially if Neville is healthy," he said. "Graham has been a streaky hitter for us. Lewis has a chance to have a big year for us. We've got to execute better than we have in the past. We're not going to steal a lot of bases, and we're not going to hit a lot of home runs. I believe the biggest key is to improve our team defense."