The Woodland High School varsity baseball team enters this season with an experienced roster that includes 12-of-18 players from the Class of 2023.

Last year, the Wolves season came to an end with a thrilling 13-12 loss against No. 12 seed Orestimba in the quarterfinals of the 2022 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Baseball Playoffs. Woodland was the fourth-ranked team in the D4 bracket and earned a 6-1 win against No. 13 Los Banos in the first round.

“Last season was a huge success,” Wolves head coach Danny Eoff proclaimed. “It was my first year at the reigns of the program. We took second in league, we had a good chance to win the league championship if we would’ve taken care of business against Casa Roble and we didn’t. We got two home playoff games out of it.

“For having the third head coach in three years for the program, I think it was a success. We took care of our business. We hit well, fielded well, threw strikes, took care of all facets of the game and everything we needed to do. In the end we were rewarded with some postseason play.”

Eoff is back for his second season as head coach at his alma mater. Eoff graduated from Woodland in the ‘90s before going on to play baseball collegiately at Chico State. After receiving his teaching credential in 2003, Eoff came home to Woodland and served as an assistant under head coach Rob Rinaldi.

He left the program in 2010 to focus on coaching his children. When Joe Whitehead departed following the 2021 season, Eoff returned to lead the program. Scott Wedding will serve as the Wolves’ assistant coach.

“Recently when coach Whitehead said he had to step down, my kids were entering high school, so it was kind of a perfect fit to jump back in,” Eoff explained. “So this is my second year as the head coach but it’s about my 10th coaching the program in some facet.”

Woodland’s roster is “senior-heavy,” with two-thirds of its team graduating this year. The other six Wolves are four juniors, one sophomore and one freshmen.

“We’re returning a lot of key pieces from last year’s team,” Eoff said. “Most of our firepower in the offensive lineup is coming back. We’re returning our two starting pitchers. We’re definitely senior-heavy so I think we can continue to be competitive this year in the Golden Empire League. With 12 of our 18 players being seniors, it definitely sets up to have to rebuild and battle the next couple years. But with all the guys returning and the experience the seniors have this year, I think we will have another good, competitive year to make another run at the title again.”

The Wolves play their first three games of the season on the road against Winters, Placer and Yuba City. Woodland plays Vanden on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in its home opener.

GEL play begins the following week with a three-game series against new rival, Rio Linda, who joined the league in the fall. The Wolves will host the first and third games on March 14 and 17, respectively, each with the first pitch at 3:30 p.m. The second game will be on the road at Rio Linda on March 16 at 5:30 p.m.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the league who is necessarily a doormat or an easy W,” Eoff proclaimed. “I think there is definitely some storied success in some of the programs. The good thing is you go in there knowing you have a chance to win every possible game. But at the same time, you have to keep your guard up because anybody else can jump up, bite you and steal one from you.”

Rivalry week in the City of Trees starts on March 21 as Woodland plays a three-game series against Pioneer. The Patriots will host games one and three. Game one starts at 3:30 p.m., and the other two begin at 4:15 p.m.

“Pioneer won the league championship last year and they got two great pitchers over there,” Eoff said. “(Head coach) Craig (Marquez) does it the right way.”

After March 10, the Wolves only opponents outside of league play will be on April 3 during a tournament held at Sheldon High School in Sacramento. Woodland will play the hosting Huskies, River City of West Sacramento and Redwood Christian of San Lorenzo.

“Carter Imbach, Austin Stapleton and Chris Duffield, they are our returning firepower at the plate,” Eoff said. “Stapleton and Duffield are also our number one and number two starting pitchers from last year. So I’m looking at them to speed up a bunch of innings, throw strikes and give us a chance to win every time they take the ball on the mound. We added a transfer, Derrick Fisher, who will be starting in right field and being our lead-off (hitter). He adds a lot of explosion and speed at the top of the lineup.

“You sprinkle in some other seniors like Dylan Ferreira, Russell Hanson and some other arms like Lucas Holleron and Anthony Santos. Any given day if anybody can just find a way to contribute, whether if its on the mound, in the batter’s box, on the bases, playing defense. It’s a team sport so while we’re expecting a heavy load to be lifted by some of those guys in the heart of the order, everyone else needs to chip in one way or the other.”

Fisher transferred from the recently-closed Alpha Charter School. The Wolves have four other three-game sets against GEL foes to round out the regular season, concluding with a matchup against Mesa Verde in Citrus Heights on May 5.

“This is definitely the best chance we’re gonna have for a little bit just because some of our big horses are seniors,” Eoff explained. “But at the same time, it just means that we’re going to have to do a good job of coaching up the next couple of years and making sure they are that much more prepared both mentally and physically. If anything, it just challenges you to find new ways to win and make sure the next couple of teams are just as prepared, if not more than ever.”