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MISSOULA- The Missoula Mavericks find themselves in familiar territory early this season, sitting at the top of the Western AA legion standings. But the fans who watch Brent Hathaway's club are still trying to get familiar with the roster.

After an 11-2 win and a 3-2 loss in Kalispell yesterday, the Mavs own a 5-1 mark in conference play, but only three seniors and no 19-year olds on the roster. Despite all the changeover, the perennial contenders expected to wind up near the top once again.

"Lot of young guys filling in on some sports. We knew they were going to do a great job. Coaches did a great job of getting them ready to play. So our expectation kind of stays the same year to year," Mavericks junior Tanner Rheinschmidt said.

"You know, I'm not really that surprised, cause I know we had a bunch of talent. These young kids, they have a bunch of ability. Couple of our sophomores, I mean Slade and Shane, there's a lot of ability there. You can tell there is a bunch of talent. So we've just kind of got to put all the things together," senior Mavericks player Riley King explained.

"There's no secret. We work at it. We spend a lot of time trying to be good baseball players. These kids, if they're athletic and they give us the effort, they always do perform well," Manager Brent Hathaway told us.

The club takes a break from conference play now to host their annual Maverick's Memorial Tournament which starts Thursday and ends on Sunday.

Contact Derek Buerkle