There hasn’t been a lot of lead-up to the start of the Southwest Conference season for the Roseburg High School baseball team this year, but expectations are still high for the Indians as they get ready to host North Medford in the conference opener on Saturday.

“We like our group very much. They’ve played a lot of baseball for us the last couple of years,” Roseburg head coach Troy Thompson said. “Hopefully we can get healthy enough and have enough time on the field to perform the way we’re all hopeful we’ll be able to do.”

Poor weather conditions this spring have limited what the Indians have been able to do in preparation for a typically grueling conference slate. The first week of practices were cancelled, a majority of practices have been indoors and Roseburg has managed to play just six of their scheduled 11 non-conference games.

Despite these struggles, the Indians feel like they’ve made the most of the situation.

“We like to try and schedule as tough as we can,” Thompson said about Roseburg’s nonconference games. “The teams we were able to see in Pendleton were good quality clubs and (we played) historically a good team in Summit out of Bend. So that’s been nice.”

Roseburg has gone 3-3 to start the year, with all three wins coming on the team’s recent spring break trip to Eastern Oregon. The Tribe notched wins against Summit, Sandy and 5A school Pendleton.

As the Indians prepare for the start of Southwest Conference play, their own high expectations are echoed from around the conference. Roseburg finished tied for first in a recent coaches poll conducted by the Medford Mail Tribune.

South Eugene and Roseburg each received three first place votes from the Southwest Conference coaches. South Medford placed third in the voting, followed by North Medford, Sheldon and Grants Pass.

While Roseburg and South Eugene split the first place votes, Thompson feels the race for the conference title is anyone’s for the taking.

“I think the conference top to bottom is probably as sound and as good as its been,” Thompson said. “I’m not sure there is a clear cut favorite. I think everyone has a chance to be good because everyone returns a quality arm or two on the mound.”

Grants Pass has led the way so far in the nonconference portion of the season. The Cavemen are 8-3 overall and have had more time on the field than any other 6A school.

South Eugene (6-3) and North Medford (5-3) are the only other SWC teams with an above .500 record. Sheldon (5-5), South Medford (4-4) and Roseburg all sit at .500 in the early going.

The Southwest Conference returns a large group of the All-Conference award winners from last year. South Eugene leads the way with five returning All-Conference players, led by first team selections Kaden Miller, Bryce Boettcher and Tristan Vidal.

Roseburg has four returning All-Conference selections, including first team selections Zack Mandera and Jonathan Stone.

Defending conference champion South Medford graduated a large number of its top players from last year, including conference player of the year Jacob Melton and pitcher of the year Brandon Letendre. The Panthers do return first team pitcher Ricky Boortz, who will be expected to anchor their rotation.

Sheldon took a hit this spring as second team first baseman Patrick Herbert graduated early to enroll at the University of Oregon and begin his college football career early. The Irish still return two All-Conference winners, led by first team utility player Dawson Prickel.

The conference got smaller this year with Willamette dropping to the 5A classification and only the top three teams in the SWC standings will receive automatic playoff berths.

Conference games for all six teams are scheduled to start on Saturday, weather permitting. The Indians start with a home doubleheader against North Medford. Game one of the series is slated for a noon first pitch at Legion Field.

Listen to Roseburg Indians baseball throughout the league season on local sports radio station CBS Sports Radio 1490 The Score (KSKR 1490-AM) or watch games broadcast live online at 541radio.com.