SAN BERNARDINO – Coach Tacy Duncan would like nothing more than for her 2012 Coyotes to build upon the momentum her team gained in a record-setting 2011 season.

The Coyotes, who finished last year as an NCAA West Region finalist and ranked 15^th in the final NFCA poll, open the 2012 campaign Friday afternoon when they play host to always-tough Cal Baptist.

Duncan's crew reached new territory a year ago when they earned an NCAA berth for only the second time in school history. The Coyotes captured the West II sub-regional by defeating defending NCAA champion and host school Hawaii Pacific, then stunned Sonoma State in a pair of wins to move on to the West Final, where they lost to eventual champion UC San Diego in a best-of-three series.

The Coyotes welcome back five starters – junior 1B Alyssa Flores, junior 2B Britney Butler, senior SS Courtney Wilhelms, senior 3B Alex Mitchell and junior OF Jamie Leffingwell  – who all played prominent roles for the 35-24 Coyotes.

All five hit more than .300 with Leffingwell leading the way at .322. She also had four home runs, a team-high 11 doubles with 29 RBI and earned All-CCAA honors. Butler hit .315 in 50 games and sustained power with nine HRs, six doubles and a triple and drove in 33 runs and also earned All-CCAA honors.

Wilhelms hit .317 with eight homers, seven doubles and team-leading 43 RBI. Mitchell hit .309 with 10 doubles and Flores hit .305 in 56 games with seven doubles, three homers and 31 RBI.

Senior Felicia Cervantes played in a multitude of roles for the Coyotes last year. She hit .246 in 47 games and led the team in fielding percentage with a perfect 1.000.

On the mound, junior Carly Land is the only pitcher returning from last year's team. Land appeared in 31 games with nine starts for the Coyotes. She was 7-8 overall with a 3.76 ERA in 95 innings. She had 61 strikeouts and will be looked upon to improve her control, after giving up 47 base on balls and 31 hit by pitches. With runners on base, Land was tough to hit against as she allowed the opposition to hit only .232 – a team best.

Newcomers for the Coyotes this spring are: freshman OF Charlotte Galzote, sophomore UT Brittney Ybarra, freshman OF Jamie Nakagawa, freshman OF Victoria Lievanos, freshman INF Terry Rahe, junior INF Monica Ferguson, freshman INF Alyssa Flores, sophomore OF Jackie Morales, freshman RHP Abreanna Landeros, junior C/OF Patti Masner and junior INF Nadia Hamdan.

Defending Division II national champion UC San Diego has been selected as the preseason favorite to capture the league title.

The Tritons totaled 81 points and garnered nine first-place votes to finish ahead of Chico State, which received 65 votes. Defending CCAA Tournament champion Sonoma State (62) was third in the voting and was followed by the Coyotes (55) and Humboldt State, which collected 50 points and one first-place vote.

Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Monterey Bay tied for sixth with 42 points and were followed by Cal State Stanislaus (22), Cal State East Bay (19) and San Francisco State (12).

UC San Diego, Chico State, Sonoma State and the Coyotes are the coaches' choices to represent the conference in the CCAA Tournament, scheduled April 26-28 at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton.