After winning the regular season portion of the 2014 Mountain East Conference baseball schedule, Shepherd needs to find able-bodied replacements for several all-conference players and other seniors from last year’s Atlantic Region-qualifying team.

Missing from the 2015 team will be pitcher Paul Hvozdovic, center fielder Michael Lott, left fielder Kyle Porter and designated hitter/outfielder Ryan Messina. Infielders Brandon Coffey and T.J. Weisenburg were also seniors on last season’s team that was ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region.

Already signed for 2015 by third-year coach Matt McCarty are 13 players, including three transfers from NCAA Division I schools.

The transfers from Division I schools are pitcher Michael Carpenter from Virginia Commonwealth, infielder Josh Mason from Temple and outfielder J.J. Sarty from William & Mary.

Carpenter had an effective summer pitching for the Winchester Royals of the Valley Baseball League. In 16 appearances (three starts), he pitched 45 innings and only allowed 28 hits, but did walk 34 batters. He had 54 strikeouts along with a 3-1 record and one save for a team that did not qualify for the league playoffs.

Mason played for New Market in the same Valley Baseball League this summer. He batted .240, scoring 17 runs and stealing 11 bases. But he struck out 39 times for the last-place Rebels.

Sarty finished this summer playing sparingly for the Charles Town Cannons of the Valley Baseball League where he went a hitless 0-for-10 in very limited duty.

Dom Wyshinski is a first baseman transferring from Young Harris in Georgia. He batted .248 with New Market, scoring 14 runs, walking 20 times, while fanning 24 times and not having a stolen base.

Infielders Vinnie Sorrentino and Michael Brown come from Delaware Tech, a two-year school. Sorrentino batted .346 and led the community college team with 36 hits.

Chris Colletti had a 7-3 record while pitching for Frederick (Md.) Community College. Bryan McHale is a graduate student pitcher coming from Division III Immaculata in Pennsylvania.

The five high school players signed are catcher Chase Hoffman from Sherando High in Stephens City, Virginia; outfielder Matt Meinhofer from Springfield, Virginia; pitcher Chris Buckner from Tunstall High in Danville, Virginia; pitcher Bill Reed from Loudoun Valley High in Purcellville, Virginia and infielder/outfielder Chase Hoffman from Middletown High in Maryland.

Meinhofer stole 25 bases this past season. Reed experienced arm problems in May but did return late in the season.

The Rams’ Spencer Wolfe was named to the Valley Baseball League all-league second-team following his summer catching with the Front Royal Cardinals. Wolfe batted .315 as a catcher/infielder for the Cardinals. He will be a senior for the Rams in 2015.

McCarty also has pitchers Jamie Driver, Ryan Pansch, Mac West, Tyler Thomas, Sam Crater, Austin Hale and Bryan DiRosario returning as well as regulars Jacob Carney (second base), Matt Wilson (right field), Bryce Shemer (third base), Jason Hepple (dh/catcher) and outfielder/infielder Mark McCormick, who replaced the injured Wilson in the conference tournament and the Atlantic Region tournament.