ENID — A very mild winter and an experienced team have put a smile on NOC Enid baseball coach Raydon Leaton’s face heading into today’s  2 p.m. opener with Butler Community College (Kan.) at David Allen Memorial Ballpark.

A year ago, the Jets — ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason — had “maybe two days’’ outside before opening the season.

This year, they had to be indoors only three or four times.

“We’re ready to put on the uniforms and take on somebody else,’’ Leaton said.

“We have a lot of experience and I think we will make a run at it again this year.’’

That maturity starts on the mound with the return of three veteran pitchers — sophomores Garrett Kelly (5-6, 4.37 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 652⁄3 innings), Justin Sheets (5-1, 3.32 ERA, 34 strikeouts, 502⁄3 innings) and Jonathan Johnson (1-1, 3.46 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 281⁄3 innings).

All three throw in the 85-86 mph range and can throw three pitches for strikes. They are known for their control.

“The important thing is to throw strikes because we can play defense behind them,’’ Leaton said. “We have improved offensively, so I think we will score some runs for them.’’

Freshmen Mitchell Bro, Zach Postoak, Hayden James, Matt Decker and Woodward’s Shawn Hunter have all shown promise.

The pitching staff also includes Enid High products Christian Lafontan and Jaxson Johnson.

Redshirt freshman David Menger of Jenks has taken charge behind the plate. Sophomore Davis Bradley (.250, 4 RBI) and freshman Tyler Wilkins will be the backups.

“The pitchers love throwing to David,’’ Leaton said. “He’s a really good defensive catcher and takes good care of the pitching staff.’’

The infield has sophomore Dusty Harper at first, freshman Chase Knott at second, sophomore Logan Glasgow (.255, 7 RBI) at short and freshman Logan Bradley at third.

Enid’s Erik Ramirez is pushing Harper.

Redshirt freshman Blake Callaway, one of the power sticks, is penciled in to DH today, but will be playing some second. Freshman Kyle Callahan is pushing Glasgow at short while freshman Andre Wilson is pushing Bradley at third base.

“The infield will be better offensively than we have been,’’ Leaton said. “We’re getting better defensively.’’

The Jets return their entire outfield from last season’s 29-21 team — left fielder Brandon Ruiz (.287, 17 RBI), center fielder J.R. Head (.281, one homer, 24 RBI) and right fielder Chris Faulkner (.344, 7 home runs, 36 RBI).

“Those three guys were a big part of our team last year and we expect them to get better,’’ Leaton said.

Head was a junior college Rawlings Gold Glove winner. He stuggled some adjusting to hitting lead-off for the first time as a freshman, but has shown improvement.

Leaton expects Head to have a shot of breaking the school single-season stolen base record (Matthew Abel 46, 2010).

Faulkner led the Jets in home runs a year ago and was third in RBI. Callaway and Harper are seen as the other top power hitters.

“The middle of our lineup will have some pop,’’ Leaton said.

Freshman Russell Colgan, sophomore transfer Tanner Cruts and freshman Ty Walker are potential backups.

Leaton, though, will use the early part of the season to establish his lineup.

“I’ve never started the same lineup in May that I started in February,’’ Leaton said.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We’re going to continue to develop these guys. We’re going to hit the weight room hard. We’re doing the little things to prepare us for the postseason.’’

The schedule includes national tournament entry Des Moines Area Comm-unity College and regional qualifiers  Longview and Dodge City.

Defending national champion Western Okla-homa College is the favorite to win the Okla-homa Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. NOC Enid was only one game behind the Pioneers in the league race last season.

“We’re going to be in one of the toughest conferences in the nation,’’ Leaton said. “We’re going to have to play well to win it, but if we stay healthy, we can put ourselves in a position to win it.’’

He doesn’t think about the challenge of unseating a defending national champion.

“We can’t control what the other teams have done or are going to do,’’ he said. “We just have to control what we can.’’

The regional postseason tournament has been moved from David Allen to Bartlesville. League coaches voted to make the move.

“We’ll have to make adjustments because that stadium has a different dimension,’’ Leaton said. “Hopefully, things will go well from there.

“This is one of the hardest working groups that we have had in a long time here.’’

Scott Mansfield is back as the Jets pitching coach .Jeremy Hise has stepped down for more family  time.