BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Calvert Hall recently moved into sparkling Carlo Crispino Stadium, a $1.5 million facility that features a grandstand, a press box and a state-of-the-art turf field in which the only dirt is on the pitcher’s mound.

“This is beautiful,” senior third baseman Kevin Lingerman said. “It’s a dream come true. There’s no lip [at third base]. You aren’t going to get any bad bounces out here. It’s real nice.”

But it may not be as beautiful as what the Cardinals did last year, when they went a perfect, 33-0 en route to winning their third straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title. It was the team’s 21st title, and 15th in the past 32 years.

“We’ll always live in the shadow of the team from last year,” Lingerman said. “But this will be a good year, and with our new field and everything, we’re all pretty excited.”

The Cardinals opened the season by winning eight of their first 11 games, but the three defeats came in the National Baseball Classic in Anaheim, Calif., where it competed against many of the nation’s top teams. Last year, Calvert Hall finished the season ranked fourth nationally by USA Today.

The Cardinals are relying on an experienced pitching staff, led by senior right-hander Mike Dillon.

“We’re kind of a young team in the field,” junior shortstop Patrick Blair said. “Our pitching staff is pretty experienced. Our pitching is going to keep us in games. If we can get a couple runs, we’ll win a lot of games.”

Blair, a sought-after recruit who is considering Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina, LSU and Florida — is the team’s most dynamic player, and he broke out last season by hitting .534 with four home runs, 28 stolen bases and 31 runs batted-in as the leadoff hitter. This year, he’s batting in the middle of the order.

“I’m trying to stay inside myself,” Blair said. “Coming off a big year, you can kind of get a big head and try to jack everything [out of the park]. So you just have to stay inside yourself and try to hit the gaps with line drives.”

This year’s staff should be strong.

“We have great depth in pitching,” Manager Lou Eckerl said. “The big question mark is how well we’re going to play defense and how well we’re going to hit.”

And that’s going to be up to Blair, Lingerman and left fielder Joe Robak. The trio represents the only returning position players from last year’s team, but their presence has given one of the state’s most storied programs lofty aspirations.

“They’re the backbone: Lingerman, Blair and Mike Dillon,” Eckerl said. “That’s our three main cogs on the wheel to make this year go well.”

swelsh@baltimoreexaminer.com