When new Coeur d'Alene "AA" American Legion baseball coach Zach Clanton played for the Lumbermen, he could expect his teams to live or die on a 3-run home run.

This year's team might not have the same pop at the plate, but they could just as well live with a 3-run double or triple instead.

Clanton, who has been the team's pitching coach the previous two seasons, takes over after Lloyd Duman retired. Duman had coached the Lums' to a 276-160 record and been with the program since 1993.

Clanton got a taste of being in charge during the state AA tournament, filling in for both Duman and Cory Bridges, who were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

"If I was going to be nervous, it would have been last year," Clanton said. "I was hoping we'd get to state and knew I'd get my chance if we did so. I might not be as organized as those guys were, but I love thinking ahead in the game."

Coeur d'Alene opens the season on Friday night against the Club Spokane Dodgers Eastside Memorial Classic on Friday at 6 p.m. at Central Valley High in Spokane.

Coeur d'Alene will face the Dodgers again in a nonleague game on June 30 at Thorco Field in Coeur d'Alene.

"It's been something we've been battling," said Clanton of playing club teams. "More than anything, our schedule didn't have as much to offer. I felt like I had to put together a schedule to keep kids in Coeur d'Alene."

The team will also play in the another wood bat tournament hosted by the Dodgers June 19-22, in addition to the annual Fourth of July wood bat tournament.

"I feel like we've got a schedule that's set up to get them in front of coaches and get themselves to a big time school," Clanton said. "We'll be the most battle-tested team in the state. I've been telling them, we'll lose some games this year. It's not downplaying them, but it's a tough schedule. But we'll be better for it late in the year."

Suraj Kedia, who graduated from Lake City High in 2013, returns and will pitch and play in the outfield. He'll be joined in the pitching rotation by Colby Kennedy, Elliott Sparks, Devin Kluss, Dominic Conigliaro, Stephen Vaudrieul, Shawn Montee, Parker Gabrielson, Connor Cardinel and Reggie Nault.

"We've got some guys back that got a lot of quality innings," said Clanton, who pitched at NAIA Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. "Elliott is going to be a big guy in the bullpen and we're expecting him to get a lot of starts."

Conigliaro (first base), Jonny Plum and Cody Garza (second base, shortstop) and Gibson Green will be the primary players around the infield.

"We're going to see if Jonny or Cody can separate themselves at a certain spot," Clanton said. "But we're going to be looking good defensively. Gibson is the kind of leader that will run through a brick wall for you and I'm looking forward to watching him continue to develop."

Colton Gray will do the catching for Coeur d'Alene this year after serving as the backup behind the plate for the Coeur d'Alene High baseball team this year.

"He caught almost every game for us last year," Clanton said. "He's not a vocal guy until the game starts, then he's barking out orders."

Shawn Montee, Kluss and Nault will be primary outfielders, with Gabrielson and Vaudrieul playing a variety of spots this season.

"It's definitely not like a Coeur d'Alene team I played on," Clanton said. "We were able to live or die on a 3-run home run. But we're going to be running and stealing a lot more. We're going to have to be more of a technical team. We're not going to hit a lot of home runs, but going to rely heavily on our pitching."

The top two teams between Lewis-Clark, Prairie and Coeur d'Alene in the Class AA Area A tournament July 24-27 at Post Falls High advances to the state tournament July 30-Aug. 3 at Harris Field in Lewiston.

"We're looking forward to the season," Clanton said. "The guys have a good outlook and looking forward to it getting started. There's definitely going to be a change in the atmosphere and we're looking forward to it."