After the Michigan baseball team committed 104 errors in his first season at the helm two years ago, coach Rich Maloney chided his team to aim for a .965 fielding percentage last year. Although it finished at .960, it committed only 96 errors in a season with two more games than the previous one.

This year, with three starting infielders returning, Maloney hopes a run to the top of the Big Ten will begin with solid defense.

“In order to build a championship program in any sport, it starts with defense,” Maloney said. “Even though we led the Big Ten in E.R.A. last year, hopefully our defense will be better this year.”

The Wolverines surrendered 45 unearned runs last year, and Maloney feels that this is a key area for improvement. Because they have an experienced rotation of starting pitchers, the earned run total will likely fall, and it’s up to their defense to minimize unearned runs.

“If we reduce the number of runs we give up by 20 or 30, we can be a championship team,” Maloney said. “To be a championship team, we need to be around 280 runs given up, and on offense we need to score about 405.”

Michigan will return at least three-fourths of last year’s starting infield in first baseman Kyle Bohm, shortstop Leif Mahler and third team preseason All-America second baseman Chris Getz. Junior AJ Scheidt was also slated to return as a starter at third base, but after injuring his arm last fall, he has been unable to return to top form.

“It appears that (Scheidt) will not be able to play third base this season,” Maloney said. “There is still a glimmer of hope, but his arm just hasn’t responded the way we would like for him to play.”

At this point, Maloney is unsure of who will ultimately emerge as the regular third basemen but he has several solid candidates.

“Third base will be interesting,” Maloney said. “We have a transfer from (Detroit-Mercy), Alex Martin, who performed very well for us in the fall, and we have a newcomer, Derek VanBuskirk who will have chance there.”

Martin came to the Wolverines after Detroit-Mercy dropped its baseball program. During the 2004 season, Martin hit .299 and stole 15 bases for the Titans. Vanbuskirk is a less-proven quantity, but hit .500 as a junior and .372 as a senior at St. Clair (Mich.) High School.

Freshman Doug Pickens might also try his hand at third. Pickens was Gatorade’s Michigan Player of the Year last year after hitting .525 with 15 homeruns as a catcher at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.

“(Pickens) will play some (designated hitter), some left field, some right field and probably some third base,” Maloney said. “His bat is his ticket. We’re really excited about him.”

Although it’s unlikely Scheidt will play third this year, he will serve as the team’s designated hitter so that the Wolverines can keep his bat in the lineup. Scheidt hit .304 during the 2004 season.

Whoever fills in at third will have the three returning starters to learn from. All three are solid fielders, and Getz, the program’s first preseason All-American since 2002, is a leader on and off the diamond.

“(Getz) is one of the nation’s elite players,” Maloney said. “He is a great talent and a great kid. I expect him to have a great year.”

The Wolverines begin the season on Friday against Illinois-Chicago in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Michigan will play five games in Florida before heading to Greenville, N.C. on March 4 for three games.