SIUC baseball coach Dan Callahan looks at a copy of his 1998 roster and shakes his head at the thoughts of what could have been.

With a deep pitching staff and two top power hitters returning, Callahan and his Salukis appeared ready to challenge Wichita State University and Southwest Missouri State University for the Missouri Valley Conference title.

But the team was hit with a bombshell in January that put a damper on the season before it even began. Three recruits, Daniel Adams, Casey Boydstun and Joe Trigg, decided to quit the team during the first week of the semester.

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Although the three players were not expected to carry the team to an MVC championship, they each had the opportunity to fill in nicely in the Salukis’ championship run this season.

Their decisions to leave shocked Callahan, and it marked the first time the fourth-year coach has seen that many departures.

The thing that makes us more bitter than anything was that none of the three honored a commitment, Callahan said. You’ve made a commitment to a university; they’ve made a commitment to this baseball program. They left without honoring that commitment.

Both Adams and Boydstun participated in the team’s six weeks of conditioning and fall practices. Adams sat down with Callahan before leaving, citing homesickness as his reason. Boydstun was also homesick, but he left without telling Callahan of his decision. It was only later that Callahan was able to talk with Boydstun.

I told him the fall is the hard part, Callahan said. That’s the preparation period. The fun part is getting ready to start when you start playing games and start traveling a little bit.

College athletics are fun period. And the games should be the most fun part. It’s fun to travel, it’s fun to hang around with the guys. This year, we’re going to Las Vegas, we’re going to San Antonio, we’re going to Oklahoma. We’re playing good teams at nice stadiums and hopefully nice climate. That’s the fun part.

Trigg never even stepped on the field as a Saluki. Trigg, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound third baseman from Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Mich., signed a letter of intent to play for the Salukis Nov. 24.

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But Trigg was unhappy about his transferable credit hours from junior college, which forced him to choose a major he was not satisfied with. He never talked with Callahan before leaving.

What I told our team after I found out those guys were leaving, I said, I probably need to remind you of something,’ Callahan said. Playing college baseball is a privilege. It’s not a right, and there’s a price to be paid.’

You don’t just show up in Vegas on Feb. 13 and think, Hey, I’m here and the season is ready to start. Let’s have fun.’ But the biggest loss is the lack of depth that it leaves on the Saluki infield. All three players would have had the opportunity to either start or see significant playing time had they stayed.

Boydstun, a freshman shortstop from Galesburg, hit. 407 with six home runs in 1997. He earned all-conference honors for three years and his team’s Most Valuable Player award. Adams, a 6-foot-3 first baseman from Paducah, Ky., signed with the Salukis in Nov. 1996 after hitting 11 home runs and 71 RBIs in leading his American Legion squad to a second-place state finish.

Trigg was Callahan’s top recruit after leading Grand Rapids to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Championship last spring, hitting .410 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.

Trigg was expected to step into the starting third baseman spot for Matt Dettman, who would move to first base. Dettman smacked a team-high 14 home runs in 1997 but also committed a team-worst 29 errors at third base.

Instead, Callahan will keep Dettman at third where he will be joined by sophomore Steve Ruggeri at second base, junior transfer Jon Winter at shortstop and senior Joel Peters at first. Peters moves from right field to take over at first.

Trigg was the talk of the town, Callahan said. Here was a guy who was a first-team All-American and who we knew could come in and was good enough to start at third, hit some home runs and do a decent job at third. He was a big piece of the puzzle. And then bang, over the course of three days, it’s like one, two, three, they’re all out.

Ruggeri said the losses may play a big role if the team suffers any key injuries.

I may have to play two positions depending on if (starting shortstop) Jon Winter gets hurt, Ruggeri said. Our options are limited as far as who can play where.

We don’t have many guys who can play three positions on the infield. We had to bring two outfielders in to go for third base. Those three guys leaving hurt us tremendously.

Regardless of the losses, senior designated hitter Brad Benson is confident the Salukis will have more than enough firepower to compete for a conference championship.

Two of those three guys were freshmen, and for the most part, it’s rare for freshmen to step in, Benson said. But the guys that are here are good players. We may not have the depth, but we have some guys that can play a bunch of positions.