NTL BASEBALL: WELLSBORO EAGER TO GET BACK ON THE FIELD (2021-03-15)
Northern Tier West Sports ReportWELLSBORO — First-year head coach Steve Adams welcomed 14 varsity baseball players to practice last week, including a pair of seniors he will be looking at to provide some leadership to an otherwise young Hornet team.
“Kaeden (Mann) will be our catcher - very solid kid,†Adams relayed. “And Zac (Rowland) is going to be key for us on the mound. They’re both seniors.â€
In between directing his players as they field balls on the more weather-friendly artificial turf football field, Adams expounded on what he feels are some other keys to his team’s successes this season.
“We’re young overall, but so is everyone else,†Adams explained. “I’ve got juniors, sophomores and even freshman all over the field, but this group has played together for a long time so they have great chemistry and they’ve played in big-game scenarios.â€
Adams believes he will field a strong defensive unit to back up a yet-to-be-pinpointed rotation on the mound.
“You’ve got to be six or seven deep with pitchers nowadays,†says Adams. “You never know how many games will get rescheduled and you end up playing five games in a week.â€
Does Adams have that deep of a rotation?
“I’ll find some kids that can throw strikes for a couple innings here and there,†Adams says. “We’re strong defensively, I feel, so we don’t need to strike everyone out.â€
Adams points out a few important members of that defense, including junior third baseman Darryn Callahan, sophomore shortstop Connor Adams and junior Isaac Keane, who Adams says can play just about anywhere.
Adams, who accepted the head coaching position only about a month ago, is excited to have the chance to get playing.
“With no season last year, we are really eager to start,†Adams states. “We want to get better every time we get the opportunity to play.â€
While thankful for just being able to play games, Adams also has some goals for his squad.
“The goal is to be a playoff team and to compete for a league title,†Adams says. “There are some good teams in the league and we are excited for the challenge of playing those teams.â€
The Hornets are scheduled to open their season on March 26 at Northeast Bradford.
CUTLINE: Coach Steve Adams speaks to his team... PHOTOS BY LANCE LARCOM
