Browse Wellsboro’s, and the entire league’s, final statistics for the season and Callahan’s hit total (21) and batting average (.389), while very impressive, don’t give a clear picture of how valuable and productive of a season the Slippery Rock-commit truly had at the plate.

With more than half of his hits going for extra bases .. including six home runs, three doubles and three triples .. Callahan compiled a Ruthian-like slugging percentage of .889. His nearly 200 percentage point jump from his batting average to his .568 on-base percentage was bolstered by the lefty’s 24 walks. While most of those free passes would not go down as the traditional, pitch-out intentional walks, it was clear that pitchers were hesitant to challenge Callahan. Add in his 32 runs scored and 25 RBI and it solidifies Callahan as both the biggest threat and the biggest producer for the NTL large school division’s best team.

Coming in a very close second to Callahan in both Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year “voting” was teammate, and our All-Tioga County Newcomer of the Year, Cam Brought. The sophomore first-baseman exploded onto the varsity baseball scene by collecting an NTL-leading 33 base hits, including nine doubles and two triples. He batted .478 on the season and had a .550 on-base percentage, while knocking in 25 runs and scoring 24 times. Despite never having competed in a varsity baseball game, Brought struck out only five times in 77 plate appearances.

Our All-Tioga County Pitcher of the Year is North Penn-Mansfield’s Noah Spencer. Spencer won seven games for the 12-8 Tigers, against just one loss. In his 41 innings of work, the senior gave up 40 runs on 40 hits, with a 3.36 ERA and 47 strikeouts.

Spencer earns his spot on the All-Tioga County first team thanks to his performance at the plate just as much as his success on the mound. His 32 hits were second only to Brought in the NTL, adding seven doubles, 11 RBI, 19 runs scored with a .464 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage. 

Our next individual award, the All-Tioga County Defensive Player of the Year, goes to versatile Wellsboro pitcher/infielder/outfielder Brock Hamblin. Not only was Hamblin exceptional at all of the various positions he occupied this season .. including at least one of the top-three plays I saw in-person, and caught on camera .. the senior went 4-1 on the mound for the Hornets, throwing 36 innings while allowing 28 runs with 27 strikeouts and only 11 walks. At the plate, Hamblin had a pitcher’s eye, drawing 16 walks. He reached base at a .444 clip, adding 12 hits (four doubles) and 18 runs scored.

For our Rookie of the Year award, we like to recognize a true freshman, as opposed to a “newcomer” .. which this season could have included many of the upperclassmen who were playing varsity for the first time due to Covid. Unlike their counterparts on the softball scene, where numerous ninth-graders made significant impacts on their teams, freshmen baseball players making an impact on their team were a bit more rare. One exception to that was our Rookie of the Year, Cowanesque Valley’s Jordan Vargeson. 

Vargeson collected 16 hits for the Indians, including three doubles, with eight RBI and eight runs scored. The first baseman’s .296 average and .365 on-base percentage were more than respectable in a league that was so upperclassmen-heavy.

Joining Callahan, Brought, Hamblin and Spencer on the All-Tioga County First Team are:

Tucker St. Peter, Cowanesque Valley. No one in the West .. and only the coaches' NTL Player of the Year Brayden Horton from Sayre .. got on base at a more efficient pace than St. Peter. His .587 on-base percentage was bolstered by 29 base hits, including seven doubles, two triples and two home runs. The junior added 24 RBI and 19 runs scored, while batting .527 with 19 stolen bases. On the mound, St. Peter went 2-2 in 22 innings of work. He had 20 strikeouts and a 3.4 ERA.

Gabe Kaufman, Williamson. Kaufman batted .452 for the 3-15 Warriors, with 28 base hits .. including five doubles and two triples. He had a .507 on-base percentage, with 14 RBI and 20 runs scored. In 70 plate appearances, the versatile junior struck out only three times.

McGuire Painter, Cowanesque Valley. During an appearance on the NTL podcast during the second-third of the season, and while purposefully attempting to give the entire CV team an “atta boy” for how they’d been playing, this reporter inadvertently criticized the Indians as a team that was playing exceptionally well, but were possibly missing a strong “#2” pitcher behind Tucker St. Peter. That was a bad take by me, as Painter proved over the course of the season to be a strong first-option on the mound, throwing 32 innings and striking out 71 batters on his way to a 2-2 record. At the plate, the junior batted .397, with 23 base hits, 12 runs scored and 13 RBI.

Connor Adams, Wellsboro. Another key ingredient to Wellsboro’s potent offensive attack, Adams collected 23 hits, scored 26 runs and had 14 RBI and 22 stolen bases. The speedy, sophomore middle-infielder batted .333 and had a .447 on-base percentage, thanks in-part to drawing 14 walks. 

Mike Sipps, Cowanesque Valley. Sipps batted .473 for the Indians and reached base at an incredible .580 clip, third behind only Horton and St. Peter in the NTL. The athletic catcher had 26 hits, including seven doubles and a triple, with 20 runs scored, 15 RBI and 25 stolen bases.

Our Rookie of the Year, Jordan Vargeson, headlines the All-Tioga County Baseball Second Team. The remaining honorees are:

Derek Litzelman, North Penn-Mansfield. 23 hits (four doubles, one triple), 14 runs, 12 RBI, .442 BA, .473 OBP, eight IP, zero hits allowed, four K’s.

Isaac Keane, Wellsboro. 23 hits (five doubles, one HR), 20 runs, 18 RBI, .324 BA, .388 OBP, 4-1 on the mound, 22.3 IP, 3.76 ERA, 12 K’s.

Caleb Morgan, Cowanesque Valley. 21 hits, 22 runs, 16 RBI, 19 SB, .356 BA, .449 OBP. 1-0 pitching, seven IP, six K’s.

Blaise Dietrich, North Penn-Mansfield. 18 hits, 23 runs, 10 RBI, 27 SB, .305 BA, .461 OBP, 14 BB, 21 IP, 23 K’s.

Bryan Bogaczyk, North Penn-Mansfield. 20 hits, 11 runs, 11 RBI, .333 BA, .394 OBP, 14 SB.

Kaeden Mann, Wellsboro. 19 hits (three doubles, two HR), 23 runs, 17 RBI, .306 BA, .429 OBP, 17 SB.

Jacob Evans, North Penn-Mansfield. 19 hits (two HR, two doubles), 20 runs, 16 RBI, .284 BA, .360 OBP, 17 SB.

Dylan Abernathy, Wellsboro. 16 hits, 18 RBI, 10 runs, .308 BA, .415 OBP, six SB.