Northern Tier West Sports ReportWELLSBORO — Wellsboro cruised through their regular season nearly unscathed, falling just twice while collecting multiple mercy-rule wins on their way to a share of the NTL Large School title and the top seed in the District IV 3A playoffs.
After opening the season with a 23-5 rout over North Penn-Mansfield, the Hornets let one slip away in an 8-7 loss to Jersey Shore, who finished the year 7-12 and out of the 4A playoffs.
A pair of lopsided wins over Troy (10-0) and Sayre (15-0) led to a tight win over Small School champ Cowanesque Valley, 7-5, and their first match-up with Athens, who Wellsboro would end up sharing the title with.
The teams played at the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, PNC Field, and the Wildcats would get the early jump in the title race, winning 6-1 to hand the Hornets their second .. and final .. loss of the regular season.
Wellsboro then put together a 13-game winning streak which included season-sweeping wins over Troy (14-7) and NP-Mansfield (7-12), a pair of wins over Towanda (10-11), a 4-3 win over eventual District IV 2A champ South Williamsport (14-7) and an extra-inning, 6-5 win over Athens to claim a share of the championship.
The Hornets took their 17-2 record into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and rolled Bloomsburg 11-1 in their first round game before falling to No. 4 seed Warrior Run in the semifinals to bring the Hornets’ 2026 season to an end.
Head Coach Kyle Smith got production throughout his mostly underclassmen-filled lineup, with seven Hornets batting over .320 and eight with at least 16 base hits on the year.
Leading the way at the plate was senior Marek Mascho and junior Coen Tennis.
Marek had 36 base hits on the season .. including a home run, 10 doubles and the 100th hit of his career .. while adding 35 runs scored, 27 RBI, eight stolen bases and a .500 on-base-percentage. Coach Smith’s senior leader also pitched 26 innings for the Hornets, going 3-1 with a 5.19 ERA and 22 strikeouts.
Tennis, the Hornets’ catcher and the 2025 All-Tioga County ‘Defensive Player of the Year’, hit .463 with 31 base hits .. with three home runs, a triple and five doubles .. and had 31 RBI, 21 runs scored, seven stolen bases and a .537 OBP.
Freshman Gage Baltzley proved to be a tough out in his first varsity season, hitting .362 with 17 base hits and drawing 18 walks to get on base at a team-leading .557 clip. The Hornets’ second baseman added 25 RBI, 20 runs scored and 18 stolen bases and went 4-0 on the mound, pitching 30 innings with a 2.40 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
Junior Max Mascho established himself as Wellsboro’s ace, pitching 40 and a third innings and going 7-1 on the season, striking out 71 batters with a 2.68 ERA. Max produced at the plate as well, hitting .327 with 18 base hits, 24 runs scored, 16 RBI and had a .519 OBP thanks to his pitcher’s eye helping him draw 20 walks.
Senior Cameron Owlett .. .328 BA, 20 hits, 19 runs, 19 RBI, .423 OBP .. and sophomores Gabe Cuneo .. .328 BA, 22 hits, 25 runs, 15 RBI, 5-2b, 9 SB, .432 OBP, Griffin Morral .. .323 BA, 21 hits, 30 runs, 12 RBI, 5-2b, 20 BB, 17 SB, .488 OBP and Reed Richardson .. .276 BA, 16 hits, 16 runs, 15 RBI, 4-2b, 7 SB, .323 OBP .. rounded out the Hornets’ lineup.
Junior Syler Pietrzyk was a key part of the Hornets’ rotation, going 4-0 over 26 and two-third innings of work with a 1.01 ERA and 26 K’s.
Wellsboro Hornets 2026 Season Photos Available HERE
Individual Player Galleries Available Upon Request ..
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