NTL BASEBALL: WYALUSING LOOKING TO TURN THINGS AROUND IN 2021 (2021-04-08)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
For most of the 2010s Wyalusing baseball was in a bit of a drought. Now, with coach Nick Vanderpool at the helm, and a plethora of young talent coming through, the Rams are hoping the 2020s will rain success.

“Our numbers are really good,” said Vanderpool. “We’ve got 26 kids consistently coming to practice. I feel like we have a lot of depth pitching wise with 7-or-8 guys that can throw strikes. Obviously, we have our aces, but we have a lot of guys who can eat innings, so that’s good.”

He sees this year as the first of potentially many good years for the Rams.

“I expect good things for the next several years, but hopefully this year being the springboard to get the program going,” said Vanderpool. “Get some excitement behind it, and continue to have our numbers grow.”

Two years ago Wyalusing finished 8-12 on the season, 6-9 in the NTL and 3-7 in the NTL Large School Division. 

Their sophomore class then are this year’s senior leaders.

“We’re senior heavy,” said Vanderpool. “We have eight seniors. A couple of them haven’t played ball since they were in Little League but they’re good athletes.”

Spencer Krewson, Nick Kelly, and Zach Shaffer are some Vanderpool pointed out.

Kelly had a .295 average two years ago with 3-RBI. Shaffer hit .191 with Krewson hitting .167. On the mound Shaffer tossed 19 2/3-innings with a 2-1 record and 3.56 ERA.

Mitchell Burke is a senior who will be a new addition to the team.

“(He’s) a real good athlete,” said Vanderpool. “Hopefully we can kind of get his control down on the mound.”

The coach expects good things out of his 12th graders.

“We have a very good senior class,” he remarked.

Going down the line Vanderpool sees juniors Kevin VanDeMark, Jake Bruyn and Hunter Moss also having big roles.

VanDeMark hit .256 as a freshman while Moss scored seven runs. In limited at bats Bruyn hit .400.

The one player Wyalusing can’t wait to see is sophomore Blake Morningstar.

“(He’s) throwing close to 90 miles per hour at the prospect camp,” said Vanderpool. “So I expect big things out of him. We have a really good freshman class, too, so I think top to bottom we have a really solid team.”

With last year’s season cancelled this may be the rare time where the underclassmen come in with more recent experience than the upperclassmen.

“A lot of these guys haven’t played ball in two years,” said Vanderpool. “Some of the younger boys did play travel ball last year, got some games in. By and large three-quarters or more haven’t played in two years.”

That puts them behind the curve a little bit, but that’s where everybody is at this point, too.

“I know Wyalusing hasn’t made the playoffs in 7-or-8 years,” Vanderpool remarked. “I feel like we should have a winning record by the end of the year, if not compete. Sayre’s got a really good team this year. Canton, Wellsboro, Athens for the next few years, we’ll be battling those guys. But I feel like this is the kind of year to make our presence known for the next 4-or-5 years hopefully.”