NTL BASEBALL: YOUTH SHOWS PROMISE FOR NEB IN 2021 (2021-06-10)

Northern Tier Sports Report
Northeast Bradford baseball had some strong moments on the field, but also had some growing pains, as they returned only four players with varsity experience in 2021.

An 8-7 loss to NP-Mansfield in extra innings as their season opener was a microcosm of how their year went - they were good enough to compete, but saw several games slip through their fingers.

They started out the year 1-5, but railed off three wins in four games - including an 8-7 win over CV in extra innings - to push themselves to 4-6, and a possible playoff berth.

However, a 1-5 finish to the season ended that, with them losing to Benton (4-3) and CV (4-2) - both winnable games that, had they gone their way, would have put them in a district final with St. John Neumann.

“We finished with a 5-11 record,” said coach Brian Pifer. “The record speaks for itself, yet COVID shutdowns in the district played a role in the season. On three different occasions, practices were interrupted because of remote learning in the district. That accounted for a 25-percent loss of practice days. Coupled with missing last season as well, player development, and game experience suffered. All other local teams dealt with the same issues, but I feel it impacted us more because of a smaller margin of error that we have. Rainy weather created a backlog of games that exposed pitching depth issues.”

That made 2021 a learning year more than anything, but it also created an opportunity for younger players to show their stuff in games, which they did.

“Four of the top five hitters on the team were freshmen,” said Pifer.

Freshman Clay Wiggins hit .348, with 12-RBI, five doubles, and two triples, while fellow freshman Dillion Donnelly batted .286 with 9-RBI. Cayden McPherson was the third freshman with a solid average as he hit .300, while Garrett Cooper hit .275.

Senior Nick Beers hit .354 with a team leading 15-RBI, five doubles, and the Panthers’ lone home run. 

Collin Allis led the team in innings pitched with 36, striking out 34 against 14 walks. He had a 5.25 ERA.

Fellow senior Lucas Crown had a team leading 42 strikeouts against nine walks as he sported a team best 3.62 ERA.

“I was very pleased with how the players accepted the challenges, and did their best to compete,” said Pifer. “We won some games with a lot of enthusiasm, lost some close games, and lost some badly.”

Looking into 2022 the pitching rotation will have to be rebuilt again as they lose their top two hurlers; however, they have the makings of a strong line-up at the plate.

Despite all their roadblocks, they were in contention for the District IV, Class A title game; which means, if they can clean some things up, they could be playing at Bowman next season.