NTL BASEBALL: CANTON HAS STELLAR 2021 SEASON (2021-06-14)

Northern Tier Sports Report
At 18-4, Canton baseball had about as good as season as a team can have, and not come away with a title in 2021.

They only lost to two teams all season - three times to Sayre, once to South Williamsport (district semifinalist) - but they had the bad luck of being in the same NTL Division and District IV class as the Redskins - who claimed titles in both.

Regardless, they had some pretty memorable wins during the year, especially since many of them they came from behind.

“It was a great season,” said Canton coach Bob Rockwell. “These kids never quit, and showed grit and toughness all year. In the end, it came down to talent, and Sayre’s team was just a little more talented than we were. That’s not to take away from how good we were. We lost four games, and three of them were to Sayre.”

They lacked a true ace, and didn’t have a lot of power in their line-up, but they more than made up for it thanks to a deep bullpen, a bevy of players who could get on base in multiple ways, and an aggressive offensive approach that put pressure on defenses whenever they got on base.

“I’ve never had a faster team, and speed was our team strength,” said Rockwell. “We stole 230 bases over a 22 game season. That’s pretty amazing. And we could hit, and score in bunches. We had very capable pitchers, but no dominant pitcher like Sayre, and a couple of other NTL teams had. We knew going in we would have to give teams different looks by pitching several guys in a game, and we did.”

Nearly their entire starting line-up averaged over .300, led by Hudson Ward at .395. He had 25-RBI, and 25 stolen bases. Weston Bellows averaged .387, and had the most pop, with seven doubles, a triple, and a home run, to go with 23-RBI.

Cooper Kitchen (.365 average), Joel Schoonover (.357), Cam Bellows (.347), Hayden Ward (.323), and Carter Route (.316) all hit the ball well. 

Schoonover also had six doubles, to go with 37 stolen bases, while Cam led the team with 42 stolen baes. Hayden had 37 steals as well.

“The NTL is a meat grinder, where every night is another tough game,” said Rockwell. “There are no ‘easy’ games in the NTL. This particular year we did not lose to a Large School team, which is pretty amazing considering all of them are bigger schools than we are.”

The Warriors were known for their come from behind wins, and nail-biters in general, edging out Athens, Wellsboro, NP-Mansfield, CV, NEB, Wyalusing and Troy in close contests. They nearly did the same against Sayre, falling 13-12, which will forever be known as the ‘one that got away,’ but it shouldn’t take away from all the times they were able to execute down the stretch when they needed to.

“My assistant Jay Perry did a great job preparing our defense and pitching staff, as well as scouting the opponent,” said Rockwell. “Several wins would not have happened had it not been for his scouting.”

Going forward they will have some big holes to fill.

“We lost several key seniors that will be hard to replace,” said Rockwell. “Schoonover, Route, Matthews, Davis, Landis, Jannone, Cam Bellows, Timmy Ward, and Baillie. Their experience will be hard to replace.”