NTL SOFTBALL: CANTON CONTINUED TO GROW IN 2021 (2021-06-16)

Northern Tier Sports Report
Back in 2018 Canton softball won just one game. Now, just two seasons later, the Warriors are back in the thick of things, as they finished 2021 at 13-9, and reached the district semifinals.

“Overall, I’m very happy of how we progressed as the season went on,” said Canton coach Lyle Wesneski. “The season started a little shaky. We lost a lot of close ball games - 1-run games, 2-run games early on. We did a little soul searching as a team. We found out who we were, and by about game 10 I really felt this team started to gel. Really, it was a whole new team because we missed all of last year.”

After starting the year 0-2 they used a walk-off win over NP-Liberty to run off three straight wins. Thanks to a 4-game win streak, at the 12-game mark they sat 8-4. Then, in their final eight games they alternated wins and loss, going 4-4, but finished strong, with an 8-6 win over Wyalusing to guarantee themselves a home game in districts.

In their playoff game they got revenge on CV, who swept them during the regular season, beating them 10-2, before falling to NEB 5-0 in the semifinals.

“We had to break in a lot of new players,” explained Wesneski. “Once we found out who our best nine were, we started clicking. We had to play great defense, and hit the ball. We were squaring the ball up every game.”

Scoring runs wasn’t a problem for Canton, as they scored in double figures 12 times this season, and scored over 20 runs in three separate games.

Emmi Ward led the way at the plate, hitting .506 with a .728 on base percentage. She had 41 runs scored, 23 stolen bases, 21-RBIs, and two home runs hitting out of the number two slot. 

She was also a vacuum at shortstop with a .898 fielding percentage.

Molly Ward hit .470 in the lead-off slot, with a .627 on base percentage. She had 25-RBI, and 34 runs scored. Molly also had a .900 fielding percentage at third base.

Rounding out their top three at the top of the order was Keri Wesneski, who hit .436 with a .628 on base percentage. She had four home runs, 38-RBI, and 28 runs scored. Wesneski had an .893 fielding percentage.

Katie Shay batted clean-up, with a .352 average, 25-RBI, and three home runs. Catcher Allyson Butcher hit .384 with three home runs, seven doubles, and 20-RBI.

All five were NTL All-Stars, and all five return next season. In fact, things keep looking up, as they lose just their pitcher Jill Shay for next season.

However, games aren’t going to get any easier, in the NTL or the district. League champions NEB lose just one player as they return their battery, while, at the district level, Class A champions Montgomery bring back one of the state’s top pitchers in Faith Persing.

“A couple of games (NEB pitcher) Thailey (Franklin) shut us down,” said Wesneski. “We’ve got some work to do in the off season. We’re going to miss Jill, but we’ve got Keri, and Keri’s ready to go. We’ve got to be ready to go by next year. We’ve got a good core, and we’re pretty excited for what the future holds for us the next 2-3 years.”