Sports Report

Athens Canton NEB Sayre Towanda Troy Wyalusing Youth College Preview/Wrap-Up Opinion

NTL SOFTBALL: TOWANDA EXCITED TO START 2024 (March 21, 2024)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Towanda softball might be young this year but the players couldn’t be more excited after last year’s big playoff run.

“I think all of us as a team are very ready for the season, especially hoping to go farther this year,” said lone senior Shaylee Greenland.

They upset top seed Loyalsock, 6-4, in their district opener before falling to Warrior Run, 8-4, in the semifinals.

“We have a lot of girls returning, we have a strong bunch of freshmen coming up, so we have high hopes for this season,” said coach Caitlyn Crawford.

That includes both pitches, Greenland and Aleah Johnson.

Greenland went 88 2/3-innings a year ago, striking out 129 against 16 walks with an ERA of 1.974. Johnson pitched 42 2/3-innings with 45 strikeouts against 20 walks with a 3.117 ERA.

“In the off-season I’ve been doing reps, as always,” Greenland said. “I stick to my same stuff, just more and more playing makes me better.”

She’s been the number one option for two years now and comes in as one of the top pitchers in the NTL.

“I’m really looking to Shay to be a leader on the team this year, as well as having Aleah,” Crawford said. “We have two strong core pitchers that I think will really help us out.”

At the plate is where the big hole will be. They have to replace Brea Overpeck’s .515 average, 33-RBI, and 10 home runs.

“It’s big shoes to fill,” Crawford said. “We’re going to miss Brea, but I think that we have some girls here who are capable of filling those shoes. It might not be home runs, but it can be big base hits.”

They return three players who hit over .300 on the year: Brooklyn Evans (.358), Tae-Lynn Brabant (.333), and Johnson (.314). They combined for 12 doubles, six triples, two home runs, and 33-RBI, 21 by Johnson. They also scored 53 of the team’s 131 runs last year.

Crawford is hoping to bump up last year’s team average of .324, or at least keep it at that same level when taking out Overpeck’s .515.

It’s helped that they’ve been able to get on the field due to some early season warmth, which has been key to their defensive progression, and base running.

“We get to work on situations where we’ll have base runners,” explained Johnson. “We get to hit live so it helps out a lot, especially when it comes to infield tactics, like double plays and stuff.”

Out of the 16 on the roster 12 are freshmen and sophomores, though they’re bullish about their six freshmen.

“We’ve got, basically, the same group of girls, and a lot of good freshmen, too,” Greenland said. “I think we’re all really ready, and have the same goal - to make it further this year.”

They hope to be more consistent in the league this season as last year they barely made the playoffs, needing to win their final game to get in.

“I think a lot of games last year were close, or we thought we could have won, so we just have to execute everywhere,” remarked Greenland.

Defending league champions, NP-Liberty, look to be the favorites again, with the hard hitting Trojans right behind. Athens, Wellsboro, and Wyalusing also have strong histories of good softball teams, plus NEB and CV in cross-over play.

“We just have one of those leagues where you come never knowing what you’re going to get,” Crawford said. “We can’t walk into any game thinking that you have it.”

But they’re definitely coming into the season thinking they have a chance in every game, too.

“It’s nice to have a lot of new upcoming players that are really good,” said Johnson. “Last year we went pretty far, but we have a lot of good girls coming over I think we’ll be going further.”

ROSTER (Grade)

Allyla Beachey (9)

Hannah Crawford (9)

Payton Perry (9)

Leila Cobb (9)

Brynsen Vargason (9)

Peyton Rider (9)

Caedence Wells (10)

Amber Chilson (10)

Abby Bump Castillo (10)

Brooklyn Green (10)

Brooklyn Evans (10)