NTL BASEBALL: CANTON AS BIG ASPIRATIONS IN 2024 (2024-03-22)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Year one went pretty good for Canton coach Ben Rubert, and the Warriors hope to repeat that feat, if not do a little more, on the baseball diamond this year.

“I definitely feel a lot more prepared than last year,” said Rubert. “I got my feet wet, and we have a lot of guys returning who know the expectations, so I think things are going well so far.”

The Warriors are the defending NTL Small School champions and reached the district semifinals a year ago, losing to the eventual champions, Wyalusing.

That’s some pretty high expectations to repeat but those come with the Canton program.

“I’m really excited,” said returning pitcher Holden Ward. “We have some guys that got some playing time that are juniors now, and we’ve got a couple seniors.”

Ward has been a fixture in Canton’s rotation since he was a freshman, and looks to take over the role of ace this season. Experience has taught him a lot over the last two years.

“I’ve learned to stay calm out there,” he said. “A lot can change.”

He’s focused on his three pitches, and used summer ball to sharpen them up a little bit.

“Having a guy you can count on and rely on late in the game, it’s so comforting knowing that someone’s going to go out there and throw strikes,” Rubert said.

There are holes to fill after Holden as Weston Bellows and Hayden Ward graduated. They have Hudson Ward to throw on the mound, along with Zach Colton, who’ll be asked to pick up some of the slack.

“To soak up some of their innings I pitched in the offseason,” he said. “We pitched in the winter during wrestling season, so I think that really helped me. I worked on controlling my fastball more, and perfecting my curveball.”

At the plate they return five of their starters from a year ago - Hudson Ward, Holden Ward, Mason Harold, Cohen Landis, and Colton. Key subs Michael Beers, Ben Fitch, and Jason Mahosky are also back.

“Without Weston it’ll be really hard to hit, he was a big factor in that, but we’ve got Holden,” Colton said. “Holden should start us off strong, and we got some younger guys, like Bailey Gardner, who should really help us out.”

Rubert is banking on internal improvement to take on some of he hitting, and run scoring, responsibilities that Weston and Hayden had.

“Hopefully, someone just steps up and fills that role knowing that I’m 18 now, I’m 17 now, I’m the oldest guy on the field, I’ve got to step up,” he said.

He noted that Fitch and Beers are expected to have expanded responsibilities this year with Gardner and Jake Pepper as freshmen to watch.

“We’ve got a great group of guys here,” remarked Colton. “We’ve got a lot of younger guys that need to step up this year, but we’re also returning a lot of guys, so I’m pretty excited.”

They feel pretty confident in their ability to repeat as champions, though they know NEB, coming off a district title, will be formidable opponents. Sayre and CV also typically field strong teams, and Williamson is an up-and-coming squad.

“I think we can win the NTL,” Holden Ward said. “We’ll see how good we can do, maybe win districts.”

Rubert, though, just wants his team to get better each day.

“The goal is to be playing our best baseball in May,” he remarked. “And whatever happens in between then hopefully we’re playing good ball all season.”

ROSTER (Grade)

Hudson Ward (12)

Cohen Landis (12)

Mason Harold (12)

Jason Mahosky (12)

Holden Ward (11)

Zach Colton (11)

Ben Fitch (11)

Michael Beers (11)

Reed Taylor (10)

Luke Crawley (10)

Ryder Route (10)

Blake Jackson (10)

Bailey Gardner (9)

Jake Pepper (9)

Tommy Preston (9)

Rylan Wesneski (9)

Mason Stierly (9)

Grant Pepper (9)

David Irvin (9)

SCHEDULE

Mar. 22 at Sayre, 4:30 p.m.

Mar. 26 at CV, 4:30 p.m.

Mar. 28 vs NEB, 4:30 p.m.

April 1 vs South Williamsport, 4:30 p.m.

April 5 vs Williamson, 4:30 p.m.

April 9 vs Towanda, 4:30 p.m.

April 12 vs NPM, 4:30 p.m.

April 13 at Muncy, 10 a.m.

April 15 at Millville, 4:30 p.m.

April 16 at Troy, 4:30 p.m.

April 19 vs Sayre, 4:30 p.m.

April 23 vs Cv, 4:30 p.m.

April 26 at NEB, 4:30 p.m.

April 30 vs Sullivan County, 4:30 p.m.

May 1 vs Troy, 4:30 p.m.

May 3 at Williamson, 4:30 p.m.

May 7 at Wellsboro, 4:30 p.m.

May 10 vs Wyalusing, 4:30 p.m.

May 13 at Montoursville, 4:30 p.m.

May 14 at Athens, 4:30 p.m.