After having the most wins of any District 9 school in each of the past two seasons, it’s no surprise that with Garren Black once again leading the way, Oswayo Valley is considered the favorite to repeat in the Northern Allegany League.
Black earned Big 30 Player of the Year honors last season en route to helping the Green Wave to a 22-3 mark that included a D-9 Class A championship over Clarion.
Black’s abilities as a two-way player are virtually unmatched in the area, and OV will again be leaning on Black to be the focal point on both sides of the ball on what looks to be another supremely talented Green Wave roster.
“Garren’s arguably one of the best players to ever come through the Big 30 in his four years of high school baseball,” Oswayo Valley head coach Brad Buchholz said. “I don’t expect it to be any different than him playing at a high level this year.”
Black hit .432 with 23 RBI at the plate in 2017, but the lefty made an even bigger mark on the bump. A junior last season, Black went 10-0 with a 0.83 ERA that included 79 strikeouts and just 15 walks.
As for the rest of the Green Wave, they’ll have to replace some key pieces lost to graduation, but Buchholz likes what he’s seen in the cages so far this Spring.
“Everybody is coming along, but until you get out and play actual games, it’s easy to look good in the cage. Easy to look good when the coach is hitting you ground balls and fly balls, but we will see when it’s for real how we do,” he said. “I think our strength is that we have talent in the order one-through-nine. We can put together some really good at-bats.”
The Green Wave have gone a combined 44-5 over the last two seasons, and have claimed two of the last three D-9 titles.
Buchholz, who has a 134-35 record in seven seasons at OV, will look to Black and his four other seniors to provide leadership on a team that will have plenty of sophomores playing crucial roles.
The skipper also highlighted senior Ryan Graves, who may be overlooked by others because of the successes of Black, but has had plenty of clutch moments in a Green Wave uniform.
“You can’t say enough about Ryan Graves and how he progressed last year,” Buchholz said. “He stood on the mound and threw an 80-pitch complete game for the district title last year. He’s back with all that experience and I look forward to seeing him repeating what he did last year and hopefully even improving.”
As with the rest of the area’s baseball and softball teams, the weather over the last two weeks has thrown a wrench in Oswayo Valley’s schedule. The defending champs have yet to take the field but look to begin the season today against Coudersport (1-0).
A capsule look at the Northern Allegany baseball teams:
BRADFORD
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Andy Carlson (2nd year, 10-15)
2017 record/postseason: 8-13; St. Marys (W, 3-2, District 9 Class AAAA semifinals), Clearfield (L, 12-2, D-9 Class AAAA Championship)
Roster: Dan Manion (sr., P/3B, .375 avg, 11 2B, 17 BB, 44 IP, 46 K), Adam Boyer (sr., OF), Brody Nay (sr., OF), Hunter Gray (sr., OF, .200 avg, 1 HR, 9 RBI), Isaac Gralak (sr., 1B), Jason French (jr., 2B/OF), Isaac Smith (jr., OF), Vinny Burgess (jr., P), Mitch Baker (jr., INF), Brady Brown (jr., OF), Jake Wilson (jr., OF), Drew Piganelli (jr., P/1B), Greg Frederick (jr., OF), Austin Schaumleffel (jr., C/INF), Noah Meyer (jr., INF), Isaac Smith (jr., OF), Tyler Gigliotti (so., SS/P, .245 avg, 4 SB, 6 RBI), Caleb Nuzzo (so., C, .222 avg), Peyton Manion (so., P/INF, .254 avg, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 18 IP, 16 K), Patrick Caskey (so., INF/OF, .210 avg, 16 BB), James Yohe (so., C), Matt Franz (so., INF), Austen Davis (fr., INF).
Dugout notes: “The 2017 season saw the Owls go 8-13. That team started three freshman. Senior infielder/pitcher Dan Manion signed a National Letter of Intent to play at St. Bonaventure. The team returns six starters who gained valuable experience last year and also returns one of its top hitters from the 2016 team in Isaac Gralak. The team looks to contend for the District 9 Title again. Manion returns a huge chunk of last year’s innings and his brother (Peyton) returns with 10 appearances on the mound. The pitching staff looks to be solid with a top five of Dan Manion, Peyton Manion, Tyler Gigliotti, Adam Boyer and Drew Piganelli. This team will likely go as far as the bats take them.”
CAMERON COUNTY
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: James Cooney (3rd year, 12-22)
2017 record/postseason: 5-11; no postseason
Roster: Bryce Bauer (sr.), Bryce Heim (sr.), Devin Palumbo (sr.), Adam Shaffer (sr.), Carson Strahl (sr.), Adam Streich (sr.), Alex Umble (sr.), Jared Whiting (sr.), Ty Bauer (jr.), Adam Brown (jr.), Marcus Brown (jr.), Dalton Ball (so.), Dino Brown (so.), Jon Good (so.), Wendell O’Brien (so.), Allan Baerga (fr.), Shea Moore (fr.).
Dugout notes: “We will be returning six starters, including 2017 Northern Allegany All-Star and St. Bonaventure verbal commit Adam Shaffer. On paper this team looks experienced, with eight seniors, but many of them are playing for the first time. Three key members of the rotation are back with Shaffer, Ty Bauer and Marcus Brown. Senior catcher Bryce Bauer led the Raiders last year with a .422 batting average and hit three home runs. Senior Alex Umble will make the switch from starting outfielder to third base this season. Sophomore Dino Brown will look to boost his offensive numbers with a full season under his belt as CCHS’s second baseman. Coach Cooney will be looking for players to step up on the offensive side as the three top hitters after Bauer all graduated.”
COUDERSPORT
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Doug McClintic
2017 record/postseason: 11-7; Brookville (L, 8-1, D-9 Class AA first round)
Roster: Elliott Hite (sr., 1B/P), Chase Fuller (sr., OF), Owen Chambers (sr., INF), Kullen Crosby (jr., 1B/OF), Blake Burgett (jr., OF), Josh Steven (jr., 1B), Eli Ayers (jr., OF/C), Hunter Redmond (jr., C), Andrew Brown (jr., OF), Kolby VanWhy (so., INF/P), Taylor Heaverly (so., OF), Logan Rogers (so., OF), Sheamus Osgood (so., OF/C), Jayden Gaskins (so., OF), Dillan Keglovits (so., INF), Jacob Pitcher (so., INF/OF), Ryan Clouser (fr., 1B), Jackson Glover (fr., INF/P), A.J. Redmond (INF/P), Guy Dunn (fr., INF), Derek Easton (fr., 1B/P).
Dugout notes: “We will be trying to return to the postseason and make a run at districts. We have a very challenging schedule and many away games that should help us if and when we make the postseason. We will be relying heavily on the leadership of senior pitcher and first baseman Elliott Hite.”
OSWAYO VALLEY
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Brad Buchholz (8th year, 134-35)
2017 record/postseason: 22-3; DuBois Central Catholic (W, 2-1, District 9/10 Class A quarterfinal), Elk County Catholic (W, 3-1, D-9/10 Class A semifinal), Clarion (W, 4-1, D-9/10 Class A championship), Union – New Castle (W, 8-3 PIAA Class A first round), Greensburg Central Catholic (L, 7-2, PIAA Class A quarterfinals).
Roster: Garren Black (sr., 1B/P, .415 avg, 23 RBI, 10-0 record, 0.83 ERA), Gage Babcock (sr., SS/P, .422 avg, 17 RBI), Jacob Karr (sr., C/P), Ryan Graves (1B/OF/P, 7-2 record, 0.79 ERA), Theo Henry(sr., 3B), Gavin Babcock (jr., 2B/SS/P), Nash Weatherby (jr., OF), Gunner Bean (so., INF/OF), Jaxon Bonney (so., 3B/OF), Colton Geitler (so., OF), Camden Graves (so., C/OF), Noah Wichert (so., OF), Carter Stedman (fr., OF), Derrick Bickel fr., OF)
Dugout notes: “This year’s team will look to their seniors for leadership. We will be replacing three key players from last year. They include one of the top shortstops, our designated hitter and one of the best center fielders in the Big 30. Not to be overlooked was their offense (two .400 hitters and a .300 hitter) as well as the speed they added to our lineup. Keys to our success will be staying healthy and not looking beyond the game in front of us.”
OTTO-ELDRED
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Jame Thomas (10th year)
2017 record/postseason 13-5; Elk County Catholic (L, 12-2, District 9/10 Class A quarterfinals)
Roster: Sawyer Drummond (sr., P/SS, .250 avg, 11 RBI), Nick York (sr., CF/2B), Michael Motyka (sr., OF), Andrew Sheeler (jr., SS/P, .309 avg, 9 RBI), Chase Sebastian ( jr., P/1B, 16 RBI), Jacob Bell (jr., 3B), Alex Quintero (so., 3B/OF, 5 RBI), Bryce Gold (so., OF, 5 RBI), Zazcric Bell (fr., OF), Mike Douglas (fr., OF), Jacob Merry (fr., OF), Cole Sebastian (fr., 2B/P), Tommy Vanscoter (fr., OF)
Dugout notes: “The 2018 Otto-Eldred Terrors look to have a strong defensive season and hope to be a part of the top teams in the NTL.”
PORT ALLEGANY
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Nate Zitnik
2017 record/postseason: 3-11; no postseason
Roster: Jake Anderson (sr., INF), Tyler Lashway (sr., INF, .463 BA, .522 OBP), Monty Tanner (so., UTL), Eli Petruzzi (so., INF/C), Drake Amell (so., INF/P), Carter Moses (so., INF/P), Ethan Sprankle (fr., INF), Drew Benson (fr., INF/P), Taro Tanaka (fr., INF).
Dugout notes: “We graduated one senior from last year’s small squad. It was a disappointing year record-wise. We struggled due to lack of depth and the inexperience that is inevitable with a young team. However, a good thing about lack of depth is that everyone was able to gain experience. Our current sophomore class was asked to grow up quickly as varsity athletes, and they all lettered as freshman. This year’s incoming freshmen will also be asked to fill key roles, but it doesn’t appear that we will face the same level of adversity as last season. Coach Baker (assistant coach) and I have been impressed with the attitudes and effort of this group. As a team, we hope to return to a dangerous, playoff-caliber team. It is no easy task given the talent and coaching of some of the teams in our league. We also expect that some of our players will receive the all-star recognition they deserve after receiving no representation last year in the league voting.”
SMETHPORT
League: Northern Allegany
Coach: Colby Austin
2017 record/postseason: 6-10; no postseason
Roster: Orion Alexis, Matt Stratton, Grant Ognen, Parker Shonts, Noah Costa, Alex Sanderson, Nathan Hollowell, Blake Kinner, Brant Howard, Hunter Faulkner, Kai Thomas, Kameron Rounsville, Chase Burdick, Michael Tanner, Richie McDowell.
