Bucktail Baseball Looking To Step Outside The Shadows In 2022
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL, PA- It’s no secret that the Bucktail baseball program has been living in the shadows of the success of their sisters on the other side of campus. They’re looking to change that in 2021.
Bucktail managed just two wins and a tie last season, but with plenty of talent returning and a host of newcomers that will play key roles, this team may be primed to compete in the challenging Mid Penn Conference.
The Bucks haven’t tasted postseason since 2014. A .500 record this season could see them in the playoffs. Last season just two teams in District 4 1A qualified for playoffs. St. John Neumann is the defending district champions entering this season after defeating Cowanesque Valley.
“I think we’ll be more competitive this season” Coach Bill Probst said “Last year our pitchers got burnt out towards the end of the season. Pitching depth is going to be an issue.”
Probst does return Brett Mason on the mound, along with seniors Ashton Intallura and Kayden Friese. Seniors Zach Pick, Tristan Probst, freshman Ethan Kalafut and freshman Ethan Charcalla are expected to spend time on the mound as well.
The Bucks finally got to spend some much needed time outside and their infield was less than desirable and Coach Probst wasn’t pleased.“We haven’t been able to take proper infield yet to even see what we got” Probst said “This field isn’t suitable or safe right now. Hopefully this gets taken care of.”
Friese and Mason carried the weight last season on the mound for Bucktail. Friese tossed 29 innings and Mason added 20 innings. Friese racked up 48 strikeouts for Bucktail. Intallura whiffed five batters in just 3 innings of work. Mason recorded 16 strike outs in 20 innings.
Kyler Friese led Bucktail at the plate in 2021 by batting .378 and scoring 18 runs. His brother Kayden was next on the team with a .279 average. Both are back for 2022.
Mason hit .256 and scored 9 runs. Intallura hit .135 and scored 9 runs. Evan Ransdorf batted .238 and Johnny Green hit .083 and all return.
Head coach Probst will be assisted by Casey Friese, George Kalafult, Chuck Probst and Mike Charcalla.
The Bucks begin their season on Saturday, March 26 with a road trip to Williamson before returning home on Tuesday, March 29 for a home date against Montgomery.
Bucktail will also once again host a junior high baseball program for the first time in two seasons. Carl Gentzyel will lead the junior high program and will be assisted by John Shearer and Dan Hieser.
This year’s program is set to have 12 players on the roster and will see some major opponents on the schedule.
Junior high programs are generally in much larger schools, so Bucktail’s opponents offer a larger size and some great travelling distance. Wellsboro, Bellefonte, Tyrone and North Penn make up the junior high schedule.
