SMETHPORT – Eleven lettermen will form the nucleus of the
Smethport Hubbers baseball team this season.

“We have some depth that we haven’t had in recent years,” said
Smethport coach Rick Austin. “With 11 returning lettermen, this
team should be good defensively and have some power and speed on
offense. All of our pitchers have another year of experience under
their belts.”

Returning lettermen are Preston Birtcil, Kyle Doutt, Derek
Kreitzer, Lucas Ginkel, Jarod Hughes, Scott Stratton, Al Myers,
Kolin Strawcutter, Brian Zetwick, Tony Farrell and Jory
Okerlund.

“Our captains, Kreitzer, Birtcil and Doutt, will be trying to
make their senior year a successful one,” Austin added.

Ginkel is also a senior.

The team suffered the loss of three players from last year –
Colby Austin (Pitt-Bradford), Zach Myers (Penn State-Behrend) and
Allen Funk.

Juniors on the squad are Stratton, Hughes and Kevin King.

“Our six sophomores – Al Myers, Strawcutter, Zetwick, Farrell,
Okerlund and Aaron Williams – should see a lot of playing time,”
Austin said.

Rounding out the rest of the team are five freshmen – Kevin
Lord, Tyler Black, Brendan Santanna, Tyler Buchholz and Kenny
Doutt.

According to Austin, this year the team will be playing some
junior varsity games, which will help in building for the
future.

Craig Funk and Jim Myers will assist Austin this year.

The Hubbers will open their season today at Johnsonburg.