With both the Bradford baseball and softball teams making strides in the building of their respective programs, both have earned a trip to the next level: the District 9 Class 4A postseason.
The Lady Owls made significant gains from the 3-11 record they held at the end of last season. At the conclusion of this year’s campaign, Bradford finished 8-11, their final victory coming in the form of an 18-2 blowout over Oswayo Valley on Thursday.
“There were goods and bads, ups and downs,” said Marty Becchelli. “We’re very young. We knew we’d have growing pains and sometimes we’d put it together and the next time we’d fall apart. We’re pretty close to where we thought we’d be.”
Bradford was led by a combination of senior veterans and youthful newcomers. At the plate, four Lady Owls maintained an above .300 batting average. Kalie Dixon spearheaded the work in the batter’s box with a 0.489 average, tallying 23 hits, 20 runs scored and 22 RBIs. She also led the team in home runs with three while having the second most strikeouts — 49 — during 44 innings in the circle. Dixon’s senior-counterpart, Sophie Cornelius finished the season with a 0.303 batting average with 25 runs scored and nine RBIs.
Kendyl Cruz had the second highest batting average for the Lady Owls at 0.431, recording a team-high 30 runs and 15 RBIs, while freshmen Daisey Green had a team-high 26 RBIs along with 15 runs and a 0.424 batting average. Greene also started in the circle for Bradford most nights, fanning 49 batters through 60 innings pitched.
The vast amount of youth on the Lady Owls roster, which number in 10 sophomores and seven freshmen, present a double-edged sword for a team looking to rebuild. On one hand, the inexperience tended to hamstring Bradford in pressure-packed moments, yet it also provides a large foundation in which the team can grow and progress for years to come. With this being said, throughout the season Becchelli has seen steady development.
“I think there was a large learning curve because we don’t have a lot of feeder programs. The softball knowledge, the competitiveness was really new to them,” said Becchelli. “At the end of the season, we started hitting like we should. We started getting some key hits up and down the lineup.”
Entering the Class 4A bracket as the third seed, the Lady Owls will first take on No. 2 Clearfield (9-11). Both squads are somewhat fresh in each other’s mind, as Bradford traveled to face the Lady Bison on Tuesday, narrowly losing 7-6 on a heartbreaking seventh-inning error. The D9 semifinals game will take place on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Heindl Field in DuBois.
“We just have to limit our mistakes and be selective when it comes to hitting. When we do that, we’re successful,” said Becchelli. “I just want (the team) to believe in themselves. Believe that if they work hard, push themselves, do the right thing, put the effort in, that they can accomplish a lot of things. The only way they can go is up.”
In many ways, the Bradford baseball team finds themselves in a similar situation as its female equivalent. They too have shown progress over the course of the regular season, ended with a better record than a year ago and have made it to the playoffs for the first time in years.
Last season, a banged up Owls squad slumped to the finish line, collecting a 4-16 record that didn’t extend past the regular season. This year, Bradford stayed healthy and took steps in the right direction, ending 6-11.
“I think we cleaned a lot up from last year. This is the first time I’ve had a lot of four-year players and they really produced pretty well for us,” said Bradford head coach Eric Haynoski. “I think overall we played very fundamentally sound on defense and we were able to get a lot of young pitchers some experience that will take us a long way in the future.”
One reason for their upward swing was Liam Haven who, after being sidelined last year with an injury, returned in true form for his senior season. Haven tallied a team-best 17 hits for a 0.370 batting average, recording six runs scored and six more batted in.
“His leadership qualities go much further beyond than his stats,” said Haynoski. “He’s a leader on the field and kids just gravitate towards him and follow his lead. He’s a voice for the team and he’s got a passion for the game that the rest of the kids follow.”
Another similarity the baseball team shares with the Lady Owls is the contribution of both their returning leadership and influx of youth. Junior Talan Reese tallied a team-best eight RBIs and eight runs scored at the plate, while on the mound he led the Owls in strikeouts with 47 through 33 innings pitched. His brother, Tarren, a freshman, held a 0.370 batting average with five hits in 15 at-bats. Brody Haviland, another freshman, registered 17 strikeouts through just over 18 innings while Jack Nannen, a sophomore, had five RBIs, four runs scored and a 0.290 batting average.
“We’ve been able to call upon some of the younger kids to come in and fill some voids during the year. They’ve stepped up and worked hard,” said Haynoski. “We gave them the opportunity and they came through for us.”
The Owls also enter the Class 4A bracket as the third seed and will also be traveling to DuBois to play No. 2 Clearfield (9-8). That game will take place on Tuesday at Showered Field at 4:30 p.m. In their one meeting during the regular season, the Owls took a shutout win over the Bison, winning 10-0. If they survive and advance, Bradford will take on St. Marys (8-8) in the championship game, a team they split the season’s meeting with.
“I think the key is throwing strikes and playing solid defense. We’ve been in a lot of one-run games, we were on the wrong side of quite a few of them but we’ve been in every single game except a few,” said Haynoski. “We’re going to go out there to win the game. I have a lot of confidence with the team that we’re going to put on the field. I don’t think (Clearfield) gave us their best when we played them last time and I think they’re going to clean some things up and it’ll be a much closer contest this time. But I think with our hard work, pitching and defense and hitting, we’re going to be in good shape.”
