BELLEFONTE — After the Bellefonte baseball team beat Susquehanna Township in the PIAA state championship game at Medlar Field last June, Red Raiders coach Dan Fravel knew there would be a myriad of questions about how the Raiders pulled off such an astounding feat.
To him, it was simple.
“I always knew there was a formula for success — pitching and defense,” he said that day. “You cannot waver on those two things.”
The numbers proved his point. Bellefonte gave up just five runs in the entire state tournament, its pitchers had a combined ERA of 1.49 and their team fielding percentage was .946. Hamburg scored four of those five runs in the state semifinal (a 5-4 Raiders’ win), and the Raiders shut two teams out, including Susquehanna, 2-0, in the title game.
That is all ancient history, of course, now that the 2017 season is about to begin, and the Raiders will be faced with all the changes and challenges of a new year.
That said, don’t expect the Bellefonte reliance on pitching and defense to change much. That is especially true since eight defensive starters are returning as well as a pitching staff led by junior right-hander Adam Armstrong and senior lefty Logan Mathieu.
Still, there were important losses through graduation. Pitching ace Dom Masullo is now a freshman playing at Morehead State (Kentucky), and Kyler Mellott is now pitching for Clarion.
Designated hitter Storm Smith is attending Penn State Altoona, and outfielder Nick Jabco is at St. Francis of Pennsylvania.
That leaves the highly regarded Mathieu, who hit .379 last season with three homers and 19 RBI, to pitch and hold down first base.
Garrett Reiter and Dylan Deitrich, both key performers in last year’s run, will return at second base and shortstop, respectively. Tyler Kreger (.364 batting average), last season’s leadoff hitter, will handle the duties at third base and also pitch.
Greg Watson and Colton Burd will share catching duties.
In the outfield, Cade Fortney (.323) will be back, along with seniors Cayden Lucas and Ethan Corman. Newcomers who will join the team include pitcher Ashton Wetzler and freshman utility man C.J. Funk.
Armstrong takes to the mound again for the Raiders after a monster year in 2016. He had a .074 ERA in 38 innings pitched and, along with Mascullo, dominated hitters in the district and state playoffs.
Mathieu, who did not pitch in 2016 because of an injury, will throw again this season, and Kreger and Reiter, both seniors, are expected to take on more of a role on the mound in 2017. Wetzler, a sophomore right-hander, will also be vying for time.
Always looking to improve, Fravel is hoping for more production from his offense this season.
“Storm Smith’s clutch performances at the plate will be missed, along with Jabco’s,” he said. “However, the bulk of the lineup returns. The offense looks to carry a bit more of the load this season and take some pressure off the pitching staff and the defense.”
Overall, Fravel is hoping his hitters can throw in a few more runs to help out a restructured pitching staff and what looks to be another very good defense.
“Our squad is very experienced, and hardened after last year’s state title run,” he said. “Again, we will always be stressing quality pitching and defense, but our offense this year is going to have more pop in the lineup and our offensive execution will be greatly improved.
“Our team goal remains the same: Win the last game of the year.”
Bellefonte will jump right into league play this season with four of its first five games being against Mountain League rivals.
Huntingdon will be first Monday, March 27, and then the Raiders will play at Penns Valley (Thursday, March 30), Clearfield (Tuesday, April 4) and at Philipsburg-Osceola (Friday, April 7). There will also be a non-league game at DuBois on Wednesday, March 29.
