By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
ATHENS — Experience, strength up the middle, depth, and versatility have Athens baseball coach Charlie Havens looking forward to the start of the 2025 season.
"For being a team with a lot of sophomores and juniors, with one freshman and a handful of seniors, we do have a lot of experience coming back because of last year — we had a bunch of freshmen and sophomores playing.
"We think we're really strong up the middle, which is where you want to be strong," said Havens. "And, we have competition on all the corners — first and third base, and left and right field. Basically, who ever is hot and takes the spot is who's going to play.
"And, we have some good depth, including pitching, as well," added Havens.
Sophomore Connor Davidson will start at catcher, with sophomore Zach Fisher catching when Davidson pitches.
Sophomores Brady Flynn and Duncan Thetga, and senior Dylan Saxon will split time at first base, and likely at DH.
Junior Karson Sipley and freshman Ty Owen are competing for time at second base, while junior Nick Grazul will play shortstop, with junior Eli Hobday playing short when Grazul pitches.
Sophomore Kam Wheeler will start at third base, and sophomore Brendan Cooke will see time at third base as well.
Senior Troy Rosenbloom will anchor the outfield in center field, with Cooke and junior Eli Chapman playing in left field, and senior Noah Hobday starting in right field.
Grazul, Davidson, and Thetga will see the majority of innings this season, while Cooke, Wheeler, and Rosenbloom will also see time on the mound.
"Grazul and Davidson will eat some innings for us," said Havens. "They both have a real strong fastball, and they can mix their speeds a little bit.
"Duncan Thetga is our crafty lefty," he noted. "He got a lot of innings on varsity as a freshman last year, and really did a good job. He's pretty smart with hitting his locations, and knows what he wants to do out there.
"We have some good pitching depth," Havens added.
Havens sees versatility and his offense as a strength in 2025.
"We have a lot of guys who can multiple different positions, and they're willing to do it," he said.
"From what we're seeing, we should be pretty strong 1 through 6 in the batting order, which is pretty good," noted Havens.
The Athens coach said his team is taking a different approach at the plate this season.
"We've spent a lot of time the last three weeks, and in open gyms, tracking pitches, so we're not chasing out of the zone, and being more disciplined at the plate; and these guys have really bought into it," he said. "I'm hoping it helps us get more guys on base.
"Of course, the biggest spot we struggled in last year, was driving them in," added Havens. "Hopefully, that will work itself out this year."
Havens is hoping a year of maturity will benefit the Wildcats in 2025.
"My biggest concern with this team is how do we respond when something doesn't go our way," he said. "Do we dig in and get stronger, forget about it and move on, which is what you have to do in baseball because it's all about failure. Or, do we drop the shoulders and head, and pout.
"We'll see if we've gotten mentally stronger, and more mature this year," Havens added.
Havens believes it's time the Wildcats win an NTL title.
"Our first goal is to qualify for Districts," he said. "Last year, we were right in it until the last week of the season.
"We think we're a team that could compete for the league title as well," noted Havens.
"We're the biggest school in the league, so it's time to put on our big boy pants and go compete for it," added Havens.
AROUND THE NTL LARGE SCHOOL
"It's funny, we're returning most of our guys this year, but so is the rest of the league," said Havens.
"Troy is the team, but North Penn-Mansfield is strong, too, and Wellsboro returns most of their guys," he noted. "And, Wyalusing is always well-coached, and they return a couple key pieces.
"Our division is loaded," said Havens.
"Even in the Small School, there's Canton ... there are a lot of good teams in this league, there's a lot of competition."
"The first week will tell you a lot when everyone starts off with their division games," added Havens.
The Wildcats open today at home against Troy.
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IN PHOTO: Athens coach Charlie Havens.
