As winter ends and the spring season starts to bloom, West Branch Baseball begins as well. The baseball team is looking exceptionally strong this year. They are returning all but one player this season: Logan Folmar. This means there is plenty of experience throughout the team, with many returning letter winners. Nine seniors will lead this team: Isaac Tiracorda, Noah Emigh, Brody Rothrock, Tyler Wilson, Luke Liptak, Zach McGonigal, Matt Eirich, Zane Woodling, and Nick Stavola. Following them are the four Juniors: Lukas Colton, Gavin Rothrock, Chad Smerk, and Logan Liptak. The Sophomores include Coby Kephart, Tyler Chilcote, Easton Emigh, Payton Kephart, Dylan McGonigal, Mason Amos, and Nick Parks. Lastly, the Freshmen are Kaleb Warren-Kio, Franky Leskovansky, Justin Esposti, Caleb Hudson, and Hansen Lannen. With a roster brimming with talent and potential, anticipation runs high for the successes this lineup will achieve on the diamond.

The team is already deep into their preparations for the upcoming season, having scrimmages against Penns Valley and Saint Joseph. During their matchup with Penns Valley, the Warriors dominated with a resounding 5-0 victory, limiting the Rams to just one hit across seven innings. However, in their clash against Saint Joseph’s, hosted by the Warriors, they faced a setback with a 6-10 loss. Despite this early challenge, the official start of their season is slated for March 22nd, when they face off against the Glendale Vikings on the road.

The Warriors made it to the district 6 playoffs last year. Where they won against Marion Center 4-2. However, they lost in the Semi-Final round to Mount Union 1-7. Isaac Tiracorda hopes to “pick up right where the team left off after only losing 5 games last season. Winning is nothing new to us anymore, so hopefully, we don’t end up starting slowly like we did last year.”