Pitt-Bradford head coach Bret Butler, entering his 17th season at the helm of the men's program, will have a mix of young players and experienced seniors as the Panthers begin their season in Fort Myers, Fla.
The Panthers will look for their seven seniors to show excellent leadership in the 2015 season.
Senior Ethan Showers (Hughesville/Hughesville) will headline the season this year in the infield for the Panthers. Showers hit for a .210 average and drove in 20 runs during his junior year. Showers had 21 runs scored and smacked two home runs in 2014.
Senior Scottie Frisina (Lancaster/Solanco) will play in the outfield this season for the Panthers. Frisina collected six RBIs and 13 runs scored during his junior season.
Senior Mike Para (East Syracuse, N.Y./Minca) will help the Panthers from the mound this season. In 2014, Para appeared in five games going 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA.
Senior Ethan Lear (Glen Rock/Susquehannock) will play in the infield this season for the Panthers. Lear appeared in 17 games during his junior year and hit for a batting average of .276 with eight hits and five RBIs.
Senior James Iversen (Pocono Lake/Pocono Mountain West) will help the Panthers on the mound this season. During his junior year, Iversen appeared in three games in a relief role. We recorded 1.2 innings and one strikeout.
Leading the offense this season for the Panthers will be senior Kody Johnson (Homerville, GA/Clinch County). Johnson hit for a batting average of .302 in 34 games for the Panthers. Johnson collected 32 hits and 15 RBIs. Johnson was solid on defense posting 157 putouts and 13 assists behind the plate.
Senior Connor Borowski (Bradford/Bradford) appeared in 33 games for the Panthers in 2014. During his junior season, Borowski hit for a .294 average and collected nine doubles and crushed three home runs.
The Panthers will look to their underclassmen to give them depth this season on the field and from the mound.
Junior Ryan Chamberlain (Filmore, N.Y./Filmore) will give the Panthers depth from the mound this season. During his sophomore season, Chamberlain posted 9.2 innings with a 1-2 record.
Junior Bobby Sorokas (Plains/Coughlin) will see time in the outfield and on the mound this season as he looks to become a starter in the rotation.
Sophomore Ryan Northcott (Cochranton/Cochranton) will provide the Panthers with depth coming out of the bullpen this season. Northcott appeared in four games during his freshman year and won all four of them.
Junior Abe Frech (Linden, NJ/UCVTS) will give the Panthers depth at different positions this season. Frech is a versatile player who can play both infield and outfield.
Sophomore Matthew Sompel (Moosic/Scranton Prep) will see time at multiple positions in the infield this season for the Panthers. Sompel appeared in 11 games during his freshman year and recorded four hits in 16 trips to the plate.
Junior Chris Newman (Buffalo, N.Y./Canisius) will look to start the season as the No.1 starting pitcher for the Panthers. Newman will look to have a breakout season from the mound for the Panthers as they try to make a run to finish on top of the AMCC.
With the Panthers having a mix of young and experienced players, the team will need to see results from the freshmen this year.
Freshman Caleb Bennett (Kersey/St. Marys), Dalton Renn (Hallam, N.Y./Eastern York) and Jay Clinger (Edinboro/Northwestern) will give the Panthers depth in the infield this season.
Freshman Jean Turber (Northumberland/Shikellemy), freshman Timothy Brown (Maple Heights, OH/Maple Heights) and freshman Brock Blovsky (Olean, N.Y./Olean) will provide the Panthers with depth in the outfield this season.
Freshman Brody Wood (Corry/Corry) and freshman Alexx Tyger (Kersey/St. Marys) will see time this season from the mound giving the Panthers much needed depth in the bullpen for the 2015 season.
Coach Butler has a versatile squad to play with this season as the Panthers look to compete at the top of the AMCC conference this year.
Butler will need his senior class to step up in a big way and look to find underclassman to step up and fill some big roles on the team for the 2015 season.
