Carlynton baseball team looks forward to future

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, June 20, 2021 | 11:01 AM

It’s better to walk before you run.

For the youthful Carlynton baseball team, it was more like crawl then walk this spring.

“Our season had an abundance of growing pains, but, overall, we showed a ton of improvements,” Carlynton first-year coach Steve Bressler said. “With losing seven seniors last season and only having three lettermen from the 2018 and 2019 seasons as freshmen and sophomores, we were a very young team. We played hard but fell short on experience.”

The Cougars finished the season with a 1-17 record, dropping their final nine games. Carlynton tied Clairton for last place in Section 4-2A.

“Section 4 was very competitive,” Bressler said. “The section is strong and will have at least two to three teams go deep into the playoffs next year.”

The most competitive two days for Carlynton came April 19 and 20 in back-to-back games with Clairton.

The Cougars won at home, 6-5, then lost the next day to the Bears, 10-9.

Leading the way for Carlynton was senior Cade Chauvet.

“He was a leader not only at the plate but in the field as well,” Bressler said. “He was a fierce southpaw on the mound and would play anywhere on the field that was needed.”

Other standouts included juniors Timmy Smith, Dom Carlson, Bryce Rodriguez and Wyland Gabler, along with freshman Sean Hart.

“Sean Hart crushed the ball for us and led the team in RBIs,” Bressler said. “He is a player to watch for next season.”

While there weren’t many on-field highlights for the Cougars this spring, Bressler liked what he saw off the field.

“Watching our players come together as a team was one of the best highlights. With this being my first season as head coach and the lack of players from previous seasons, I watched our team grow together,” he said. “It was a tough season, but our team came together and grew miles from the start.”

Bressler also mentioned the season went smoothly as far as covid concerns.

“The players understood what needed to be done, and we did it.”

Now Bressler and his staff can focus on an offseason with Year 1 under their belt. The focus becomes 2022 and beyond.

“What I am excited about is we have a young team and everyone has now experienced varsity baseball,” he said.

Tags: Carlynton