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Players excited to build own history at Lycoming in baseball

By Jon Gerardi 4 min read

Lycoming's baseball players Braden Campbell, Nick Reeder and Matt Worth all had a similar answer as to why they ended up choosing Lycoming to play collegiate baseball.

There was no history to build off of for the Warriors. The program had been discontinued for 52 years prior to this spring, and the players and program were essentially building up from the ground.

But, that's part of the intrigue and lore that helped bring those players to the Warriors.

That, and what coach Rick Oliveri brings to the table as a coach.

"Honestly it was more of Coach O (as to why I'm here). I felt like the opportunity was there to build something up from the bottom and to start something and be a part of that is what I thought was unique," Worth, a Loyalsock graduate, said. "Coach O got a bunch of good guys here and now we're ready to do that and make it happen."

There are 27 freshmen on Lycoming's roster, and they're part of a inaugural class that is looking to leave behind a legacy and build something special with the Warriors.

"I definitely thought it'd be cool to be part of this inaugural class as well as in college town of the Little League World Series," Campbell said. "I thought it'd be cool to be part of the first historic class. I knew when Rick called me I should take the opportunity to come."

"It means a lot to bring Lycoming baseball back. It's a baseball town and I was surprised there wasn't baseball here," Reeder, a Montoursville graduate, said. "To see that we have a mostly freshman team, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to build our team from the ground up."

And that's the plan for the Warriors and Oliveri. The Warrior coach is excited at the prospect of starting out from scratch, but he knows he has a solid foundation as well with his team.

Lycoming is 1-8 entering today's home game at Bowman Field against DeSales, but that's not due to a lack of talent. The Warriors have hitters, good defensive standouts and of course pitchers as well.

Mix it all together, and it all becomes a strength for Lycoming.

"The strengths we're relying on right now is that we belong. We got talented players on the mound, on defense and at the plate. For us, putting it together and doing the little things of 'hey pound the strike zone, put the ball in play, play high level of catch on defense,'" Oliveri said. "That's what we're talking about and that's what we coach. When we do that, we're tough to beat."

Oliveri noted how his team's offense knows they can compete with whatever pitcher they face.

Lycoming will play each home game this year at Bowman Field, a temporary home until they get their own field at Brandon Park. While some are excited to play at Bowman, Oliver mentioned how his players are focused on the game and not getting too wrapped up in playing at a historic stadium such as Bowman.

"I think the guys are just focused on playing. … I'm excited for it because personally I know there's a lot of people that are invested in this and want to see us succeed and love to see how well we recruited," Oliveri said. "But the kids? They just want to play. It's just a game for them. It's an important game, conference play starts. We don't have that first non-conference game at home to get our feet wet. We have to come out and play baseball really good because … conference play is key.

"That's where our season is going to be defined: how well we play in the conference," Oliveri continued. "To be one of those playoff teams at the end of the year, it starts (now)."

Starting at /week.