Zach Lynn of South Williamsport celebrates scoring in the second inning against Wyalusing during the district championship game at Muncy Bank Ballpark Saturday May 27, 2023. Wyalusing won 10-1. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Pitchers Landon Lorson, Makai Day and Grant Bachman won 15 games last year. The underclassmen won two. Oh yeah, five full-time offensive starters graduated last June.

Obviously, South Williamsport had its work cut out entering the 2023 season. But here it is state tournament time again and here are the Mounties, competing along the state’s top 16 teams for Class AA’s biggest prize.

South (14-5) has come light years from where it started this season and plays at District 11 champion Schuylkill Haven in today’s state playoff opener. The Mounties have done a lot more than many thought they would, returning to both states and the district final while also capturing the Backyard Brawl championship. Now they have a shot at making their biggest statement yet.

“We lost a lot of guys. I don’t think many people expected us to be a state qualifying team this year,” pitcher Noah Turner said after throwing a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 district semifinal win against Muncy “It’s been awesome to come through.”

Questions swirled before the season and intensified after South made five errors in a season-opening 15-4 loss against Danville. A demanding schedule made things look bleak at that point, but South came roaring back and started answering all those questions in impressive fashion.

The Mounties won their next six games and showed how dangerous they can be at the Backyard Brawl, winning the title as the field’s smallest team. South defeated 6A district runner-up Williamsport and 4A state qualifier Montoursville before winning consecutive postseason shutouts against Northwest and Muncy.

“We really wanted to get back,” outfielder Remington Minier said after igniting the game-winning rally against Muncy. “We practiced really hard for this. It’s coming through and showing.”

“Coming into this season I didn’t know what would happen. I looked at our schedule wasn’t sure if we would make the playoffs,” South coach Casey Waller said. “Not to doubt the team, but I just wasn’t sure what we had, so I’m really proud of the guys.”

Wyalusing defeated South, 10-1 in the district final, so Monday provides both a second chance as well as a chance to silence any remaining doubters.

“Even though we lost we’re not going to hang our heads,” Kayne Jones said following the final. “Our mindset is just forget about that game, and go on to the next, because I think we’re a strong team.”

South has proven that throughout the season. Lorson, Day and Bachman graduating left a gaping pitching void but Turner, Kaiser Kistner and Alex Neidig, among others, admirably helped fill it. Turner is second among area wins leaders with eight and Kistner produced both a win and a save at the Brawl. Neidig and Kaden Shay also have wins with Shay closing out the Backyard Brawl championship win against Montoursville.

All those players also have also had prominent roles for an offense which lost some big bats. Neidig and Shay are both hitting above .400, Tadd Lusk has 16 RBIs, freshman Trace Wertz has made an immediate impact and Caleb Neidig hit .353. They are just a few of the players who have made big contributions with others like Zach and Josh Lynn making things happen on the bases and Chase Beck shining in left field.

South might have a super star player, but they have good players bonding together as one and that has led it back to states.

“We have a bunch of younger guys on the team this year stepping up,” Turner said. “They’re coming up big.”

“We started out making a lot of errors and it took us a while to figure things out. We shored up our defense and we’ve getting good pitching and a lot of guys contributing,” Waller said. “I can’t thank my coaches enough. Coach (Steve) Sennett and Chase (Waller) are very reliable and very dependable. They have my back and the the players’ back.”

All the South players having each other’s back is a big reason this team has built on the program’s tradition. Now the goal is to add to that tradition. Many did not think South would still be playing come June, so even fewer likely think it can make a state run.

Might as well try and keep quieting the critics.

“This team, we battle every inning. We’re not giving up,” Turner said. “We put the pedal to the metal the whole game.”