RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport's Jaymes Carpenter makes the play at first during a high school baseball game against South Williamsport at Brandon Park on Monday, March 24, 2025. South won 18-9.

One needs two hands while counting the South Williamsport seniors and juniors … barely.

The Mounties feature just six in those categories, including two seniors. They also graduated most of last year’s starters, players who helped the team reach a third straight District 4 Class AA championship and state tournament.

Still, the cupboard is far from bare.

The Mounties are young, but talented and possess tremendous upside. There likely will be ups and downs and that was evident last week as South opened with an 18-9 win against District 4 Class A title contender St. John Neumann before losing 10-1 at two-time defending HAC-III champion Hughesville. Another test comes today at Jersey Shore, but it’s a case of ironing out the wrinkles and building each day.

There certainly is a strong foundation to build upon. In addition to seniors Rem Minier and Tadd Lusk, juniors Trace Wertz, Marc Molina and Torin Haug started a lot of games last year. Throw in exciting newcomers like sophomore Levi Butler and freshman Cole Gerber, to name a few, and the present could end up being as bright as the future.

“We just have to respond,” Wertz said after going 4 for 4 against Neumann. “It’s all about work. If you work your butt off it’s going to show. You just have to work every day.”

South has done that through the offseason and first year coach Chase Waller likes what he sees. The veteran players have experienced a lot of success at the high school level and the younger players at the youth level, many starting on last summer’s team which captured both district and section Senior League all-star championships.

It may take some time. There may be some good days and bad days, but that’s pretty much baseball anyway. If South can put all the pieces together as it goes it feels good about what could be brewing.

“I tell them don’t get too high; don’t get too low because it’s a humbling game,” Waller said. “I worked with a lot of these guys last summer, so I got to know them and I told the team I’ll go to war with you guys any day.”

Waller literally is a baseball lifer. As far back as he can remember he was accompanying his dad, legendary high school coach Casey Waller to Loyalsock games. He was there when Loyalsock captured the 2008 Class AA state championship and played at Loyalsock before joining his dad’s staff when Waller took over at South in 2020.

Along the way, he has absorbed information like a sponge and is eager to pass it on. His excitement showed in that first game as South played Waller Ball 2.0, frequently being aggressive on the bases, skillfully manufacturing runs and playing hard.

“I’ve been able to learn from my dad. I grew up with him and I was that little guy in the dugout being able to be on the back of the bus mixing it up with the guys,” Waller said. “Now I’m leading the guys and I’m ready for it. I’m excited.”

South possesses several exciting players and Gerber wasted little time showing what the future might hold later this season and over the next three years. The 6-foot-3 left-hander put out a fire against Neumann, earning the win after the Knights tied the game and striking out five in 2 1/3 innings. He added five more strikeouts in three innings against Hughesville despite taking the loss.

And there were bright spots in defeat. The Mounties produced seven hits with Molina going 3 for 3 with a double. Butler also doubled and he, Molina and Wertz all have at least four hits thus far. The challenges are many with South facing a challenging schedule and learning on the go, but it would be foolish to count out this perennial contender. Although the Mounties don’t mind if anyone does because they are eager to embrace the challenges.

“I’m excited for these guys now and for the future,” Wertz said. “When these seniors and juniors are gone, they have an amazing future in front of them. I’m excited to watch it all.”

WEBB STRONG: South and Hughesville united Thursday, honoring former Spartan standout pitcher Jed Webb who is battling cancer. Webb was in attendance as both teams posed together, wearing “Webb Strong,” T-shirts. The South baseball team and district purchased Webb Strong shirts, helping donate toward Hughesville’s drive to raise money for Webb and his family as he fights on.

BOUNCING BACK: Neumann thundered back from the South defeat, winning its next two games against Sugar Valley and Muncy, outscoring the opponents, 22-3. Especially encouraging for the Knights was how they won.

Coach Rick Armstead said following the South game that Neumann must cut down on the mistakes and his team responded making no errors in the two victories that followed.

“The good news is I’m blessed to have some really good coaches and players who are working hard,” Armstead said. “We’ve been preaching to these young kids that they need to battle, battle, battle and the team that makes the least mistakes usually is going to be the team that ends up on top.”

Neumann showed that against Sugar Valley and Muncy. The Knights also received stellar pitching with Kane Meixel and Gino Birch stifling Sugar Valley and Angelo Birch throwing a brilliant seven-hitter which included 10 strikeouts against Muncy. Birch also threw 76 of his 98 pitches for strikes while hitting a three-run triple.

The offense has shown good balance early and Neumann showcased its fight against South, turning a 9-1 deficit into a tie game entering the sixth inning.

“They have a real good squad there,” Waller said. “They will make some noise in Class A. They have some great athletes over there.”

EXTRA BASES: Jersey Shore struggled offensively at times last season but has done a 180 early this season, reaching at least 10 hits in each game while starting 3-0. The Bulldogs banged out 13 hits in a thrilling 10-9, nine-inning win at Wellsboro Saturday. Winning pitcher Hunter Enders went 4 for 5 with two doubles and scored the winning run, while Austin Rhinehart doubled twice. Eight starters are hitting .300 or higher and Collin Berguson has six RBIs … North Penn-Mansfield (4-0) is off to a great start and highlighted it with quality victories against Towanda and Troy, rallying from a late two-run deficit at Troy to win, 6-4. The Tigers reached 10 runs in each of their first three wins with Andy Hermansen sparking the offense and he, Cooper Shaw and Alex Davis all throwing well … Cowanesque Valley (3-0) is another NTL team excelling early. Loagan Stickler is hitting .636 with seven RBIs and has throwing 5 2/3 no-hit inning with 15 strikeouts … Loyalsock rallied from a 10-run deficit Saturday and took a three-run lead into the seventh before losing, 19-14 to Lake-Lehman. Drake Dupont shined in defeat, going 5 for 6 with three doubles. So did John Kiehl who went 4 for 5 with two doubles and Deryk Kulp who doubled twice … Brayden Gower, Lou Williams and Kaiden Haines provided strong pitching in two games last week, allowing just four runs as Milton opened its season with 4-3 and 4-1 wins against Bloomsburg and Mifflinburg, respectively.

–Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse