The Perry County Baseball Championships were postponed from Saturday, Mar. 23 to Saturday, Apr. 6. Newport dominated Greenwood 15-5 in the semifinal and West Perry 4-0 in the championship to bring home the title. Three years ago in the spring of 2021, Newport claimed the title 10-8 over West Perry. This year’s win is considered revenge over last year’s controversial West Perry win.
In the game versus Greenwood, Newport had 8 runners go through home plate in the second inning while keeping the Wildcats scoreless. Jackson Tayman made his first senior appearance, having two runs, two stolen bases, and a base-on-ball, which is a walk to first base due to full-count balls. Landon Zaring let Aden Banks take a break from pitching. Zaring’s 86 pitches and six strike-outs throughout the six-inning game presented once again how this freshman can take charge when given the chance similar to how the athlete did in the basketball season.
The championship game brought just as much excitement to the team as the semifinal win. Zachary Bates, Landon Zaring, Aden Banks, and Ryder Wands each had a run to make up the shutout against the Mustangs. Banks’ triple was the team’s furthest reach to home without a homerun. After Banks hit the pitching count, Zaring relieved him for the last two-thirds of the inning. To end it, Jameson Cummins took the mound and finished the game. The freshmen pitchers had one strike-out combined while Banks had two himself. Neither freshman had someone hit. Cleaver was able to steal two bases during his trip around the diamond.
Apr. 10 brought about a matchup against the Susquenita Blackhawks. Newports’ overbearing defense kept the Blackhawks scoreless until the seventh inning where they scored three runs, but not enough to win over Newport’s six runs. Wands was able to run through home twice, Zachary Bellis was able to make his second run of the season, and Ruben Moreno had the chance to steal bases off of his one hit that night.
The nail-biting home ball game versus the Upper Dauphin Area Trojans put the Buffaloes on alert the entire game, eventually securing the victory. First to score was Tayman as a courtesy runner for freshman Jameson Peters and Banks offensively made it back to home after being walked to first; the two of them would be the only ones to score.
The away game up at East Juniata on Apr. 6 resulted in a close yet conquering win for Newport, 12-10. Offensively, Cummins and Wands proved to be most strong with a double-play each and Bates also racked up a total of three hits for three bases overall. Bates would also go on to steal three bases while in the helmet. The team had 10 RBIs throughout the game, three each from Bates, Zaring, and Wands with another from Kevin Lawyer-Ruggles.
The next game was a home ball game on Apr. 23 versus the Greenwood Wildcats again. Due to the river rivalry, both teams tried their best to collect another win. Newport stood tall once again only allowing two runs the entire game which resulted in an 8-2 Buffalo win. Bates carried out another three-base play for the team which allowed him to take the highest base count of the game for the Buffaloes which totaled at six.
Next, Newport played the Line Mountain Eagles on Apr. 25. Newport’s 11-1 lead gave them another high-scoring game which is beginning to become routine. Moreno and Cummins had three runs each, Peters with two, and Cleaver, Tayman, and Wands with one each. Lawyer-Ruggles had a sacrificial hit one of his two times stepping up to the plate. Peters and Moreno also stole a base to help further the chances of Newport scoring which became prevalent when they had a combined five runs.
The following day, Newport played the East Juniata Tigers which ended in the fifth inning, Newport 13, East Juniata 2. Amazingly, Cummins and Moreno had three runs each, Zaring with two, and Bates, Peters, Banks, Wands, and Layer-Ruggles also made it back to home plate once this game. Even under the pressure of bringing in the third-base runner, Austyn Boullianne, Wands, Zaring, Bates, and Cleaver all had RBIs.
Newport suffered an excruciating loss against a Tri-Valley contender, Juniata, 5-6, marking their first loss in a good bit of time. Despite the team’s three runs in the seventh and final inning, Juniata’s singular run put them up past the tie which was the cause of the devastating Buffalo loss. Nevertheless, Bates hit another triple to throw off the Indians and he’d go on to run twice through home plate. He also had two RBIs to his name in the game. Zaring, Bellis, and Moreno also had runs to assist in the score.
Sadly losing 1-3 to the Wolfpack of Saint Joseph’s Catholic on Apr. 30 was a simple match for the Buffaloes. Bellis had the run on one of his three appearances in the game. Bates and Zaring were able to capture a base as well but couldn’t make it around. Saint Joe’s two runs in the first inning set an outstanding precedent that Newport could only respond to with one run in the third inning. Just as things were looking bright, the Wolfpack scored once again instating a two-point gap. Two more scoreless innings were played by both teams, cutting it short after the closure of the fifth inning.
Beginning May off for the team, Newport rematched the Indians of Juniata on May 2 where they avenged the Red, 3-2. Bellis, Moreno, and Wands were able to score for the team in order to pin the win Juniata was up 2-1 after the third inning which was resolved by Newport scoring once in the sixth and later in the seventh. Bellis, Moreno, and Wands ran for the score. Cummins was able to steal a base once and get a base-on-ball during one of his three at-bats.
A few days later, on May 6, Newport played the Halifax Area Wildcats where Newport would come up short, unfortunately, 1-14. Wands was able to make the journey back to home plate despite the extreme defense. Lawyer-Ruggles tied him in total bases without making it home. Newport’s first three innings went scoreless until the fourth inning. By the end of said inning, the score was 1-8.
The following day, Newport replayed the Susquenita. The Blackhawk offense executed more strength than previously which brought them to the 4-1 win over the Buffaloes. This time, Cummins scored. Zaring was later hit by a pitch.
On May 9, the Buffaloes battled the Upper Dauphin Area Trojans. Here, Newport truly strived as they won, 12-11. Newport’s fifth inning contained five runs while the Trojans went runless. Cummins had two runs, Bates had three, Zaring had one, Peters had one, Moreno had two, Wands had two, and Boullianne had one, which was the freshman’s first. At one point, Wands achieved a double-base play and totaled a whopping six RBIs in this matchup.
On May 16, the Tri-Valley League Playoffs began. Newport had to once again go against the Susquenita Blackhawks. In order to make the championship the next day, Cummins, Bates, Zaring, and Moreno all scored a run to make the final 4-2. Bellis was able to help by bringing two runners through home with his two RBI’s. Like Wands usually does, Cummins scored a double-base play, a strong reach for a freshman.
In the championship against Upper Dauphin Area, a recently played rival, Newport held up defense stoically. This game wasn’t going to come so easy to the Trojans according to the Buffaloes. Bates and Zaring on the mound knew their objective. Their combined 122 pitches and five strikeouts held out for Cummins and Moreno to run for the Buffaloes. Newport would lose 2-4 to take second place.
After the Tri-Valley League playoffs, Newport’s third seeding, record of 13-5, and power ranking of 0.539 in PIAA District III Class AA teams would put them in the district playoffs.
In the semifinal game against Delone Catholic, Newport fought, but lost 1-5 against the Squires. Banks and Bates pitched in this postseason game. Bates was the only one able to score for the Buffaloes.
Overall, Newport ended with a 13-6 record, Perry County Champion title, Tri-Valley League runner-up, and district playoff contender. The team’s captains, Michael Cleaver, Ryder Wands, and Ruben Moreno reflect on the season. “With the team being super young, the league didn’t have high expectations for us, but with young players stepping up in big roles, we played fantastic; making it to the Tri-Valley Championship, districts, and winning PeCo… we were the underdogs…” said Cleaver. “The team was clicking and it was tough to beat us,” said Wands. Lastly, “We had great team chemistry, which I think is the reason why we made it as far as we did. We lost a lot of good ball players, but we also gained amazing athletes,” said Moreno.
