By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
DUKE CENTER, PA – With the lights at the Terror Dome turned off for the year, the attention now turns to the school’s diamonds where the Otto-Eldred baseball and softball team look to further the winning tradition.
Last year, the Lady Terrors’ campaign finished with barely a scratch. At 16-4, O-E suffered only one Allegany Mountain League loss – Northern Potter, the District 9 Class A runner ups – on their way to a playoff berth. Once in the postseason, however, the Lady Terrors’ season came to an end at the hands of Red Bank Valley in the first round.
“I was fortunate. I stepped into a team that was seasoned with seniors that had both high school experience and travel ball experience,” said second-year head coach Kristina Francis. “Also, we kind of moved a couple of positions. I had a freshman I was able to play at third base and some of the other girls accepted roles and really worked with me to do what was best for the program.”
Although they are eager to get back into action, they will do so without a portion of last years’ core. Losing two Big 30 All-Stars in Kyla Andreano and Kate Rhinehart, the latter of which being the Lady Terrors’ starting ace, O-E will rely on their returning letterwinners. Out of the six players rejoining the Blue and Gold, five played large roles for the Lady Terrors in 2024, including Carrie Drummond, the teams’ starting catcher who led in RBIs last season. Of the returning players, she led in batting average and runs scored at 0.456 and 31, also tallying the teams’ sole home run from last year. The Lady Terrors will look to utilize her talents in tandem with Rayel Hakes, the new starting lefty pitcher who recorded 68 strikeouts in 130 batters a year ago.
“We’re going to have some trial and error in our first few games,” said Francis, whose team has six freshmen joining the team. “I have the ability to fill in a few of these spots with the underclassmen, it’s just about which combination is going to be the best.”
Coming back with a solid core of battle-tested Lady Terrors, as well as a cast of six incoming freshmen, O-E is ready to hit the ground running. Their finish line: another trip to the D9 postseason.
“As a team, our goal is to continue to work hard and play for each other. I really think we have the mindset of people stepping in and playing the best option for the success I think we can build,” said Francis. “I would think we are looking into playing competitive games against Northern Potter. They’re the ones in our league that we have got our starred on our schedule and I’d like to see us get past the first round in playoffs this year.”
Although the Terrors’ baseball team also has hopes of a playoff berth, their appearance would signify ascension rather than a return. Playing under a 0.500 rule, the O-E boys missed the cut with a 8-10 regular season record in 2024.
“I thought we started off slow. We were kind of working some new guys in at the same time, like, our catcher was coming off a big injury,” said Otto-Eldred baseball head coach Lance Baker, whose team lost three games by one-run and two others by two. “We just had some growing pains early on. It was a struggle at first but the main thing was we were really working pitchers in and struggled with that.”
Despite losing four seniors, three of which were key players for the Terrors, they welcome back six returning letterwinners, all of which are seniors including Big 30 All-Star Manning Splain. As a junior, Splain recorded a team-high 0.464 batting average and 0.581 on-base percentage. He also led the team in runs scored (24), hits (26) and bases stolen (13).
While they may be able to turn to Splain to carry a good chunk of the load, the Terrors still have some gaps to fill, most notably catcher. After losing Andrew Schenfield, O-E will look to a freshman to rise to the occasion. On the mound, they will also have some adjustments to make as they have just one pitcher with serious experience.
“I think the big thing with us will be we’re starting a true freshman at catcher. We lost Andrew Schenfield due to graduation and he was a phenomenal catcher, one of the best I’ve seen in this area. McCade is going to step into that role. He knows he’s coming in and he’s the right man for the job,” said Baker. “Jared (Obenrader) is our main pitcher coming back. He threw 45.3 innings out of a total 110 innings and that’s all the pitching we have coming back really. We definitely have some innings to fill and I think we have the talent to do it but it’s going to be by committee.”
Unfortunately for the Terrors, it seems as if they will have to work through some growing pains again this year. However, having a foundation of solid experience and with some youth to build from, O-E is ready to get to check items off their wishlist.
“One of the first things we talk about is our team goals and the first goal of the year is to compete for a league title. That’s always our goal, to give ourselves a shot, and we’ve done that the last three or four years. Our other main goal is to make sure we hit that 0.500 mark and get back in the playoffs,” said Baker. “It’s just going to take getting back into the swing of things and just adjusting.”
