By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – Finding an eruption early, the Bradford baseball team managed to begin their 2026 campaign on the right foot, cruising to a 6-3 victory over Johnsonburg.
Heading into preseason, the Owls had an infusion of youth, boasting just five upperclassmen to lead the charge. However, through a successful preseason and spring training, head coach Eric Haynoski believes his team has adopted a mindset of equal parts enthusiasm and dedication.
“I think the kids are all excited. They’ve got a drive that just you can’t teach. They want to get better, they work outside of the game. Some kids are practicing both JV and varsity and then I see them working even harder after,” said Bradford head coach Eric Haynoski. “It’s these young kids that are kind of coming in, setting the tone and showing great leadership. From the top down, it’s just contagious.”
In the Owls’ very first glimpse of action, things looked a little touch-and-go. In the first two batters, Jburg quickly gave themselves a view of home plate as they cracked back-to-back deep lead-off singles. With no outs, the Ram’s third man up rattled off a low grounder into the infield, driving in the first run of the day as Bradford failed to protect home. Another hard hit shot from the Rams, this time a line drive past third, put Jburg up 2-0 early.
Closing out the top of the inning with Tarren Reese’s first pair of strikeouts of the season, Bradford’s response would have to wait. Despite putting a man on second and third, the Owls ultimately left both stranded with back-to-back Ks. From there, however, Bradford’s opening day nerves faded away.
Forcing the Rams out in three, a sequence that included two more strikeouts from Reese, Bradford stepped into the batters’ box looking for redemption. Lucas Wallace kicked off the action, nabbing the Owls’ first hit of the day with a shot into left field. Making it to second, he was soon joined on base by Owen Strotman, who reached on an error, before Jackson Peterson rattled off a single for Bradford’s inaugural run of the season.
Along with opening the scorebooks, Peterson’s RBI also opened the floodgates. As Bradford’s confidence began to surge, the next five Owls all managed to find ways to bring runners across home plate. By the time the Rams found the third and final out, their lead had been replaced by a 6-2 Bradford advantage.
“I think the first inning, we were just a little nervous and it’s normal at this age, but they worked out of it,” said Haynoski. “That second inning was clutch. We had a lot of solid base hits, good base running, very aggressive and a lot of balls to the gap. It was nice to see all that hard work paying off.”
The Owls then shut down any retaliation, putting Jburg out in three batters once again, but were unable to double-down as their bats quickly cooled off. Despite finding scattered contact at the plate, they were unable to find ways to rotate guys around the diamond and break through. However, their own defense held just as strong.
Rotating their man on the mound from Reese to Wallace, the Owls’ defense continued to hold the Rams at bay, refusing to allow a baserunner past second as they hung consecutive zeros, as well as a few Ks, on the scoreboard.
Pushed to a do-or-die top of the seventh, the Rams found one last hope. Facing Bradford’s closer, Braylon Austin, Jburg built a powderkeg around the bases, finding three walked batters in the first four up. All of a sudden, the Rams were a threat.
With one out, a fourth walk sent in Jburg’s third run, narrowing the gap on the scoreboard to three and still with the bases loaded. However, that would be the closest they came to completing a comeback. Finding a clutch moment early in the season, Austin then earned his first K of the year for the second out before fielding a pop fly to seal the Owls’ victory.
“Braylon got into a little trouble but then he really locked in and brought the heat,” said Haynoski. “He shut them down. He really embraced that closer role. Got us a little nervous but he came through. It was fun.”
In their first time taking the field, six Owls registered a hit, with Brody Haviland leading the pack with two. Haviland finished 2-for-3 with one RBI, followed by Peterson, Wallace, Max Gow, Jamin Bell and Ben Woodhouse, who each had one hit and combined for two runs batted in. On the mound, Reese and Wallace both ended with four strikeouts and a combined four hits, while Austin ended with one K and three walks.
Bradford will now enjoy five days off before their next contest, another home game against Punxsutawney on Monday, but there’s no rest for the weary. Starting next Wednesday, the Owls will see four opponents in seven days as the season fully kicks into gear. For Haynoski and Co., the key to success comes from preparation.
“We’re going to go arm care first. We’re going to make sure they stretch out and get ready. We’re going to work in the cage, we’re going to work in the field. We’re going to work on defense a little bit and a little bit of everything,” said Haynoski. “It’s early in the season, so we’ve got everything to work on. We’ll just keep working.”
AT BRADFORD
R H E
Johnsonburg 200 000 0 3 4 5
Bradford 06 000 X 6 7 2
Johnsonburg: Gardner (2 SO, 2 BB), Miller (3 SO, 0 BB) and Miller
Bradford: Reese (4 SO, 1 BB), Wallace (4 SO, 2 BB), Austin (1 SO, 3 BB) and Haviland
