2016 KSAC Oilers 9-Under Team Completes Successful Spring/Summer Season, Looking For Players To Try out (08/02/16)

(By Hilary Williams)

The KSAC Oilers are a 9-U travel baseball team consisting of players from Karns City, Brookville, Redbank Valley, and Clarion school districts.

(Photo submitted by KSAC Oilers) 2016 KSAC Oilers

(Photo submitted by KSAC Oilers) 2016 KSAC Oilers

The Oilers initiated their inaugural season in the fall of 2015 with the intention of bringing players from all over the I-80 area together, in order to play baseball against elite competition from all over the state of Pennsylvania and beyond. This spring the Oilers played their regular season against clubs from the Pittsburgh area as well as teams from Wheeling, West Virginia. Tournaments were played most weekends in the Pittsburgh area, as well as in New York and Ohio. The vast majority of games are played on weekends which allow players to rest their arms, minds and bodies throughout the week.

The Oilers finished the Spring and Summer season with a record of 28-18, finishing 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Baseball League, as well as finishing in 2nd place in three tournaments, with several other semi-final appearances. The tournament season afforded players the opportunity to play against travel teams from all over the Pittsburgh area, Ohio, New York, West Virginia, Michigan and several other states.

With the establishment of the Oilers, the team members were able to build new friendships and hone their skills with team members that have a high level commitment to the game. By pulling together, these players, from our local communities, were afforded opportunity to compete against large community teams and/or well-established commercial baseball organizations. Playing competitive baseball within his/her own age group and skill level allows the player to consistently grow and mature.

The Oilers are able to practice all season long, both indoors and outdoors and all players receive individual one on one instruction for hitting, pitching and fielding. The coaching our players receive comes from former collegiate players that know the game at a very high level. The Oilers put a great emphasis on proper fundamentals and our players are able to continuously refine their skills all year long. The most common compliment that the 9-U Oilers heard from other coaches this season is how fundamental they were as a team. Solid fundamentals allowed this team to compete with the much larger markets.

The 2016 9-U Oilers consisted of four players from Karns City, four from Redbank Valley, one from Brookville, and two from Clarion. I want to congratulate this year’s Oilers team on a long, fun, and successful season. These players include: Mason Sherwin-Karns City, Derrick Johns-Karns City, Koen Williams-Karns City, Jacob Jones-Karns City, Braylon Wagner-RBV, Breckin Minich-RBV, Ty Carrier-RBV, Jaxon Huffman-RBV, Will Shofestall-Brookville, Noah Harrison-Clarion, and Logan Lutz-Clarion.

Please look out for the Oilers as we continue to grow and expand. We currently have some spots open for this year’s fall baseball team as well as next spring. We will also be out in the communities trying to help our boys become young men so please don’t hesitate to contact us for any charities or events in which volunteers are needed.

Tryouts for spring are held no later than the beginning of November. If you are interested in a tryout for your player, please contact Mac Minich at 814-221-7342 or Eric Harrison at 724-355-9130.

(Thanks to Hilary Williams for this article and to the Oilers for the photo. Great Season, Oilers!!!!)