IAC BASEBALL: YOUTHFUL CANDOR HOPES TO COMPETE IN REALIGNED IAC (11 PHOTOS) (2019-03-19)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
CANDOR - A youthful Candor team hopes to be competitive in a new division following realignment to IAC baseball and softball this season. The change condenses the league from four divisions to three.

"It's interesting," said Candor head coach Cliff Pierce. "We've actually lost some really good, competitive teams to play with. It's not to say that those other teams aren't, but they're kind of in the same boat that we are. The Marathons, the Grotons, they're all young teams as well. And Newfield, we're all young teams. It could actually help us jump start our program."

It looks like the Indian roster will have four juniors and three seniors, and one of those seniors is a first-year player. 

"We're very young," Pierce said. "I've pulled up Nick Thomas, who is an eighth-grader. Dylan Austin, a sophomore, is playing his second year of varsity.

"Our returners are 11th-graders I've had now for four years because they played JV for me ... and then they played varsity. They're good core group. Those kids are good leaders, the ones who are juniors."

One of the Indians' key players will be senior Tyler Shepardson, a long-time player who should be a solid performer at third base and at the plate.

"Right now, between the two programs, we are around 26 kids total," Pierce said of the varsity and JV rosters. "I've got 10 varsity guys and we've got a couple of the JV guys that are going to come up and play with us."

Pierce believes Candor can be competitive.

"I think we're going to surprise some people," he said. "We've got good returners who played well last year. Pitching, of course, is always going to be an issue, but with the way our season is and make-up games, you play four nights in a row. That's tough, especially with pitch counts the way they are."