Pictured is the 2023 Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series host team, the Jamestown Krusaders. In the front, from left, are: Dominic Weber, Carter Rizzuto, Judd Harris, Trent Lewis, Chase Haglund, Blake Herman, Eli Snyder, Devin Hewes and Maddox Sheesley. In back are: assistant coach Brenin Payne, assistant coach Chris Yost, Matt Cowan, Carter Capozzi, Branston Lindquist, Ashton Putney, Brody Larson, Nash Luther, assistant coach Fred Carder and head coach Shane Swan. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Krusaders, the host team for the 2023 Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series to be played at Diethrick Park starting Saturday, have high hopes entering this year’s tournament.

With nine of the 15 players having been a part of the 2021 13-year-old World Series played in Jamestown, there is reason for optimism.

“I know what to expect now, that would be the only difference. Going in the last time, I knew there would be a lot of people there because I had attended those games in the past,” Krusaders coach Shane Swan said Tuesday night. Swan was the head coach in 2021 as well. “The support our team got was through the roof.”

Jamestown won its first two games of pool play and lost its final two in 2021. The Krusaders advanced to the quarterfinals, but lost 4-3 to Norwalk, Connecticut.

“Coaching is coaching. The game is the same regardless of whether it’s the World Series or a scrimmage,” Swan added. “We’ve always been prepared and we will be again this time as well.”

Leading the Krusaders behind the plate will be a pair of returning catchers in Branston Lindquist and Blake Herman. Lindquist plays for St. Mary’s of Lancaster as well as the New York Stingers while Herman plays for Section VI Class C champion Gowanda and the Motor City Hit Dogs.

“Blake and Branston not only are great players, but they’re great leaders,” Swan said. “That is going to be the most important part of their game. They lead by example, they’re vocal guys. They are born leaders and it shows.”

While Swan says he has 13 guys he can “confidently put on the mound and feel comfortable,” Ashton Putney — who started Game 1 in 2021 — will start Game 1 Saturday for the Krusaders.

“After Ashton, the door is open for anybody,” Swan said of his starters following Putney.

Two of the new arms the Krusaders have added since 2021 are Carter Capozzi of Gowanda and Devin Hewes of Chautauqua Lake.

“We already knew about Carter,” Swan said, “and late in the tryout process Devin appeared and was an absolute pleasant surprise.”

Chase Haglund of Frewsburg is another returning player that Swan plans to use all over the diamond.

“As a coaching staff, that’s one thing we’ve always stressed: the more positions you can play, the more valuable you are to coach,” Swan said of himself and assistants Fred Carder, Brenin Payne and Chris Yost. “If you come to practice, you’ll see we have them rotating through multiple positions.”

Southwestern’s Judd Harris returns in the infield while his high school teammate, Brody Larson, will roam the outfield again.

“Judd is steady Eddie. It doesn’t matter where you put him or where he’s at in the lineup. Judd is a steady guy and doesn’t get rattled,” Swan said. “Brody, in the outfield, I’ll put him up against anybody. He can run like a deer and has an absolute canon for an arm.”

Another new player and the only Warren County, Pennsylvania, player on the team is Eli Snyder.

“Throughout the tryout process, he’s made some plays in the infield and has a pretty solid bat to boot,” Swan said of Snyder.

Jamestown’s Dominic Weber, Maple Grove’s Nash Luther and Frewsburg’s Maddox Sheesley are the final three returning players from 2021.

“Maddox is a quiet kid … but he goes out there and works hard. He can play every position on the field and do it well,” Swan said of Sheesley, who listed Nolan Ryan as his favorite player. ” … He comes from a great baseball family and to put Nolan Ryan just shows that he knows the history of the game.”

The rest of the first-time World Series participants are Jamestown’s Carter Rizzuto, Frewsburg’s Trent Lewis and Matt Cowan, who is just entering his freshman year at Fredonia High School.

“The biggest thing that stands out with Trent is his attitude. … Even if he has a bad day, he doesn’t let it bother him,” Swan said of Lewis before adding of Cowan, “I never coach based on your age or your grade in school. If you are good enough, you are good enough. He’s earned it, no doubt about it.”

Swan said the focus going into Saturday’s opening Atlantic Division game against Broomall, Pennsylvania, is to score the first run of the game en route to winning the first game.

Jamestown will take on Opp, Alabama, on Sunday and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Monday. After an off day Tuesday, the Krusaders will finish Atlantic Division pool play against Torrance, California. All of the host team’s games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

“The first game is the biggest one. If you lose a couple, but then have a blowout win in Game 4, you’re going nowhere,” Swan said. “What we wanted to do the last time was to get the first run and the crowd was fantastic from that point on.”

The National Division features Norwalk, Connecticut; Greenville, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Moorehead, Minnesota; and Beekman, New York.

“Every team is great and they’re here for a reason. As a coaching staff, we’ll be there every game scouting other teams,” Swan said. “I’d put our coaching staff up against anybody out there. … We essentially have four head coaches and you can’t ask for anything better than that.”