It’s probably safe to say that if Preston High School sophomore Noah Wilson could have a house within walking distance of Yankee Stadium, he would be one happy camper.

“I’ve always been a big Yankees fan. Probably my two biggest role models are Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter who was the captain of the team and was the role model for all of the rookies that came up for the Yankees,” said Wilson who moved to Preston when he was in the eighth grade.

He started playing T-ball when he was little, and his dad coached him until he was 12 when he started playing travel ball and still plays for PWP out of Tulsa.

“Besides getting all of the extra game experience with travel ball, my coaches have really taught me a lot. My head coach Parker Frazier, (son of pitcher George Frazier, another Yankee connection) played in the Rockies organization and our assistant coach also played in the minor leagues for a while.”

Noah says he loves baseball partly because it’s such a fickle game.

“It takes a lot of discipline to really love baseball. One day you’re feeling great, and you’ll go 0-for-4 at the plate and the next day you might go 4-for-4. It’s just a weird game. It’s always been my thing and I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

Wilson is a key member of the Pirates pitching corps, says his fast ball is his best pitch, and he would like to work on mastering a change up this year. And the fact that at Preston he has two seasons a school year to work on it is a game changer.

“Having two seasons to play like Preston and a lot of smaller schools do is really beneficial. This year I think we’ll be better because so many of our guys like me were young last year and have now matured and we’ve also had a couple of move-ins which has helped.”

There is an element of superstition in the game of baseball and Noah says he has a few.

“There’s the basic rule of not stepping on the baselines when you go on and off the field. I also draw a cross in the dirt right before I step into the batter’s box. And as long as we’re on a winning streak, I wear the same socks every game,” he laughed.