New Castle’s Miller develops into star
Long before he coached him in baseball, Billy Cook had Anthony Miller as a student. Cook was Miller’s third- grade teacher at Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School, which has since closed.
“As far back as that was, I remember how special he was in class. His intelligence and how respectful he was,” Cook recalls.
Miller’s first year of high school baseball hasn’t just been respectable. It has been exceptional. Miller said he would give himself a ‘B,’ but his outstanding two-way play suggests he’s first class when it comes to talented baseball players in the WPIAL.
Tuesday, Miller played a gigantic role in arguably the biggest win in New Castle baseball history. A sophomore, Miller was the winning pitcher, hit three doubles and knocked in two runs to lead New Castle past Blackhawk, 7-4, and into the WPIAL championship game for the first time. The Red Hurricanes (13-9) will take on another Section 2 rival, No. 1 seed Montour (15-5), in the final Tuesday or Wednesday at Wild Things Park.
Due to COVID-19 taking away his freshman season, Miller has been a high school “rookie” this spring. A rookie with some hype attached to his name, this after he made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame last fall.
“I felt I had to prove myself, and with me being a Notre Dame commit, I had to show why,” Miller said.
Has he ever. A righthander who was recruited to be a two-way player for the Fighting Irish, Miller has shown a lot of fight this season. He improved to 7-1 on the mound Tuesday after striking out six in 6⅓ innings. Miller has been strikingly good when it comes to strikeouts, as he has fanned 60 in 43⅔ innings. Cook said Miller was clocked throwing 88 mph earlier this season, but said that his command has been his biggest strength. He has walked only 13 and his ERA sits at 1.60. Offensively as the team’s No. 3 hitter, Miller is batting .411 with 10 doubles, 22 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
“Anthony is one of a kind,” Cook said of Miller, who starts at shortstop when he’s not pitching. “He’s the total package. Fielding, pitching, hitting. It’s his baseball knowledge. His common sense. It’s built in him. He just knows what to do.”
Miller teams with senior right- hander and Kent State recruit Rocco Bernadina to give New Castle a dynamite duo of stud pitchers. Bernadina was the winning pitcher in New Castle’s first two playoff games, throwing a complete game against No. 2 West Mifflin in Monday’s quarterfinals.
“I’ve learned so much from him about my mechanics and have learned how to be a great leader and a great teammate,” Miller said.
If New Castle is to bring home its first WPIAL title, it will have to beat a team it lost to twice during the regular season. Montour topped the Red Hurricanes by scores of 3-0 and 6-4.
“They beat us twice, so we have that bitter taste on our tongue,” said Miller. “But we’ll be ready to go. They’re a great team, but we’ve worked all year for this.”
About that first time
New Castle has a rich athletic tradition, but is known most for its basketball and football success. The basketball teams have won a record 14 WPIAL titles and the football team has captured 11. Now it’s the baseball team that is in position to win a championship. Two years ago, the Red Hurricanes reached the WPIAL semifinals and won their first-ever PIAA playoff game.
“Baseball and football, those are the big sports in our district and deservedly so, but we knew that we could do it,” Cook said after Tuesday’s victory. “It’s just a great feeling. I have no words right now. It’s all about these kids.”
Seton LaSalle
Of the six teams that won WPIAL championships in 2019, Seton LaSalle is the only one that will defend its title next week. The Rebels (21-2) will play Shenango (19-2) in the Class 2A final.
Pitching continues to fuel the Rebels. The next run they allow in the postseason will be the first. They won their first three playoff games by scores of 5-0, 15-0 and 12-0, giving them nine shutouts on the season. They have surrendered only five hits in the postseason, as well.
The Rebels aren’t short on talented arms. Junior Sam Georgiana picked up wins in each of the past two games to improve to 8-0 this season. Junior Brett Wagner is 7-0 and junior Ethan Parker is 5-0. Sophomore Brian Reed tossed six shutout innings and struck out 10 in a first-round win against Bentworth.
South Park
Drew Lafferty will play in a WPIAL championship game for the second season in a row, albeit with different teams.
As a freshman at Seton LaSalle in 2019, Lafferty was the winning pitcher and also went 4 for 5 in his team’s 11-2 win against Serra Catholic in the Class 2A final.
But Lafferty has since transferred to South Park, and the junior has played a big role in the Eagles (15-4) reaching the Class 3A final, where they will take on Hopewell (16-5).
A Kentucky recruit, Lafferty has been limited on the mound after suffering a lat strain in early April, but he has made a sizable impact with his bat. He hit .510 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs during the regular season.
South Park’s most dangerous hitter right now might actually be Lafferty’s cousin, sophomore Austin Lafferty. After hitting a team-best .518 in the regular season, the younger Lafferty has homered in each of the Eagles’ past two playoff games.