Balanced pitching key for top team
Pine-Richland eyes banner in baseball
The Pine-Richland boys basketball team was ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 6A for the entire season and won a WPIAL title. Spring time has brought another No. 1 ranking to the school.
The Pine-Richland baseball team sits at the top spot in the first Post-Gazette rankings of the season. Although the baseball team doesn’t have any basketball players among its starters, don’t think that the Rams might not feed off the basketball team’s success just a little.
“I think in baseball, we have expected to win for a while. I think football is getting back to that point and now basketball is getting to that point,” said Kurt Wolfe, Pine-Richland’s baseball coach. “But I think there is a lot to be said that if a team sees success at a school in football and basketball, another team wants to show, ‘Hey, we can be successful also.’
“Plus, I think with our past success in baseball, these kids want to make their own mark on the program.”
There is plenty of reason for optimism as the Rams return a number of their top players from a year ago.
“I love the pitching. We have four seniors, two lefties and two righties,” said Wolfe. “You can call them the big four or whatever.”
Ryan Okuda figures to be one of the WPIAL’s top pitchers. He has signed with Virginia Tech. Thomas Zbezinski was the No. 2 pitcher last year. Maxx Harpalani is an all-section outfielder who has signed with Presbyterian (NCAA Division I), but also will pitch. The fourth pitcher will be Hunter Treece, a Mercyhurst recruit.
Wolfe said he also likes his outfield and the infield has two more Division I recruits in senior shortstop Jacob Maggi (George Washington) and sophomore Troy LaNeve, who committed to Vanderbilt as a freshman.
“It’s a brutal section that we’re in,” said Wolfe. “All we want to do is just get in the playoffs and we’ll take it from there.”
Here is a look at some other top teams around the WPIAL this season:
Class 6A
This is the smallest classification in the WPIAL with three sections with only 19 teams. That means almost half will qualify for the playoffs.
Section 1 is loaded with north suburban teams and also Central Catholic. No. 2ranked Butler has a terrific 1-2 pitching punch with senior Cade Negley and junior Connor Ollio. Negley has signed with Santa Clara and Ollio has made a verbal commitment to North Carolina. Outfielder Dallas Hays was an all-section pick a year ago.
Hempfield lost some key players to graduation, but senior outfielder Jordan Fiedor, senior pitcher Charlie Varriano and junior infielder Isaiah DiAndreth are returning starters and give the Spartans a solid nucleus.
No. 4 Canon-McMillan returns some talented young pitchers from a team that made the WPIAL 4A semifinals. Zach Rohaley was 7-4 with a 1.59 ERA last year as a sophomore. Current sophomore Cam Weston has loads of potential and already has committed to the University of Michigan. First baseman Ian Hess is a good power hitter.
Norwin won the WPIAL title last year and figures to challenge for a playoff berth in Section 2 against the likes of Hempfield and Plum. But Norwin’s top pitcher, Chad Coles, will not play this season because of an injury.
Class 5A
No. 1 Latrobe has six returning starters, including three all-section picks in outfielderpitcher Zach Kokoska, pitcher-shortstop Jared Kollar and infielderpitcher Ryan Shawley. Kokoska, a Virginia Tech recruit, hit .456 last year. Kollar has signed with Seton Hill.
North Hills no longer plays in the largest classification against North Allegheny and Seneca Valley, among others. The drop down to 5A should help a North Hills team that made the 4A playoffs two of the past three seasons. Infielder Steve Miller hit above .400 last season and catcher Luke Chutko is a three-year starter. Pitcher-first baseman Garret Barto started on Vincentian’s PIAA Class A championship team last season.
Montour features senior pitcher Trent Vietmeier, an LSU recruit who made the Post-Gazette All-Area team as a sophomore and junior.
Chartiers Valley won the WPIAL 3A title last year, but Jim Jaskowski was not brought back as coach and Curt Cairns takes over. First baseman Dante Panucci was all-section last year.
Class 4A
Top-ranked Blackhawk has a strong team, with the return of six starters and the top four pitchers from a squad that lost to Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL 3A title game. Junior shortstop Michael Turconi hit better than .400 last year and has committed to Wake Forest. Senior outfielder Jimmy Nixon and senior shortstoppitcher Mark Engel (Radford recruit) were both allsection a year ago. Junior Andy McClymonds is a top pitcher.
This could be one of Belle Vernon’s best teams in a while. Senior catcher Jordan Zilka (Mercyhurst recruit), senior infielder Jacob Callaway and senior outfielder Tim Labuda were first-team all-section picks last season while senior outfielder Deven Judy and senior pitcher Joel Engstrom were second-team.
Class 3A
Steel Valley has a number of returning starters from a team that went 11-6 and made the WPIAL 2A playoffs. Outfielder Andre Good made all-section last year as a freshman and hit better than .400. Tanner Cannon was an all-section pitcher.
Riverside won the WPIAL Class 2A title last season and Dan Oliastro begins his 49th season as coach with four WPIAL and four PIAA titles. Dylan Speicher is one of the top shortstops in Class 3A.
Class 2A
Serra won the WPIAL Class 1A title last year and is ranked No. 1 in 2A this year. The Eagles had three sophomore pitchers win at least five games last season — Ben Visnesky, Nate Piontka and Zack Bowen. Piontka and Bowen also play shortstop and Piontka led the WPIAL in regular-season RBIs last year with 37.
Neshannock lost a number of key players to graduation, but should be strong again.
Three players from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart were all-section last year — first baseman Kiefer Bishop, outfielder Patrick Brogan and pitcher Dylan Osheka.
Class 1A
Vincentian won the PIAA Class 1A title last year and figures to be strong up the middle with the Fedko brothers — senior shortstop Christian and junior second baseman Kyler. Kyler was second in the WPIAL in hitting during the 2016 regular season with a .611 average. Both Fedkos have decided to play at the University of Connecticut.
Greensburg Central Catholic lost to Serra in the WPIAL title game a year ago. Tommy Pellis, who led the WPIAL in hitting last season with a .745 average, has graduated, but the cupboard is far from bare at Greensburg Central. Pitcher-shortstop Jack Liberatore has signed with Ohio and outfielder-pitcher Neal McDermott with Seton Hill.