Ellwood City is unbeaten again
Wolverines enjoy all the pressure
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Ellwood City just went 2 for 2, but not from the plate. The Wolverines recently completed a second consecutive undefeated season.
Ellwood City racked up a 15-0 record, including a 10-0 mark to finish atop Class 3A Section 2. In 2016, the Wolverines were 16-0 during the regular season and 12-0 in Class 2A Section 5.
The Wolverines go by the old adage to take it one game at a time. But as a perfect season comes into focus, the team can’t help but think about finishing strong.
“Going undefeated is not something we shoot for, but if we get to that point and we can do it, we’ll try,” said Ellwood City coach Gary Rozanski. “It’s always to qualify for the playoffs and win the section. If you get to those last few games, then we’ll go for it.”
Rozanski said it’s not a boastful move, but rather good preparation for coming through with a little more pressure on. That’s exactly the kind of atmosphere the playoffs provide.
“It’s a confidence thing,” he said. “We’d rather be perfect these next few games.”
As the top seed in their classification, the Wolverines earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They won the WPIAL title last season, but stumbled to their only loss early in the PIAA playoffs.
The Wolverines got past Burrell, 6-5, in their playoff opener Wednesday.
If Ellwood City wins another WPIAL title, it would be the first school to jump up in classificationand win another title since Seton-LaSalle won the Class AA championship in 1983 before claiming the Class AAA crown in 1984. The WPIAL expanded from four classifications to six this schoolyear.
One player has been the catalyst to the consecutive perfect regular seasons: Pitcher Skyla Greco. She has started every game and fired all but three innings so far. During that time she has struck out 122 with a miniscule 0.92 ERA.
Greco helps her cause with a .300 batting average. She gets plenty of support from her teammates, who have plated 10 or more runs eight times this season. During its past four games, Ellwood City has outscored its opponents, 57-3.
Anna Ferrucci (.571 batting average) and Ariana Garroway (.512) are the leading hitters, but everyone in the lineup provides a little pop, said Rozanski.
“It’s been nice this year to have hitting from top to bottom,” Rozanski said. “They are all doing their part.”
Albert Gallatin
The first time Albert Gallatin coach Gary Serock laid eyes on Annalia Paoli, she smashed what he said was the farthest homer he had ever seen.Pretty impressive, right? That’s not even the best part, because that legendary home run wasn’t by a high schooler. Serock witnessed that while scouting the middle school squadlast year.
The Colonials’ superstar freshman has been just as impressive now that she is on the varsity team. Paoli, who has already committed to Pitt, has bashed a WPIALleading 12 home runs to go with 44 RBIs and a .526 batting average during the regular season.
“I knew she brought a lot of power, but I didn’t know it would be this overwhelming,” said Serock, who is in his fifth season as coach. “She’s been a breath of fresh air to our program.”
Paoli’s skills beyond her years have helped the Colonials end a drought dating back to before she was born. Albert Gallatin earned a spot in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 1996.
After that long drought, the future looks fruitful for the Colonials. Paoli will be around for three more seasons, and there is just one senior on the team this year.
“The future looks pretty bright,” said Serock.
Shaler
Skip Palmer wasn’t able to roll the odometer over, but he had a successful run at Shaler nonetheless.
The Titans lost to Baldwin, 6-1, Wednesday in the second round of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. Palmer, who took over in 2006 and won a WPIAL title in 2014, will retire at the end of the season with 199 career victories. Palmer also coached Hampton’s baseball team for 18 seasons prior to making the switch to softball.