Keeping the Greene in Green and White
Two Greene County natives are making an impact two hours north of the county line with the Slippery Rock University’s baseball squad in 2011.
?Both Joby Lapkowicz (2009 graduate of Carmichaels High School) and Mitchell Monas (2007 graduate of Waynesburg Central High School) are proving to be strong forces for the Rock this year on the diamond after graduating from local Greene County schools the past couple of years.
Jeff Messer, in his 24th season as SRU’s head baseball coach, has always had an eye or two down here in Greene County to check out the local talent on the baseball field.
“Over the years, Greene County has had a lot of talented kids,” Messer said. “I’m good friends with former Carmichaels’ coach Dave Bates and he has helped me out with scouting some of these local kids. It’s tough for me to watch and scout everybody, so it’s a vital part of the recruiting process to trust other people and coaches. Coach Bates knew a lot about Joby and he even helped me get Mitchell to come to SRU as well.”
Lapkowicz is making the adjustment from Class A high school baseball to NCAA Division II baseball in tremendous fashion, as he is one of the figureheads on the SRU pitching staff this year.
“It’s a tough transition,” Messer said. “Some may say that it’s a harder transition for hitters than pitchers to go to the Division II level, but it’s a very tough thing to do for pitchers. You can’t just depend on your fastball and strike everybody out. You have to establish other pitches and have confidence in those pitches in crunch time.”
The 6-0, 180-pound sophomore’s season has been highlighted by an exceptional performance on April 3, against Clarion University, when the southpaw tossed a no-hitter.
The no-hit performance was the first by a Rock pitcher since 2003. Lapkowicz battled around four walks and two infield errors by pitching himself out of jams and recording a career-high nine strikeouts.
The physics/pre-engineering major received many honors for his no-hitter, including the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Pitcher of the Week and the Atlantic Region and national pitcher of the week recognitions.
The no-hit performance in only his sophomore year has turned a lot of heads in Division II baseball and Messer believes he can maintain his success and perhaps pitch at the next level.
“He is just a phenomenal talent,” Messer said. “He has gotten better and better as the season has gone on and his last three outings have been very strong. His breaking ball is getting guys out and he has precise command of his fastball. He is a competitor. His maturity and composure have helped him with his quick development at this level.”
In 2010, Lapkowicz posted a 3.75 ERA with a 2-5 record and 10 starts. He pitched 57.1 innings with two complete games, one shutout and 66 strikeouts.
Lapkowicz has improved on those numbers this season with the Green and White, with a 2.61 ERA entering Sunday’s action and has a 4-2 record in seven starts. The lefty has allowed only 10 earned runs in 2011 with 44 strikeouts. He also had a streak of 23 scoreless innings broken recently, but did win the game for the Rock against Gannon University.
“Joby had a slow start this season when we started out down in Florida,” Messer said. “But I think he was trying too hard and was trying to pitch the perfect pitch every time he threw. Now he is making in-game adjustments and he knows he just can’t throw the ball past the batters. He is in control of the strike zone and he is more focus and not as hyped up for games.”
Before solidifying the Rock pitching rotation, Lapkowicz was a steady influence for Carmichaels with the glove and the bat. He was a two-time first team All-State selection as a pitcher, WPIAL Class A Pitcher of the Year and pitched in the WPIAL All-Star game.
Lapkowicz, who lettered in baseball, basketball and football for four years, led the Mikes to the WPIAL baseball championship and PIAA runnerup his junior year. In his senior season, he was a pivotal factor on the WPIAL championship runnerup squad.
On the offensive side of things, Monas has registered some big hits with SRU throughout the last four seasons, even seeing some playing time his freshmen year.
Heading into last weekend’s action, Monas has a career .230 batting average in 90 games with 62 starts. Monas has tallied 62 hits, 17 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 55 RBIs in his career.
Monas breakout season came in his junior year, as he batted .336 with 33 starts. He had 43 hits, 12 doubles and 13 run-producing hits in the 2010 campaign.
Monas’ versatility has been exemplified throughout his career with the Rock, as he has cracked the line-up as an outfielder, first basemen, catcher and designated hitter.
“Mitchell is a very versatile kid and is up for anything when it comes to getting playing time,” Messer said. “We didn’t have him in fall practices this year because he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad in Australia. Despite missing those practices, he has come back strong and is getting his timing back at the plate. He is a very hard-nosed kid and is a valuable asset to our team.”
Prior to Monas’ arrival to SRU, he was an All-County selection in baseball and a two-sport athlete at Waynesburg Central. He lettered and started all four seasons with the Raiders on the diamond and spent three seasons on the gridiron at Waynesburg. Other honors for Monas was being the president of the Lettermen’s Club and being an honor roll student.
The criminal justice major has not only made an impact with the Rock on the field, but also has played the last two summers with the Allegheny Athletics in the AABA Tri-State Collegiate League.