California High School counting on pitching in rebuilding year
California lost half its lineup from a fourth-place Class A finish in the WPIAL last season, but the pitching staff remains intact. Therefore, so do Cal’s chances. “We’re building from our pitching staff out,” said coach Don Hartman. “That’s the one thing we have back that hopefully will carry this team the first part of this season until the other players get their feet wet.”
Gone are first baseman-pitcher Brian Dunn to Penn State-Fayette, center fielder Parker Bongiorno to Thiel, catcher Rob Galis to St. Vincent, and second baseman Jason Dayner and left fielder B.J. Depaoli.
Heading up the pitching staff are sophomore Zack Jeney, senior Chris Cox and third pitcher Dustin Taylor.
Jeney was a freshman sensation last year. He had a 7-2 record with 74 strikeouts and a 2.60 earned run average. Cox was 4-2 with 58 strikeouts and a 2.30 ERA. Taylor was 3-0, while Dunn, who had a sore arm to start the season, was 3-1 with 26 strikeouts.
“Jeney had a phenomenal freshman year,” Hartman said. “He ended up being our No. 1. He threw first in the opening playoff win against Serra. He’s matured a lot and grown. He’s a few inches taller, a few pounds heavier, and has a few more miles an hour on his fastball. I’m expecting big things from him, likewise with Chris. Chris is a three-year starter and I hope his experience shines, along with Dustin, who’s also started three years.
Taylor will also see time at catcher and third base.
The other returning mainstays for Cal are Andy Galis, a senior who’ll move from right field to center field. He’s a four-year starter who hit .362 last season. Galis will anchor the batting order with third-year starting shortstop Jason Britton, who hit .354 as a sophomore last year.
Gone from the lineup are the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters. Dayner hit .321 as the second hitter, and Bongiorno hit .400 with 30 RBIs and 7 home runs as the third hitter. Clean-up hitter Dunn batted .352 with 26 RBIs and 5 homers. Also missing will be Galis, who hit .412 to lead the team.
“We lost the heart of the order,” Hartman said. “Like I said, we’re building around our pitching staff. We have very good hitters in Cox, Britton and Galis and we’re hoping some newcomers can fill the void and continue our tradition here.”
Some of the top newcomers are sophomore middle infielder Mike Galis, senior outfielder Brad Wright, and freshmen Matt Hartman, Travis VanOlst and Brandon Rossi.
Former spot starter Terry Luko hit .375 last year and is the third baseman.
California moves into Section 1-A, where Carmichaels is the favorite.
“We undoubtedly moved into one of the toughest single-A sections out there,” Hartman said. “With Carmichaels, Mapletown, Jefferson-Morgan, us, Geibel and Bentworth, that’s four or five playoff teams and two from the final four. So I’m up for some very exciting baseball. I’m really looking forward to an exciting season. The talent will be very exciting to coach against.
“In the past you had one or two pitchers and it was easy to plan around them and you could sit back and let it happen. But now we’re playing three section games a week, so I’m looking forward to the X’s and O’s of baseball. You have to know your opponents a lot better. So from a coaching aspect, it will be very exciting.”