Apr 10, 2017 By Kevin Harrison And Adam Brewer for The 6 min read

Geibel Catholic, Monessen and Jefferson-Morgan are among five local baseball teams who’ll likely be battling for two playoff spots in Section 2-A this season.

Four teams are back in the section from last year, including heavy favorite Greensburg Central Catholic, which was a WPIAL finalist in 2016, and Jeannette, which reached the postseason last year and handed the Centurions their only section loss.

GCC (2-0, 2-0) and the Jayhawks (2-1, 1-0) are considered the strongest teams in the section but the top four spots qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. The Gators, Greyhounds and Rockets, along with West Greene and Mapletown, will be seeking one of those berths.

“I like the new alignment,” Maples coach Dom DeCarlo said. “I think the addition of Geibel and Monessen are good for the section. We have had some competitive games with Jefferson and West Greene over the years. It will be different having to travel to Jeannette and GCC, but I think long road trips are a good bonding experience for teams.”

Geibel baseball coach Shawn Fuller begins his third season with the Gators (0-3, 0-2) once again facing the problem of not having a large group of kids to work with.

“We only have 11 kids on the roster and five of those are freshmen,” he said.”The guys we have really want to play baseball. It’s been hard to find people who want to play. These guys want to be here and have been listening to everything I’m trying to teach them.”

In addition to the five freshmen the Gators have two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore to round out the roster.

The seniors are both returning lettermen in Dalton Elcock and Noah Geary. Elcock will be at third base and Geary will be at second.

Because of the lack of numbers Fuller had to open his roster up to make it co-ed. The Gators’ starting catcher will be Noah Geary’s younger sister Hannah who is a freshman.

“I’ve coached her for quite a few years in fast-pitch softball. She is a very good athlete,” Fuller said. “She has been very easy to coach. I think she could surprise a few people this year.”

Fuller says she is fundamentally sound and is very catlike behind the plate. He says all he needs her to do is make the routine plays.

“She could actually play any position but is strong behind the plate,” he said. “She can swing the bat. I expect her to put the ball in play.”

Fuller is looking for a good year from junior letterman Jesse Yourich. He is expected to be the Gators’ top pitcher.

“Jesse is a natural athlete, normally he would be in center field when he is not pitching,” Fuller said.

Fuller mentioned another junior in Ethan Gillot, who will share the pitching duties and play at short when not on the hill.

Despite having a small squad Fuller likes what he sees. He said the kids have a lot of enthusiasm and are working hard on the fundamentals he is teaching.

“I’m not looking for the ESPN play of the day. I just want them to make the routine play,” Fuller said.

Fuller said the biggest thing he wants is for his kids to go out and have. He knows mistakes are going to happen, he just wants the kids to shake it off and move on to the next play.

“I think this year we are going to be more competitive than expected even though we are very young and inexperienced in some spots. If we don’t allow ourselves to become frustrated and keep learning, we’ll be fine.”

Monessen is coached by Billy Matush, who guided the team to a fourth-place finish in the same section last year when it went 4-11 overall and 4-6 in the section.

The Greyhounds (1-2, 1-1) picked up their first section win on Wednesday, 17-3 at West Greene.

Vinny Rhone had his second two-hit day of the early season against the Pioneers with a triple and a single. Cam Frolo had two hits, two runs and two RBIs and winning pitcher Cory Fleming drove in three runs with a double and a single and scored twice.

Jefferson-Morgan (1-3, 1-0) is guided by veteran coach John Curtis and went 6-9 overall and 3-6 in Section 1-A last year. The Rockets lost five players from graduation but return senior pitcher Gage Clark, a Penn State Fayette recruit, who is the ace of the staff and will be counted on to lead a youthful rotation.

Offensively, J-M will have a mixture of speed and power in their line-up that includes the bats of Clark, Joe Headlee, Isaac Dean and Eli Rafail.

With the new pitching rule in effect and with heavy emphasis on pitch counts, the Rockets’ pitching depth is a key component to whether or not J-M will be successful in 2017. Clark will pitch in most of their big games, but the Rockets must find consistent outings from other starters and be stable in relief.

DeCarlo returns as coach of a Mapletown squad that went 1-11 overall and 0-9 in Section 1-A in 2016.

The Maples (2-3, 1-1) are seeking their first playoff berth since 2005.

The three core pitchers for the Maples will be senior RJ Durr and juniors Brian Bogden and Dylan Rush. DeCarlo also expressed that they will have some new arms that will add some quality innings for the team.

Rush is the leadoff hitter for Mapletown and led the team last year in batting average and stolen bases. Other key contributors for the Maples this season will be Durr, Garrett Phillips, Cody Dice, Anthony Pecjak, Lane Powell, Ethan Carter, Ryan Carter, Austin Menear, Brandon Donley and Noah Haines.

“We stole our motto from the New England Patriots and that is ‘Do Your Job’,” DeCarlo said. “I feel that for us to be successful this season, every player from the captain down needs to do their jobs. If we do this, then I know we will be competitive this year.”

West Greene (0-3, 0-2) went 5-9 overall and 4-6 in Section 1-A a year ago under coach Shawn Lohr who returns in 2017.

The Pioneers are hoping to end a 19-year playoff drought.

West Greene will have a nice mixture of experience and youth on its roster this year. The Pioneers will rely heavily, both at the plate and on the mound, on their upperclassmen, including Michael Howard, Isaac Rizor and Cole Hamilton.

(Rob Burchianti contributed to this story.)