Trojans’ success in Class AA no surprise
Moving up to Class AA this season hasn’t been too much trouble for California baseball and head coach Nick Damico.
Cal was part of Class A prior to the PIAA expanding its classifications to six teams, but the expectations of winning haven’t changed for the small school in Coal Center.
The Trojans won their fifth WPIAL championship and second under Damico in their thrilling 3-1 victory over Freedom on Tuesday night at Wild Things Park. California has won two titles in the last four years and appeared in three of the last four championship games at the home of the Wild Things.
Damico is in his fourth season at the helm after serving for five years on Don Hartman’s staff as the Trojans’ pitching coach. Hartman won WPIAL gold on Wednesday when he guided Frazier’s softball team to a 2-0 victory over South Side Area in the Class AA final.
California won its first district championship in 1983, and again in 2001, ’06 and ’14.
I first saw Damico in action, not as a coach, but as a pitcher in the Fayette County Baseball League throwing for legendary coach Tom Sankovich and Bud Murphy’s.
You could tell Damico had the stuff as a player. I didn’t really think of him becoming a coach at the time until I saw him in action on Hartman’s staff as a pitching coach.
The Trojans have had some strong hurlers in the past 10 years. Some names that come to mind are Ben Carson, Josh Luko, Garrit Woodburn and Louden Conte.
Damico has worked closely with Luko, Woodburn and Conte, and with Conte graduating last season, there were questions of who would step up for Cal on the mound.
The answer to those questions is Nate Luketich, Richard Stimmell, Brandon Powell and Jacob Swartz.
Luketich has the bulk of the starts, and with only one loss in his pitching career, he would probably be labeled the Trojans’ ace, but Stimmell has been exceptional in the postseason, and Powell and Swartz are no slouches, either.
Damico always credits his pitching staff as a whole and never singles out one player above the rest.
California has been a solid hitting team that runs the bases well and plays good defense. The team hasn’t hit the cover off the ball in the playoffs but has done just enough to come out ahead.
The Trojans senior class consists of Luketich, Johnny DeFranco, Alex Adams, Drake Johnson, Bobby Harris, Tyler Jacobs and Enzo Mariscotti and have achieved a school record of 76-9 in a four-year span.
Adams has a solid glove and was able to come up with the game-winning hit in California’s 4-3 victory over Our Lady of Sacred Heart in the semifinals, while DeFranco’s sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the 10th provided the Trojans’ with their second run on Tuesday against the Bulldogs.
Jacobs’ RBI single tied the title game against Freedom, and Mariscotti has played strong defense at first base in California’s playoff run.
Johnson and Harris may not have gotten as many headlines as their teammates, but the two have quietly done their jobs for Damico and his staff which consists of pitching coach Neil Forsythe and infield coach Lou Pasquale, who is another former FCBL veteran.
The Trojans are a senior-laden team but Stimmell (junior) and Swartz (sophomore) have come through with their pitching and junior Brendan Sheehan led off the 10th with a double in the final.
There is no telling how California will fare in the PIAA tournament that begins on Monday, but Damico, his staff and players should be commended for the job they have done over the past four years.
Herald-Standard Sports Writer Jonathan Guth can be reached via email at jguth@heraldstandard.com or jonathanguth85@gmail.com