Expect Section 1-AA to be a dogfight
The Bentworth, California and Carmichaels baseball teams moved up to Class AA this season, while Beth-Center and Frazier are hoping to compete in what Bulldogs coach Frank Pryor believes will be a very competitive section.
“There are going to be a lot of knock down, drag-out games this season with the weather and pitch-count rule playing a factor,” said Pryor, who is entering his 31st season as head coach and 33rd overall at Beth-Center. “It is going to be different with the pitch count but we will do our best to monitor it. The main thing is we have to be fundamentally sound.”
Pryor’s team finished 5-7 in section play and 5-10 overall last season. The veteran coach hopes a strong group of senior players and a roster with 22 players will help get the Bulldogs back in the playoffs.
“We are hoping the senior leadership will work out,” Pryor said. “If they listen, we will be OK. We just have to continue to improve.”
Right-handed senior pitcher Jacob Knizner is penciled in as Beth-Center’s No. 1 pitcher.
Pryor’s son, Nick, is a senior who will start in center field. Fellow senior Yale Johnston will be in right field.
Tyler Zelenick (2B) and Colton Belmont (1B) are seniors who will start in the infield for the Bulldogs. James Sberna is another senior that will play in the infield.
“You have to come ready to play everyday in Class AA,” coach Pryor said. “It has been a blast and that is why I have been here so long.
“We have been able to get outside some and we are excited to play two games at Washington & Jefferson’s field and one at CONSOL Energy Park. They are nice places to play and they treat us well.”
In addition to the Bearcats, Trojans, Mikes and Commodores, Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry will also be in the section.
“Chartiers-Houston is by far one of the best teams in the section,” Pryor said. “They have beat us the last four times we have played and it has been close. Fort Cherry is very difficult on the road and Burgettstown has a huge field that is wide open, plus it is a long trip and makes for a long day.
“We have played some of the other teams in the past. California has a great program. We need to be ready to play every single game, and we hope to turn it around this year. We were close to making the playoffs last year, but no cigar.”
Nick Damico enters his fourth season as head coach after serving five years as pitching coach for the Trojans and is expecting a tough challenge in a new section.
“We will be playing a tough section schedule and we play one of the toughest non-section schedules we have ever had,” Damico, a Connellsville graduate, said. “We have scheduled games with Charleroi, Mount Pleasant, Bishop Canevin and Serra Catholic, who won the WPIAL Class A title last season.”
California was 9-1 in section play to win the title, and finished 17-3 with a rare first-round playoff exit in a 4-2 setback to Brentwood.
The Trojans lost their ace pitcher in Louden Conte, who was also a top offensive threat, and Casey Zajicek, who was a top-five hitter for California and played in left field last season.
“It is tough to lose them, but it is good to see new faces,” Damico said. “We are confident in our guys coming back. We have some veteran players that have been on the team for a while.”
Junior Brandon Powell is a right-handed pitcher that will get in a great deal of work with Conte having graduated. Senior Nathaniel Luketich is another righty that will get some work on the mound. When he is not pitching, Luketich will be behind the plate. He is one of the Trojans’ captains.
California’s pitching staff has the potential to go eight players deep.
“I am really excited about our staff,” Damico said.
Johnny DeFranco will also see some action on the mound, and is the Trojans’ primary shortstop and lead-off hitter. He can also bat at the No. 2 spot, and is a senior captain.
Alex Adams returns to his spot at third base, where he will be in his third year starting. The senior has also been chosen as a captain.
Damico likes the idea behind the pitch-count rule and California is also using its press box to announce the counts for both teams’ pitchers between innings.
“We tried it at a scrimmage and it worked really well,” Damico said. “We are making sure to triple check the pitch counts. We have prepared our kids for it. I will probably have more of an opinion once we go through the season.”
The Trojans have scrimmaged Shenango and Class AAAAA team Laurel Highlands.
“We have had scrimmages against two quality teams,” Damico said.
Damico see the Buccaneers as one of the favorites in the section, but is prepared from a battle each time they take the field.
“Chartiers-Houston would be the favorite because they played in a bigger section and are good,” Damico said. “We have played Beth-Center and Frazier in the past, as well as Chartiers-Houston. We also expect Fort Cherry to be there, and Carmichaels and Bentworth will be tough.”
Lou Pasquale will be California’s infield coach and Neil Forsythe is the pitching coach.
Carmichaels has been in battles before with Bentworth and California, but coach Richard Krause’s Mikes are entering the season with a great deal of uncertainty as eight seniors graduated from last year’s team that has moved up to Class AA.
Carmichaels picked up a 9-6 non-section victory over Jefferson-Morgan in its opener on Friday.
“We know going in it’s a tougher section with two of the top teams in the section with us from last season coming over, and you add solid teams like Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry and Beth-Center,” Krause said. “I don’t know as much about the other teams, but it will be a tough and we lost a lot from last year’s team.”
The Mikes’ Matthew Barrish started the opener and had a no-decision, but the left-handed sophomore showed he has potential. When not pitching, Barrish will be in the outfield.
Senior Joel Spishock is one of eight returning players from last year’s roster for Krause, and the Carmichaels’ captain will serve as a left-handed pitcher and first baseman.
Fellow senior Cody Brown is a versatile player who can play in the infield or outfield. Brown is also a captain and one of the few returning players for the veteran coach.
Junior Nathan Broadwater is an infielder who saw playing time last year.
“This is one of the most inexperienced teams I’ve been around in all my years in high school, legion and the county league,” Krause said. “We also have kids that never played much competitive baseball, but they are a great group of kids that wants to get better and they buy into it. We are going to have a lot of competition for spots and I think that will keeps these kids competitive. We have 26 kids out and that is encouraging. You want to compete every year, but the future looks bright. Our goal is to keep getting better every day and we’ll see where we are at.”
The Bearcats and coach Dion Jasante were 7-3 in section play and 12-7 overall last season with a 2-1 loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs to eventual state champion Vincentian Academy. Jasante’s team played both the Mikes and Trojans tough, but a late-season loss to California gave Damico and company the section title.
Bentworth brings back senior pitcher Riley Nickeson.
Frazier and coach Craig Kordich had a tough season last year with a 1-11 mark in section play and 2-14 overall.
The Commodores battled in losing to close games to the Bucaneers by scores of 9-8 and 10-8, and gave the Bulldogs a game in a 3-1 setback.