High school baseball capsules DIVISION I Berwick 2006 WVC R
High school baseball capsules
State classification: 3A
Coach: Brian Pinterich
Home field: North Berwick Field
Players to watch: Scott Berkes, Zach Bower, Mike Corbacio, Gordon Law, Lou Ney, John Wilson
Outlook: The Dawgs enter 2007 with a youthful but confident roster. Though they have just two seniors on the squad, there’s still plenty of varsity experience to go around, which gives the squad a good amount of depth. The biggest obstacle will be replacing the handful of pitchers that graduated last year, and if the arms come around, Berwick figures to be in the hunt all season long.
State classification: 3A
Coach: Moe Rodzinak
Home field: Hilldale Park
Players to watch: Ron Coskey, Chris Hall, Brian Hontz, J.P. Kearney, Mike Ramirez
Outlook: The Crusaders fell agonizingly short last season in the District 2 Class 3A title game, and it will be very difficult for them to make it back to that point in 2007. Coughlin loses 16 seniors from last year’s powerful squad, which included three Division I recruits. It shapes up to what looks like a rebuilding season — but it was supposed to be rebuilding time for Pittston Area last year, too.
State classification: 3A
Coach: Mark Modrovsky
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Billy Baratta, Kyle Belanchik, Jody Dymond, Mike Kachurak, Matt Lamore, Chris Wychock
Outlook: Senior shortstop Wychock will lead the charge for the Comets after an all-star junior campaign that helped the team rebound dramatically from a rough 2005 season. All in all, Crestwood returns a healthy chunk of last year’s competitive roster including sluggers Dymond and Lamore, and should be able to build on last season’s improvement.
State classification: 3A
Coach: Ken Kashatus
Home field: High school
Players to watch: John Giampietro, Greg Harris, Ryan Konopki, Tom Parrish, Pat Murray
Outlook: It’s a tricky time for the Mountaineers to be moving up to Division I, as they must replace the majority of their pitching staff while adjusting to the stiffer competition. The bats should again be solid, but Dallas may find itself having to win some slugfests. How quickly the pitching and defense come around will determine how well the Mounts handle the jump up.
Hazleton Area
State classification: 4A
Coach: Rob Wallace
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Geoff Hunter, Matt Kline, Dave Masteller, Nick Panzarella, Geoff Perkowski
Outlook: Like much of Division I, the Cougars find themselves with a healthy number of seniors to lead the way. After a season of mostly .500 ball, they figure to be improved for this season in a highly competitive league. On the hill, Hazleton Area must replace 2006 all-star Greg Kapish while the bats continue to come around after getting hit hard by graduation.
Pittston Area
State classification: 3A
Coach: Paul Zaffuto
Home field: Primary Center, Rock St., Hughestown
Players to watch: George Dructor, Rob Lemoncelli, Carmen LoPresto, Nick Morreale, Sam Parente, Rob Timek
Outlook: The defending District 2 Class 3A champs would like nothing more than to improve on last season’s first-round exit in the PIAA tournament. The Patriots were ahead of schedule last season as an army of talented freshmen grew up in a hurry to push to a title. With that experience under their belt and a pitching staff led by perennial performer Dructor, the Patriots are going to be a steep challenge for all comers.
State classification: Gary Slick
Coach: 3A
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Tyler Austin, Todd Crimmel, Bob Cyphers, Corey Fassett, Kaleb Givens, Garrett Harvey, Peter Kelly, Chris Lenivy, Mike Russell, Thurston Sick, Will Zaleppa
Outlook: The Tigers are hoping to rally after back-to-back rough seasons and put things together for 2007. They’ll have to rely on the 13 upperclassmen on the roster to hold their own in league play, as the offense and fielding improve throughout the season. The key to respectability will be how well the pitching staff handles the many dangerous lineups in Division I.
Wyoming Valley West
State classification: 4A
Coach: John Milius
Home field: Spartan Stadium
Players to watch: Dave Brozena, Al Clocker, Dave Janus, Kenny Kufta, Elliott Lauri, Tony Moran, Casey Mulligan, Sean Toole
Outlook: The Spartans enter the season with arguably the most talented roster in the WVC, led by 2006 Division I Player of the Year Sean Toole. Loaded with experience and talent, Valley West is the likely favorite to repeat as Division I champions, though there will be no shortage of opposition. With a solid pitching staff anchored by standouts Lauri and Mulligan, the Spartans have the potential to make some noise in the District 2-4 Class 4A bracket.
Bishop Hoban
State classification: 2A
Coach: Chris Ritsick
Home field: Hollenback Park
Players to watch: Mike Bedrin, Jack Cavanaugh, Kevin Dotzel, Bob Dunsmuir, Ryan Knowles
Outlook: The defending Division II champs have their work cut out for them this season, as they’ll be forced to replace plenty of talent for the second straight spring. The Argents have some decisions to make with their starting pitching, as Ritscik must replace the majority of his staff. What Hoban does have is an experienced infield that should play some strong defense while the team gets things settled elsewhere.
Bishop O’Reilly
State classification: A
Coach: Charlie Whited
Home field: Roosevelt Field
Players to watch: Dan Mullen, P.J. Riley, Matt Ruch, Steve Zielen
Outlook: Unfortunately for the Queensmen, they must make the move up to Division II with only a handful of experienced players returning. Ruch figures to be the linchpin as the team’s top starting pitcher — Whited joked his strategy this season will be to “pitch Matt Ruch and hope for rain” — with Mullen also contributing. O’Reilly will be very young up the middle, starting freshman David Levendoski at shortstop.
State classification: 2A
Coach: Simon Peter
Home field: Coal Street Park
Players to watch: Sean Flecknoe, Steve Galella, Peter Hooker, Chris Kish, Rob Lucinski, Kevin Paul, Adam Wayman
Outlook: Senior all-star Galella returns for his fourth year as a starter to lead the Grenadiers, who are eager to challenge for this season’s Division II crown. The offense has already been producing well during the exhibition schedule, but Peter said his team will need to improve on its control on the mound and cut down on errors in the field. Flecknoe will anchor the pitching staff and try to provide stability.
Hanover Area
State classification: 2A
Coach: Jim Bush
Home field: High school
Players to watch: A.J. Albee, Justin Elias, Scott Elias, Jerry Kruszka, Chris Kubaugh, Keenan McCann, Dave Smith
Outlook: Things should be looking up for the Hawkeyes, as they return six experienced starters and look to leap out of the Division II cellar. It starts on the hill with a solid pitching staff in Kruszka, Smith and Scott Elias. Seniors McCann and Albee were both all-stars last season at catcher and shortstop, respectively, and have been starters since their freshman year.
Lake-Lehman
State classification: 2A
Coach: Brian Gorski
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Steve Cornia, Scott Davis, Ken Pollock
Outlook: The Black Knights return as much talent as anyone in the league, with Kentucky recruit and returning all-star Davis in the spotlight. The probable Division II favorites started their surge a year early before being foiled by Bishop Hoban in last year’s D2 tournament and no doubt are eager to go on a lengthy postseason run in 2007. Lehman recently returned from a preseason trip to Florida to prepare for WVC play.
State classification: 2A
Coach: Matt Skrepenak
Home field: Gibby Field
Players to watch: Nick Bilski, Dave Mahalak, Dwight Smith, Frank Trinisewski
Outlook: Dave Lewis is gone, but Meyers has plenty of other players returning to the lineup to help pull the Mohawks over the .500 hump they’ve been on the past two seasons. Smith, a senior outfielder and 2006 all-star, should once again be a huge and productive piece of the offense. Joining him will be a cast of four fellow seniors and 11 juniors on the roster.
Nanticoke Area
State classification: 3A
Coach: Bob Bertoni
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Robert Bertoni, Ryan Bevan, Tim Bevan, John Kaminski, Dan Olzinski, Steve Shiffka, Tyler Shipp, Jesse Stine
Outlook: Seven returning starters give the Trojans a strong dose of optimism for this season. The pitching staff is deep and the fielding behind the hurlers has the potential to be just as solid. To be sure, Nanticoke will be counting on both those strengths to carry the squad in the early going while the bats settle down and find a good rhythm.
Wyoming Area
State classification: 3A
Coach: Drew Whyte
Home field: Atlas Field
Players to watch: John Borzell, Andrew Duliba, Ryan Gaylets, David Zielinski
Outlook: With many seniors having departed from last year’s roster, it’s not a bad time for the Warriors to be starting play in Division II. Though Wyoming Area has seven seniors on this year’s squad, only two of them have varsity experience. With that hurdle to overcome, the Warriors will need to play well in the field and scrap for runs until the lineup gets itself acclimated this spring.
Bishop Hafey
State classification: A
Coach: Tom Yale
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Mike Bigatel, Franco LaBraico
Outlook: Gone is most of the talented crew that carried the Vikings to a 2006 Division III title and the D2 Class A title game, including Player of the Year selection Ryan Tychinski. Hafey will be looking to junior all-star catcher Bigatel among others to lead the remaining team in a title defense.
MMI Prep
State classification: A
Coach: Emmit Thomas
Home field: Not available
Players to watch: Not available
Outlook: Entering their third season fielding a team, the Preppers are still looking for their first league win. With the small school’s lineup gradually gaining experience and another program starting up this season, this could be the year MMI has something to show for its efforts.
Northwest Area
State classification: A
Coach: Jim Hill
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Josh Blaine, Jake Englehart, Kyle Kaminski, Cody Nevel, Wes Ravert, Nick Wagner, Dan Wido
Outlook: While the Rangers have eight seniors returning, only four have varsity experience. Fortunately for Hill and his squad, two of those players — Blaine and Englehart — were the team’s top pitchers from a year ago. Northwest figures to once again be strong on defense and will likely again be in the hunt for the Division III title.
Seton Catholic
State classification: A
Coach: Chick Andrewscavage
Home field: Hughestown Park
Players to watch: Chris Iorio, T.J. Malone, Alex Nitowski
Outlook: The announcement that Seton Catholic will be no more after this school year has had a profound impact on the baseball team. The Eagles have had to deal with players transferring to other districts in anticipation of the Catholic school merger. As it is, Nitowski is the lone senior on this year’s squad, with Malone and Iorio rounding out the majority of the squad’s varsity experience.
West Side Tech
State classification: 2A
Coach: Gary Miller
Home field: High school
Players to watch: Not available
Outlook: The Titans return to the diamond for the first time since the school’s entire sports program was dropped in 1998. While starting things back up from scratch isn’t an easy proposition, a relatively wide-open league gives Tech a decent year to set the program’s foundation.
Wyoming Seminary
State classification: A
Coach: Brian Kaschak
Home field: Nesbitt Field
Players to watch: Jim Hockenbury, Jon Janerich, Mike Molitoris, Torin Parrotti, Alan Ready, Dylan Seeley
Outlook: First-year coach Kaschak and the Blue Knights should find themselves in contention for a title after dropping down from Division II. An above-average defensive team, Seminary returns six starters from last season. The big question revolves around team star and pitching ace Seeley, who is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season with a knee injury. How the team performs in his absence could be the difference between first place and middle of the pack.
