Wyoming Valley West’s Gregory, Hogan earn Times Leader baseball MVP honors
Wyoming Valley West’s run to the state finals was charged by the battery.
The Spartans established their dominance in April and carried it all the way to the PIAA Class 4A championship game in June, becoming the first Wyoming Valley Conference team to reach the 4A finals.
From start to finish, Billy Gregory and Ryan Hogan were right at the heart of the Spartans’ success, as both earned 2015 Times Leader WVC Baseball Player of the Year honors.
Gregory, the team’s senior ace on the mound, and Hogan, the prolific junior catcher, gave Valley West a chance to win every single game.
And the Spartans nearly did just that. They finished 17-2 with the only two losses coming in extra innings — against Wyoming Area in the regular season and to North Penn in the PIAA title game.
For Hogan and Gregory, it was the second time they had played for a state championship in less than a year, having won the state’s senior Legion title last July. The confidence from that run helped this spring, but the Spartans never used it as a crutch.
“We knew what we had to do,” Hogan said early in the campaign. “It doesn’t matter what we did in the summer. We have something to prove.”
Hogan, a St. John’s recruit, turned in one of most impressive seasons at the plate in recent WVC history, leading the league in most every offensive category.
He finished the regular season at .585, one hit away from breaking .600, while adding 19 RBI, five homers and four triples. All of those numbers topped the entire league. Most memorable was the slam at Hazleton Area that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 4-4 tie in a game that the Spartans ultimately won in extra innings.
By the time playoffs rolled around, Hogan was intentionally walked three times — including in the fifth inning of the state title game — loading the bases each time.
It was the latest step for a player who burst onto the scene as a freshman when he drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to beat Scranton in the District 2 championship.
“He steps up big no matter what he’s doing,” Spartans coach John Milius said. “Defensively, offensively, he’ll give you what he has. He’s always ready to go. As a catcher, he’s probably one of the top ones in state.”
Indeed, Hogan’s offensive prowess could overshadow his strong play behind the plate. He threw out the few baserunners that tried to run on him in the postseason and helped handle a pitching staff that turned in a 1.08 ERA in the regular season and an 0.68 ERA in the district and state tournaments.
“He does an excellent job,” Milius said. “He keeps (pitchers) focused, like another manager out there. He’ll see something, approach them and tell them they’ve gotta go this way or that way, and it saves us a trip to to the mound.”
Right at the top of that prolific group of pitchers was Gregory.
The Mansfield-bound right-hander was impressive enough in the regular season, going 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 23 strikeouts against the league’s toughest opponents while also hitting .447 at the plate with 13 RBI.
Then he hit another level in the playoffs.
Gregory was on the mound for 32 of the Spartans’ 41 postseason innings. He went 4-0 and allowed just three earned runs for an 0.66 ERA while striking out 19 against some of the best the state’s highest classification had to offer.
“I love pitching in big games,” Gregory said after winning district gold. “To go out there and be our horse in the postseason, it feels great.”
Not to be outdone, Gregory also led the team in hitting in those six playoff games, going 9-for-19 (.474) with three RBI.
Gregory started both games in the district tournament without allowing an earned run, topping Hazleton Area in the title game at PNC Field.
It was the third time Gregory faced the Cougars in 2015, and he certainly earned their respect.
“I’d figure if we play Valley West seven times, we’d beat ‘em four — but not with Gregory on the mound,” Cougars coach Gino Cara said after the game. “It looks like they’d beat us seven now. I think he’s proven that.
“He just did a great job. He’s a hell of a pitcher.”
Gregory proceeded to shut out Chambersburg 4-0 in the PIAA opener and nearly do the same to Parkland in a 5-1 win in the state semifinals. He started the championship game and took a no-decision, going seven innings before having to leave the mound because of state pitch-limit rules.
The lone playoff game he didn’t pitch — a 2-1 state quarterfinal win over St. Joseph’s Prep — he went 3-for-3 at the plate.
“He’s a gamer,” Milius said. “He wants the ball. You’ve gotta love that kind of guy. He gives you what he has, no matter what he has. He doesn’t hold back.”
Though the high school season may be over, baseball is not. Gregory and Hogan are right back with Swoyersville Legion this month.
Looking for another run to a title.
