Westmoreland County baseball preview: Penn-Trafford, Latrobe hope to repeat playoff success

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 6:49 PM

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Penn-Trafford and Latrobe are coming off memorable seasons.

The Warriors finished third in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs and ended up defeating Central Mountain, the No. 1 team in the PIAA, in the first round of the state playoffs. They fell to the WPIAL and PIAA champion Shaler in the next round.

Latrobe reached the WPIAL Class 4A championship game but lost to Hopewell. The Wildcats lost to eventual PIAA champion Bellefonte, 10-9, in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Can these two teams repeat? Is there another team or teams ready to shine?

Penn-Trafford (16-7) returns eight starters from that squad and second-­year coach Lou Cortazzo likes his team’s chances.

The seven returning starters all batted better than .300. They are third baseman Ty Freas, shortstop Brady Hoffman, second baseman Brayden Stone, left fielder Jason Sabol, center­fielder Carmen Metcalfe, catcher Ian Temple and first baseman Chuck Fontana. All are seniors except for Stone, a junior.

When Cortazzo looked at a recent WPIAL Class 5A preseason poll and didn’t see his team mentioned, he smiled.

“That’s OK. We like being the underdogs,” Cortazzo said. “We’ll see how the season plays out. With eight starters back, I feel good about the season.”

Cortazzo will need strong pitching because the Warriors are in arguably the toughest section in the WPIAL. They are in with Franklin Regional, Fox Chapel, Plum, Armstrong, Gateway and Penn Hills.

“There are four teams within our section that can be WPIAL champions,” Cortazzo said. “Our section is going to be very tough.

“We might not have a dominating pitcher this season like Ryan Grabowski, but we have a deep, young staff that lacks varsity experience. If they come through like I expect, we’ll be OK. I’m excited to see how they perform under pressure.”

Latrobe (17-8), meanwhile, returns five starters and is led by outfielder Eli Boring (.385) and catcher Louie Amatucci (.300).

The Wildcats’ top pitcher back is Riley Smith (5-1).

Latrobe coach Matt Basciano expects Uniontown and Belle Vernon will be favored in the section.

“We need to have a team-first mentality,” Basciano said. “Our first goal is to become a good team.”

Teams to watch

Franklin Regional (12-8) was one of the better teams in Class 5A that missed the playoffs because of the toughness of Section 1-5A. Cortazzo said to look out for the Panthers.

“They are very talented,” he said.

The Panthers return eight starters, including Blake Bertucci (.439, 25 hits), Max Bernadowski (.300, nine doubles) and sophomore shortstop Luke Williams (.345).

“We can’t afford a slow start,” Franklin Regional coach Bob Saddler said.

Greensburg Salem (13-6) returns six starters from a team that finished second in Section 4-3A.

Yough coach Dan Palm said the Golden Lions should be the section favorites.

The Golden Lions return shortstop/pitcher Tyler Martin, first baseman/pitcher Grant Smith, third baseman Peyton Chismar, infielder Braedon Leatherman, second baseman Noah Outly and outfielder Dom Rosensteel.

Second-year coach Anthony Manley is optimistic.

“The goal is to win the section and the WPIAL,” he said.

Hempfield (11-10) returns eight starters from a team that qualified for the WPIAL 6A playoffs.

The Spartans are led by senior catcher Carson Shuglie (.339, seven home runs, 24 RBIs), junior infielder Dylan Firmstone (.382), senior pitcher Jack Kurdziel (4-2, 3.95 ERA), senior catcher Caden Biondi, pitcher Parker Donsen (3-1, 3.17), third baseman Max Short, junior catcher Colin Polechko and senior outfielder Ethan Minerva.

“We have good depth and experience,” coach Tim Buzzard said. “We have a very competitive and hard-working group.”

Greensburg Central Catholic (9-6) returns a talented group led by senior pitcher Ethan Brody (6-0, 1.58 ERA), junior center fielder Sean Walker (.400), sophomore catcher Anthony Grippo (.333, 22 RBIs) and sophomore third baseman Ian Shipley (.371).

“This is the best hitting lineup, one through nine, we’ve had in five seasons,” GCC coach John Boyle said.

The Centurions hope to challenge for the Section 3-2A title.

More teams

Belle Vernon (8-11) will rely on captains Adam LaCarte, Jake Gedekoh and Colton Lee to lead the way. LaCarte hit .431, Gedekoh .378 and Lee was 2-5. The Leopards return seven starters.

Derry (8-11) the Trojans return seven starters, but they will not have the services of senior pitcher Roman Fridley, who has an injury to his right arm. The Trojans must rely on senior second baseman Brady Angus, senior pitcher Nate Papuga, senior catcher Colin Bush and senior third baseman Collin Barkley.

Ligonier Valley (12-8) returns three starters. The Rams are led by outfielder Leo Bazala (.326), infielder Duncan Foust (.338, 24 RBIs) and pitcher Tyler Smith (4-3, 2.74 ERA). Coach Jason Bush said he has an athletic bunch that lacks varsity experience. The Rams made the playoffs in 2023 and defeated Chartiers-Houston.

Monessen (2-15) has a new coach, Kaden Spencer, who was an assistant at Fort Cherry. The Greyhounds will rely on junior pitcher R.J. DiEugenio and senior third baseman Josh Walters. They return eight starters in Section 3-A.

Mt. Pleasant (9-10) returns 13 lettermen from a WPIAL Class 3A playoffs team. The Vikings are led by junior pitcher Cole Chatfield, junior infielder Connor Drzal, senior outfielder Ryan McKula and senior outfielder Brady Poole. Vikings coach Chris Firmstone said he’ll learn a lot about his team on a trip to Myrtle Beach next week. The Vikings could challenge in Section 4-3A.

Norwin (8-12) will be counting on five returning starters. Second-year coach Craig Spisak will lean on senior center fielder Ty Cupp, senior second baseman Keegan Carr, junior shortstop Nate Silberman, senior third baseman Nolan Ryan and junior pitcher Ethen Culbertson.

Southmoreland (2-13) looks to rebound from a tough season. The Scotties return 13 lettermen led by seniors Ty Keffer and Kadin Keefer. Both batted .333.

“We look to be more competitive,” Southmoreland coach Al Govern said. “We lost two starters and we have good chemistry.”

Yough (16-6) returns only two starters — centerfielder Zander Aird and pitcher Nate Bell — from last year’s Section 4-3A championship team. Dan Palm, a second-year coach, has a young squad that includes eight freshmen.

“I hope we’re competitive,” Palm said. “We’re extremely young and inexperienced.”

Jeannette (4-13) was a young team in 2023. The Jayhawks will be counting on senior pitcher Michael Mason and senior third baseman Brayden Luttner to lead the way in Section 3-2A.

Luttner batted . 423 and Mason .420. Sophomore first baseman Jayden Kennedy batted .333 and senior outfielder Nick Rattigan hit .306.

Jeannette coach Marcus Clarkson said that at least seven sophomores will see plenty of playing time.

Players to watch

Nate Bell, Yough, So., P

Cole Chatfield, Mt. Pleasant, Jr., P

Michael Mason, Jeannette, Sr., P

Jason Sabol, Penn-Trafford, Sr., OF

Owen Sinclair, Franklin Regional, Sr., 1B

Carson Shuglie, Hempfield, Sr., C

Adam LaCarte, Belle Vernon, Sr., OF

Roman Fridley, Derry Area, Sr. P

Luke Williams, Franklin Regional, So., SS

Brody Hoffman, Penn-Trafford, Sr., SS

Louie Amatucci, Latrobe, Sr., C

Ian Shipley, Greensburg Central Catholic, So., 3B

Anthony Grippo, Greensburg Central Catholic, So., C

Grant Smith, Greensburg Salem, Sr., 1B/P

Peyton Chismar, Greensburg Salem, Jr., 3B

Leo Bazala, Ligonier Valley, Sr., OF

R.J. DiEugenio, Monessen, Jr., SS

Nolan Ryan, Norwin, Sr., 3B

Ty Keffer, Southmoreland, Sr., SS

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.