Trib HSSN baseball team of the week for May 27, 2024

By: Don Rebel
Monday, May 27, 2024 | 10:00 AM

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Trib HSSN baseball team of the week: Indiana Little Indians

Coaches: Dan Petroff (first season)

Records: Indiana finished in second place with a record of 7-3 in Section 4-4A, and is 13-9 overall

#Earned: Prior to last week, Indiana survived the dreaded No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed game in the first round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs, beating Central Valley, 4-1. On Monday, the Little Indians won the top-left quadrant by defeating Blackhawk for a second straight year in the district postseason, 5-0. The victory advanced the Little Indians to the semifinals for a second straight season. On Tuesday, they not only won, but they dominated No. 4 Montour to reach the title game, 11-0. Indiana has earned a spot in the finals by outscoring its three playoff opponents, 20-1. The Little Indians will see a familiar foe in the championship game at 4 p.m. Wednesday when they play section foe North Catholic for a third time. The Trojans narrowly won the two regular season games, 3-2 and 2-1.

Standout performers: Junior pitcher Greg Minnick, who will start in the title game, was the winning pitcher for Indiana in the first round win over Central Valley and the quarterfinal shutout of Blackhawk. In 9 2/3 innings of work in the postseason, he has not given up an earned run while striking out 19 batters. Little Indians junior Tim Birch had two hits in the win over Blackhawk while seniors Andrew McGee drove in five runs and Ben Ryan smashed a home run and junior Ryan Okopal was the winning pitcher in the whitewash of Montour.

Last year: Indian finished with the same section record last year as it did this spring at 7-3. A year ago, it ended up one game behind section champion North Catholic and one game ahead of Hampton and Kiski Area, which tied for third place. The Little Indians made noise in the 4A playoffs as the No. 7 seed, first defeating Laurel Highlands, 12-4, and then upsetting Blackhawk in the quarterfinals, 4-1, before falling to eventual champion Hopewell in the district semifinals, 7-5. In the PIAA postseason, Indiana eliminated East Pennsboro in the opening round before falling to Bellefonte in the state quarterfinals.

Remember when: This is the first WPIAL baseball championship game appearance for Indiana. It wasn’t that long ago that a trip to the district finals was a pipe dream for the program. Five years ago, the Little Indians finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 1-19. The last championship captured by Indiana baseball came nine years ago when the team finished in first place to capture the Section 2-3A crown in 2015.

2024 Trib HSSN Baseball Teams of the Week

Week 7 – South Park Eagles

Week 6 – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers

Week 5 – Plum Mustangs

Week 4 – Valley Vikings

Week 3 – Pine-Richland Rams

Week 2 – Eden Christian Academy Warriors

Week 1 – Shady Side Academy Bulldogs

Tags: Indiana