Greensburg Central Catholic baseball sets sights on WPIAL, PIAA titles
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Monday, March 12, 2018 | 6:21 PM
The Greensburg Central Catholic baseball team is looking to build on a successful season, after finishing second in the WPIAL Class A tournament and reaching the semifinals in the PIAA tournament.
The Centurions bring back a strong core from last year's team but will have some key players to replace.
“We lost three key seniors and leaders, especially in Neal McDermott,” coach Dennis Reist said of the Seton Hill freshman. “We have a lot of experience coming back in important positions with senior pitcher Antonio Cavallo and sophomore catcher Paul Rice. And we are also bringing back 11 players that played in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs.”
The team returns five other starters, including seniors Danny Erdely, Ethan Bailey, James Rice and Nick Ruggeri and junior Joel Lonigro.
Cavallo said a 1-0 loss to Clarion in the PIAA semifinals remains familiar.
“We have a great group of guys coming back from last season,” he said. “A lot of us experienced a loss that we do not want to experience again. We want to use that to help drive us.”
Even after the success the team had last year, the Centurions are putting in even more work this year.
“I think we have to be better one through nine offensively, more disciplined and smart hitting,” Resit said. “It goes back to that state semifinal game. Our pitching and defense gave us a chance, we just could not get the bats going.”
“We want to be more well-rounded,” added Cavallo, who had a 1.64 ERA and hit .480 in the playoffs. “If we get back to the basics, making the plays we are supposed to make, more discipline, limiting errors, we will always be in position to win.”
After the loss to Clarion, Reist gave every player a ball from the game to make sure they remembered. The goal is to not let that happen again.
“We are not happy with the outcome of last year, but it came with a lot of great experiences,” Reist said. “These kids know what they have to do to get back and make a bigger run, we just have to execute.”
The goal for the coaches and players is to start the season taking it one game at a time, but the expectations around the team are much higher.
“We want to take it one game at a time but we know what we are capable of,” Cavallo said. “We expect to come home with two championships this year.”
Greensburg Central Catholic will start its season March 23 at Burrell.
“We have one goal this season,” Reist said. “We want to win the state championship. That's it.”
Cody Scott is a freelance writer.
Tags: Greensburg C.C.
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