A-K Valley notebook: Highlands’ Nulph to join national power baseball program

By: Michael Love
Sunday, August 8, 2021 | 4:41 PM

Highlands rising senior Tanner Nulph watched closely Seton Hill baseball’s run to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship tournament this past spring.

Communication with the Griffins coaches strengthened his pull to the program.

Nulph now hopes to be a part of a consistent national presence at Seton Hill. He gave a verbal commitment to the Griffins on Aug. 3.

“I have a couple of (club) teammates who are committed there, and one of them kept asking me about it,” said Tanner Nulph, who played this summer for the Johnstown-based Flood City Elite and the Highlands summer baseball team.

“It was super cool to see them make that run. That is a really close group of guys. I am excited to know that I will be a part of that in a couple of years.”

A number of schools also showed interest in Nulph through the process including Millersville, Penn State and University of Maryland Baltimore County.

“Seton Hill is pretty close to home, which was something I was looking for,” Nulph said. “The smaller size will help me get a good education. I am really pumped to work with the coaching staff. It was just an all-around great fit for me.”

Nulph produced a 1.25 ERA in 44 2/3 innings as a junior this past spring and struck out 73 while allowing just eight earned runs. He also batted .305 for the Golden Rams, who went 13-9 overall, finished runner-up to North Catholic in Section 1-4A and made the quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs.

Induction cancellation

For the second consecutive year, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, East Boros Chapter, will not host its annual induction banquet normally held annually in October.

Covid health and safety concerns, logistics of how to properly host the event and ad-sponsor support in the current economic climate were cited as reasons for the decision to postpone, chapter president Bob Ford said.

The hall of fame committee is looking forward to planning for the annual scholarship golf outing in May, Ford said. It also hopes to return to inducting classes in the fall of 2022.

The East Boros Hall of Fame began in 1978 as a way to honor some of the region’s top athletes.

The East Boros chapter represents 21 communities in eastern Allegheny County and Westmoreland County including Oakmont, Verona and Plum in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

To date, more than 300 have been enshrined. Notable athletes recognized include Plum native and NHL player RJ Umberger (2018), Pittsburgh Pirates World Series champion Dick Groat (1978), voice of Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt football Bill Hillgrove (2005), amateur golf champion Sean Knapp (2007) and Braddock High grad and Pitt basketball All-American Billy Knight (2015).

Warriors win title

The Boyce Park Warriors, who plays their home games at Plum High School, captured the Pittsburgh North American Baseball Association Class A championship.

In the best-of-three final series, the Warriors edged the Bauerstown Turtles, 8-7, in Game 1 on Aug. 1 and closed out the title with a 7-1 win at Plum two days later.

It is Boyce Park’s fourth league title. The team finished the regular season in third place in the seven-team division. Bauerstown was the regular-season champion at 21-2.

Bringing the heat

Preseason practices for all fall sports in the PIAA begin Aug. 16.

Football teams, including the 13 schools in the Alle-Kiski Valley — Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale and Valley — get a jump this week with mandatory heat workouts (noncontact) in full pads.

Requirements include five consecutive days of workouts lasting no more than three hours at a time. Days 1, 3 and 5 are limited to five hours, and days 2 and 4 are limited to three hours.

The players will be greeted Monday by temperatures in the low 90s with temps continuing to hover around 90 for the rest of the week.

St. Joseph’s Vincent earns hall-of fame honor

Anthony “Tony” Vincent, a mathematics teacher at St. Joseph and an adjunct professor at La Roche, will be honored for his college and professional baseball accomplishment with induction into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 3.

Vincent starred for the Golden Eagles as a pitcher from 1965 to 1967. He helped Clarion capture the 1967 PSAC title.

The 1963 Wilkinsburg graduate was the first Clarion baseball player to sign an MLB contract.

He signed with the Boston Red Sox late in the summer of 1967 and played a couple of seasons in their league system. He played in Canada in 1970 before retiring.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.