Anthony Grippo, Greensburg CC make statement in 1st-round rout of Sewickley

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, May 15, 2025 | 9:16 PM

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Watching Anthony Grippo bat for Greensburg Central Catholic is an event.

It starts before he even steps over the chalk and into the box.

His routine is detailed. There is the little hip wiggle and the double-chop motion he makes toward right-center field —he assures pitchers don’t want his spray chart to show a line in that direction.

He holds out his right palm and bobs it a couple of times to remind him to breathe just before he digs in.

After all of that, and a nod to his bat, it’s go time. It’s his time.

“I’ve been doing the same thing when I bat since I was 12,” said Grippo, the Centurions’ junior catcher. “I take it slow. When I come up, I want to slow the game down. It’s my time.”

The methodical approach has helped the Penn State commit produce a .685 batting average through 20 games for the fifth-seeded Centurions, who followed his lead to a 14-0, five-inning win over No. 12 Sewickley Academy to open the WPIAL Class A playoffs Thursday evening at Plum.

“That average is good enough for government work,” GCC coach John Boyle said of Grippo. “When you see him on the field, he is all business. Dialed in. He catches pitches and shouts out the infield. Yes, he has an incredible bat, but that’s only half the story.”

Grippo went 2 for 3 with a grand slam and six RBIs as GCC (18-2) erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the first and put it on cruise control from there.

Oh yes, Grippo also caught a no-hitter.

Junior Tyler Samide didn’t give up a hit for the second time in three starts.

After the battery-powered win, the team’s 10th straight, GCC advances to play No. 4 Bishop Canevin (10-6) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

“The best part about pitching (to Grippo) is that he is so smart about the game,” said Samide, who struck out nine and walked four, improving to 7-0 while reaching 100 K’s for the season. “He gets me strikes that probably shouldn’t be strikes.”

Grippo now has 32 RBIs, but the homer, which sailed high and true over the high fence in left, was his first of the season.

That doesn’t bother him, although there isn’t much that does. An intentional walk and getting picked off might make him grumble, but the pressure of living up to Division I college expectations tends to melt away when he enters a game.

His mindset is a chill vibe, like the reggae music he listens to.

“My goal is to get drafted, I have said that before,” Grippo said. “That’s what I wanted to do since I was 4 years old. It’s the same goal now. It’s just baseball. It’s a kid’s game. The game does not change.”

GCC now has three no-hitters this spring. Freshman Bobby Smithnosky and senior Jackson McMullen combined on another abbreviated no-hitter earlier in the season.

Samide also went 3 for 4 at the plate.

“He’s our No. 1 (pitcher), and he acts like it,” Boyle said. “He wants the ball in his hand.”

Samide said thoughts of another no-hitter did not flood his brain.

“I mean, it’s always in the back of your mind,” he said. “I am just focusing on every pitch.”

GCC is hitting over .420 as a team and showed why against the Panthers (5-13), who allowed 14 hits, four for extra bases.

“Top to bottom, this is the best lineup I’ve had in three years,” Boyle said.

Smithnosky went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, McMullen and senior Brody Bothell both tripled and senior Sean Walker doubled and knocked in two runs.

Sewickley Academy brings its own red-and-white, Panther-logoed bus to games. GCC was up by 10 before the driver turned off the engine.

Fourteen batters came up in the opening inning, with Walker’s two-run double and Grippo’s grand slam, which made it 10-0, highlighting the start.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew,” Grippo said.

Said Boyle: “We wanted to make a statement today. The guys felt a little disrespected as the No. 5 seed. We didn’t want to take (Sewickley) lightly.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Sewickley Academy