Carlynton baseball flies under radar; Bishop Canevin looks to juniors

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 17, 2018 | 2:21 AM

Carlynton baseball players have seen the social media posts hyping the top players and programs of the WPIAL.

They also noticed the lack of buzz about the Cougars.

“It's OK. We are using it as motivation,” Carlynton coach Frank Zebrasky said. “We don't have a chip on our shoulder. We are carrying around a cement block.”

The Cougars are led by an experienced pitching staff. The team returns all-section selection Zack Oddi as well as Nathan Bickus — the senior duo should be a solid 1-2 punch for the Cougars. But the staff has depth with Josh Koval, Dan Schultz and Chauncie Mickens.

The team is also deep at catcher with Brayden Moehring, Evan Staker and Schultz.

“We are blessed to have them,” Zebrasky said. “Each of the can bring something to the catcher position.”

The rest of the field is filled with versatility. Oddi and Schultz can fill in at shortstop. Staker can play first base and in the outfield. Mickens started 15 of 21 games in center field last season.

“Hunter Crown played third base for us last season,” Zebrasky said. “Anytime you can plug and play someone at third base, you're fortunate. He did really well.”

The one area graduation may have hurt the team is at the plate. Zebrasky said the team lost 65 percent of its run production.

“We will have to claw and scratch and do whatever we need to do to score runs,” Zebrasky said. “We won't be a team with a lot of triples and doubles.”

The Cougars have a simple motto this season: Our expectation level is elevated.

“Getting to the playoffs last year, it went a long way to opening the eyes of the returning kids,” Zebrasky said. “They know they need to put it in quality work to achieve more.”

Bishop Canevin

The Crusaders are led by a deep and experienced junior class.

“They have been cutting their teeth playing against our section opponents that have been filled with seniors and juniors,” Bishop Canevin coach Dale Checketts said. “We think that will pay dividends this year and next.”

Checketts said he likes the balance of righties and lefties on the pitching staff. Josh Gmys, Aidan Logan and Michael Aches are right-handed. Ryan Eisenbeis, Ted Maida and Brian DeSchon throw with their left.

“You don't usually get that balance,” Checketts said. “We return a lot of guys who have thrown before for us. You can't practice experience.”

The team lost a veteran catcher to graduation. But Checketts said underclassmen Michael Smith and Cameron Ropchock are working hard to fill the void.

“They are building a rapport with the pitching staff,” Checketts said. “But we expect to see a bit of a learning curve early on.”

The rest of the infield should be solid with Eisenbeis returning at first and Matt Colantonio at second. Checketts said multiple players can fill in at third base as well as shortstop.

DeSchon was the team's top outfielder last season.

The team's batting should be strong with several returning catalysts: Logan led the team in RBIs last season, and DeSchon provides aggressive base running.

The Crusaders are looking to build off last season's trip to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals.

“We tell the kids it isn't about where we start but where we finish,” Checketts said. “Our guys learned a lot from the playoff run last year. We want to put ourselves in position to win a championship.”

Nathan Smith is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Carlynton