Expectations remain high for new-look Plum baseball team

By: Jerin Steele
Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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It was another banner year in 2023 for the Plum baseball team.

The Mustangs used a walk-off win against Fox Chapel on the final day of the regular season to earn a split of the Section 1-5A title with Penn-Trafford and went on to make the WPIAL semifinals before falling to Shaler.

With some key players returing and others primed to increase their roles, the plan is to make another run.

“Any time you make it to the WPIAL semifinals, I think that qualifies as a good season,” veteran Plum coach Carl Vollmer said. “The idea is to go back and do it again. We’re going to do what we always do. We have a tough section, but we’re going to do everything we can to scratch and claw for wins. We have some experience and some youth that I think is ready to contribute.”

The Mustangs began their season with a trip to Florida on the opening weekend of the WPIAL season.

Ace pitcher Brady Dojonovic graduated, but the Mustangs return Erik Streussnig, who was another starter during the two-game section series. Colin Watson, who shined as a reliever with a 1.11 ERA, also returns.

“Colin was tremendous in that role,” Vollmer said. “His role will probably change this year. He’ll likely transition into a starter unless we determine the best thing for him and us is for him to be in that relief role again, but as things stand right now, I think Colin has the potential to be a really good starter for us as well as Eric. We’ll find some depth behind them, and I think that’s what the Florida trip is for. I feel we have some guys ready to step in.”

Seniors Sean Franzi, Cole Kemmerer, Logan Walker and Carter Sciullo; junior Michael Tedrick; sophomores Braden Kemmerer and Ryan Lafferty; and freshman Max Vollmer will provide pitching depth. Most of them are two-way players.

The Mustangs bring back some experienced bats such as Daniel Macioce, Jack Anderson, Dom Beyer and Jake Domkowski in what should be a formidable lineup.

“I feel our lineup has the potential to be as strong as it was last year or possibly even stronger,” Vollmer said. “We have some guys that can swing it from both the right and left side, which allows us to match up sometimes. I’m really looking forward to watching these guys play in Florida and seeing how they perform. We’ll make some decisions from there to put them in roles that we think they’re capable of. That hopefully should allow us to compete in the section and beyond.”

Others who will contribute include seniors Domanick Miller and Matt Glasspool; junior Anthony Jump; and sophomores Timmy Ruggerio, Enzo Mele and Connor Wilson.

After splitting the section title with Penn-Trafford, the Mustangs ended up losing to the Warriors in the WPIAL consolation game for the final spot in the state tournament.

Fox Chapel, Armstrong, Gateway, Franklin Regional and North Hills are also in the section. Franklin Regional, a perennial WPIAL contender, missed the playoffs last year, which shows the depth in the section.

Vollmer has scheduled an aggressive nonsection schedule to prepare for section play.

“Last year we played three competitive games with North Allegheny, Seneca Valley and Pine-Richland, and we play them again this year, so we’ll find out a lot about ourselves and get ready to go into the section,” Vollmer said.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

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