New coach Bestic will try to bring success to the St. Joseph baseball team

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 | 6:21 PM

Bradley Bestic has experience leading a Class A baseball team to success.

This spring, he will lean on that experience in guiding St. Joseph.

Bestic, who was named St. Joseph’s athletic director in November, enters his first season as coach of the Spartans’ baseball program.

He coached Vincentian Academy from 2018-20, leading the Royals to the 2018 WPIAL and PIAA Class A title and compiling a record of 35-9. He also was an assistant coach for the Royals’ title run in 2017.

Last season, Bestic coached the Knoch baseball team to a 10-11 record and a trip to the postseason, where the Knights lost to Quaker Valley in the first round.

He inherits a team heavy on seniors that will look to rebound from a 2-12 finish last season. The Spartans, who were outscored 176-53, went 1-9 in Section 3-A, with their lone section win coming against Springdale.

“(We want to) compete for a section championship and win at least one playoff game,” Bestic said.

The Spartans will lean on a deep senior class that includes Simon Szalla (2B/3B/P), Wyatt Barr (2B/OF), Austin Tracy (C/OF), Will Mason (3B/OF/P), Ryan Anderson (OF) and Anthony Kuhns (3B/SS/C/P).

“The seniors have been doing a good job leading the younger guys and being receptive to change with a new coaching staff coming in,” Bestic said. “I expect them to all contribute and lead this team to where we want to be.”

Szalla, Mason, Kuhns, freshman Gabe Maltese and sophomores Owen Swanson and Vincent Putignano are expected to make up the pitching rotation.

Kuhns, Swanson and Szalla are expected to be the team’s top hitters, but Bestic said, “There are a lot of others I expect to come up big one way or another throughout the season.”

The Spartans will have to replace all-section infielder Hayden Mallin, who graduated.

“There are definitely positions still up for grabs,” he said. “The next week of practice and scrimmages will go a long way in determining who will get the start in Game 1.”

St. Joseph again will compete in Section 3-A with Eden Christian, Riverview, Sewickley Academy, Leechburg and Springdale. Eden Christian won the section title a year ago at 9-1, with Riverview at 7-3 and Sewickley Academy and Leechburg each finishing 6-4.

“There are no easy wins in this section. We will need to play our best ball each game to come out on top,” Bestic said.

St. Joseph is scheduled to open the season next Tuesday with a nonsection game at Cornell. The Spartans’ home opener will be April 4 against Riverview at No Offseason Sports in Tarentum.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: St. Joseph