Quaker Valley baseball chasing section championship

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, April 23, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley was in a three-way battle for second place in Section 1-3A when the season’s second half commenced.

But after winning four consecutive section games, the young, hard-hitting Quakers were aiming for a higher spot than second place; they planned to contend for the section championship.

“Our goals start with being the best team we can be. That is controllable,” coach Rich Garbee said. “Then, certainly we aspire to compete and ultimately win our section while preparing to peak as we move closer to the postseason.

“We are pleased with the effort and results through the first few games. (The QV players) learned their lesson in the first Mohawk game (a 13-0 loss) that they have to play every game with competitive intensity. As a team, and as coaches, we continue to improve, build a winning culture and demand excellence from each other each day.”

One of the reasons for Garbee’s optimism in the section is his team’s offensive approach.

The Quakers (5-3, 4-2) were batting a robust .380 as a group, led by sophomore catcher Jimmy Zugai with a .619 batting average, two home runs and 17 RBIs.

“My season’s going well and I have a good feeling about this team,” Zugai said. “I think we can make a deep playoff run this year if we all play to the best of our abilities. It feels really good to see the hard work I put in during the offseason show on the field.

“The whole team has been working hard, and I think we are one of those teams that will be able to compete with any other team in 3A. So safe to say, I have high hopes.”

Zugai can be considered a “baseball junkie” in a positive sense of the term. He has been playing the sport since he was in t-ball at age 3.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Zugai said. “Baseball has always been my main sport. I dedicate most of my time to working out, learning about the game or practicing baseball.”

Quaker Valley senior DH Garrett Rader and sophomores Nolan Wagoner, Jack Cindrich and Oscar Roig all were hitting over .350 in mid-April; in fact, nine players were hitting .300 or better.

“Our OBP (on-base percentage) is .510,” said Garbee, QV’s first-year field boss, “which has allowed the coaches to really be aggressive on the bases and disrupt the teams we’ve been playing.”

The Quakers’ starting lineup has evolved as follows: Rader, junior 2B Michael Ponzo, Roig (SS), sophomore CF Ryan Finamore, Zugai, Wagoner (1B), sophomore LF Jasper Gray, Cindrich (3B) and junior RF Jack Szuba.

“I’m impressed with how many of our young guys are stepping up this season,” Zugai said. “A lot of them didn’t play varsity last year, but they’re handling the competition very well. We had two losses early in the season where we made a lot of mistakes, but we’ve worked hard to make sure they don’t happen again.

“Overall, we just keep getting better every day, and that was one of our goals for the season.”

Senior Charlie Volk and Finamore led the Quakers’ pitching staff in the early going with two wins apiece.

“We’ve been really using a lot of players early to keep pitch counts down,” Garbee said. “Charlie Volk and (senior) Braeden Steffey have been pleasant surprises, eating up innings for us as starters or in relief when they really didn’t do much pitching at all prior to this on a varsity level.

“Also, having eight starters who are either sophomores or juniors acclimating to their roles and having initial success has been fun for us, as coaches, to watch.”

The Quakers were looking as much to the future as they were this season. Garbee welcomed eight sophomores and four juniors to the club in 2023.

“The team continues to work hard to improve, compete and build a winning foundation that carries forward for Quaker Valley baseball,” Garbee said. “As coaches, we know it is not a one-year endeavor but happens over time and throughout the younger programs we have.

“The players hosted a clinic for 45 young baseball players in early March, and we will have the eighth graders practice with us, helping them build relationships with the guys and aspire to be the next ‘Jimmy.’ It’s what winning programs do throughout the country.”

QV competed in Section 2-4A last year and finished with a 9-10 record and a berth in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Eight of the nine starters in 2022 were seniors, which is quite a contrast from the current club.

“I love the makeup of this (year’s) team,” Garbee said. “They are aggressive, competitive and hard working. They are young and will grow and continue to improve.”

The Quakers received a taste of major league baseball on April 15 when they played Seneca Valley at PNC Park, the home field of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite suffering a lopsided nonsection loss to the 6A Raiders, it proved to be a memorable time for QV’s team members.

“Playing at PNC was a really cool experience,” Zugai said.

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