Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week for games of May 20-25

By: Don Rebel
Monday, May 27, 2019 | 10:02 PM

The Trib HSSN Baseball Player of the Week is Beaver senior Mason Rose, who used his arm and his bat to help the Bobcats reach the WPIAL finals for the first time in six years.

Beaver will see a familiar foe in the title game Wednesday as it takes on rival Blackhawk for the third time this season. The two teams split their regular-season meetings.

“Blackhawk is a great program, and Coach Amelia is one of the best there is around here,” Beaver assistant coach T.J. Lambert said. “We have played two great games against them. We are excited, though, after losing the last game and the section. We are happy to get another shot at them this season. “

Offensively, Rose was a combined 3 for 7 with a double, a run and two RBIs in wins over Highlands and Yough.

“Mason had his struggles earlier in the year at the plate but has not allowed that to affect any of his defense or pitching all season long,” Lambert said. “For about the last month, he has been working hard and made his approach at the plate simple. He is getting the barrel on the ball a lot more, which has helped him lately.”

In the semifinals, the Bobcats started Alec Berg. But because Berg was not 100%, he only pitched four scoreless innings.

Rose came in to pitch in the fifth inning, and after an error, he allowed a two run homer as Yough grabbed a 2-0 lead. Lambert said what happened after that homer said a lot about Rose.

“The fight that he had is what stood out the most about his performance,” Lambert said. “He did not get down on himself or the team. He fought through it and threw two more shutout innings and also had the leadoff hit to start our rally in the top of the seventh.”

Beaver scored seven runs in the seventh and won 7-2.

The poise shown in the comeback is not surprising since this is a senior-laden team. But Lambert said Rose stands out among the many seniors.

“Mason is one of the more vocal leaders on this team,” Lambert said. “That is so important to us because there are 14 seniors on this team, and we know that when he says something or we need something relayed to the guys, he is the one that will do it.”

Honorable mention:

Nate Zimcosky, Laurel Highlands

Junior Nate Zimcosky shined as Laurel Highlands upset Hampton and Franklin Regional last week. In the quarterfinals, Zimcosky was 2 for 4 with a double and four RBIs. In the semifinals, he had another double and another RBI as the team earn a spot to the finals.

Brett Wagner, Seton LaSalle

Freshman Brett Wagner was in the middle of a thrilling week with two walk-off victories for Seton LaSalle. He was 2 for 4 with a run and the game-winning single in a 6-5 comeback win over OLSH. He then had two more hits and two RBIs in a 5-4 victory over Laurel in the semifinals.

Mark Black, Serra Catholic

Junior Mark Black did not have any gaudy numbers in two wins last week because nobody will pitch to him. Before getting the Barry Bonds treatment, Black launched his 12th home run of the season in the Eagles’ quarterfinal win over Avonworth. Then in a 4-1 win over Neshannock in the semifinals, Black was walked intentionally three times, giving him seven walks in three playoff games.

Previous Trib HSSN Baseball Players of the Week:

Joe Olsavsky, Central Catholic

Jake McGovern, Hopewell

Jacob Schmidt, Elizabeth Forward

Christian Johnson, Quaker Valley

John Malagise, Blackhawk

Casey Marshalwitz, Hampton

Jimmy Sadler, Chartiers-Houston

Jeff Zick, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

This Week’s Trib HSSN Team of the Week: California Trojans