Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Mt. Pleasant’s Brady Painter

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, May 20, 2024 | 10:49 AM

The regular season for Mt. Pleasant’s baseball team was, by all standards, impressive.

The Vikings, who finished 11-1 in their section, claimed their first section title since 2017.

Senior Brady Painter detailed what the regular season looked like from his perspective.

“I think we definitely had our ups and downs, but we still found a way to come out on top in almost all the games that we needed to,” Painter said. “The energy we brought is really what determined whether we played (well) or not.”

Painter hit .382 with a .618 on-base percentage in the regular season. He walked 17 times and stole 17 bases.

Mt. Pleasant was behind then-undefeated Waynesburg when the teams met April 29 and May 1. A sweep put the Vikings in pole position to grab the section title.

“That was huge. Our coaches instilled that in our heads, that just because (Waynesburg was) undefeated, it didn’t mean anything,” Painter said. “If we brought playoff energy into games and we got real excited, we knew we had the ability to beat them.”

The team had a good mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen, and it was up to Painter and the rest of the seniors to help create a bond.

“It’s kind of showing what to do rather than telling them to do stuff,” Painter said. “Just keeping everybody active so they feel like a family and not just some random team.”

Painter is planning on attending IUP and majoring in safety, health and environmental applied sciences.

This week, Painter took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with baseball?

My dad got me into T-ball with my cousin.

What kind of work do you put in on and off the field that leads to that kind of success?

I would say just staying active all year long. I mean, we play Legion ball after the high school season’s over. Then I play in this Latrobe league in the fall. When I wasn’t doing that, our new JV coach, who happens to be my uncle, held practices after school when it was football season. All the boys who don’t play football would come out, and we got some good work in doing that.

What can you say about your performances on both sides of the ball and how you can continue that going into the playoffs?

I think pitching, it can’t really get much better than what we’re doing right now. We’ve got our three main guys, and then we’ve got our people behind them to finish the job if it needs to be. Hitting, I feel like, it depends on the game. If we can get a little more consistent with how well we hit, I’d like that. We score runs when we have to, at least so far.

Is there a player in MLB you try to pattern your game after?

I’d say Ronald Acuna Jr., just because he’s so electric. Obviously, I wouldn’t compare myself to him at all, but he’s just really fun to watch.

What’s one thing that people may not know about you?

I would say I get my motivation from everybody around me. My teammates and my family, they probably don’t realize it as much as they should, but they actually fuel everything that’s going on.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant