Youth was served for North Allegheny in 2019 when a freshman burst onto the scene to become one of the WPIAL’s best players.
Young is now older and appears to be even better.
Cole Young, a hard-hitting, slick-fielding junior shortstop, is hoping to have another strong season for a North Allegheny team that opens the season as the Post-Gazette’s No. 1 team in WPIAL Class 6A.
“So far this year, it’s just the consistency and trying to stay within himself, because he could very easily try to do too much,” North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck said. “With his bat, it’s the consistent contact with the hard hit balls. And in the field, his movement is very smooth. He makes hard plays look effortless.”
A Duke recruit, Young was the first freshman to ever make the Post-Gazette’s All-Area team. He led North Allegheny in hitting with a .414 average, while adding three home runs and 26 RBIs to go with a .500 on-base percentage. Young helped the Tigers reach the WPIAL and PIAA semifinals.
Like every other team, North Allegheny has a lot of question marks due to having so many players with little or no varsity experience due to the 2020 season being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Heck does have key pieces in place, one of them being senior outfielder Logan Andreyko, an all-section pick in 2019 when he batted .368. Junior catcher Aaron Posey also saw playing time two seasons ago, as did senior outfielder Joe Manesiotis. Sophomore second baseman Spencer Barrett is a West Virginia recruit. The pitching staff will be anchored by senior right-handers Kyle Demi and Joe Lang.
Here is a look at some other top teams around the WPIAL:
Class 6A
Norwin boasts talented and imposing pitcher Jayden Walker, a 6-foot-4 senior left-hander and Mercyhurst recruit. Senior teammates Jake Bazala and Landon DiBeradin are also Mercyhurst recruits, while Alex Gabauer (Penn) and Eric Chorba (Longwood) have signed with Division I programs. Junior infielder Jake Kendro is a Tennessee recruit.
Hempfield has a strong senior class headlined by pitcher-outfielder Phil Fox, pitcher-infielder Christian Zilli and infielder Mike Hosni. Fox is a Gardner-Webb recruit, while Zilli will play at Seton Hill.
Longtime Upper St. Clair coach Jerry Malarkey has a promising squad led by senior shortstop and Kent State recruit Jake Casey. Senior third baseman Max Mandler and junior pitcher Brandon Liokareas are two other top players.
Defending champion Pine-Richland begins the season with several top players dealing with injuries. They include 6-5 senior right-hander and West Virginia recruit Tommy Beam, who went 5-3 with a 1.48 ERA and had 66 strikeouts in 47⅓ innings his sophomore season. Coach Kurt Wolfe said he expects Beam to miss at least another month.
Class 5A
It might not be as loaded as last year’s team which included MLB first-round pick Austin Hendrick, but West Allegheny is not short on talent. Gavin Miller is a junior pitcher-shortstop who has committed to Auburn. He went 7-1 with a 1.56 ERA his freshman season. Coach Bryan Cornell said Miller “has all of the tools to be a great, dominating player.” Catcher Luke Lambert (Pitt) and pitcher Zach Stayduhar (Youngstown State) are Division I-bound seniors, while junior pitcher-outfielder Devan Zirwas has committed to VCU.
Franklin Regional, a WPIAL semifinalist in 2019 when it did not drop a section game, has an outstanding senior pitcher-shortstop in Andrew Muraco, who was 7-1 with a 1.97 ERA. The Panthers also bring back junior shortstop Louie Kegerreis.
Another team expected to be in the mix is Bethel Park, which reached the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals in 2019. The Black Hawks feature one of the WPIAL’s best pitchers in senior left-hander Eric Chalus, a Kent State recruit who dazzled as a sophomore when he went 6-2 with a 1.13 ERA.
Mars brings back senior shortstop J.J. Wetherholt, a Post-Gazette All-Area pick as a sophomore when he hit .500 and knocked in 22 runs. He signed with West Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson makes the move up from Class 4A, where it won a section title two seasons ago. McClain Flinn is a talented junior pitcher and senior outfielder Preston Zandier is a returning all-section pick.
Class 4A
New Castle has never reached a WPIAL championship game, but the Red Hurricanes could make a run this season. A big reason for the optimism is the return of senior pitcher Rocco Bernadina, a 6-5 right-hander who in 2019 went 7-1 with a 1.11 ERA and struck out 74 in 56⅔ innings. He’s a Kent State recruit. Senior infielder Logan Gibson is the top returning hitter. He batted .353 for a team that made it to the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals.
Led by senior shortstop Garrett Greco and junior pitcher Andrew Sokol, Belle Vernon appears to have one of the best teams in the class. Greco, a Gardner-Webb recruit, hit .344 two seasons ago. As a freshman, Sokol went 4-0 on the mound and batted .407.
Blackhawk will forge on after losing legendary coach Bob Amalia to cancer last fall. One of Amalia’s longtime assistants, Lou Wolber, takes over. Senior pitcher Alex Tomsic is a former standout at Quigley Catholic, which is now closed. As a sophomore, Tomsic was 6-3 with a 1.52 ERA and fanned 89 in 55⅓ innings. The Cougars also have a promising junior pitcher in Talon Mihalinac.
Class 3A
Hopewell will begin what hopes will be another run to the finals after finishing as the WPIAL runner-up in 2019. Standout Jake McGovern is gone, but the Vikings have a promising group led by junior pitcher-shortstop Anthony LaSala, who batted .339 as a freshman. Also back is senior third baseman Roman Gill.
South Park’s top newcomer is also one of the WPIAL’s best pitchers. Junior Drew Lafferty is a Kentucky recruit who helped Seton LaSalle win the WPIAL Class 2A title in 2019. He was 8-1 with a 1.80 ERA and also batted .408 with 21 RBIs.
Brownsville should be strong. Coach Skooter Roebuck had a lot of freshmen and sophomores see time two seasons ago when the Falcons went 12-5 playing in Class 2A. Senior infielder Nick Keeney hit .441 with 16 RBIs and 21 runs that season.
Class 2A
Defending WPIAL champion Seton LaSalle opens the season as the team to beat. Coach Mike Wagner has a bevy of players who played big roles on that 2019 team, among them senior catcher Cam Colwell, junior pitcher-first baseman Sam Georgiana, junior pitcher-third baseman Brett Wagner and junior shortstop Brian Vogel. Cowell, a Seton Hill recruit, batted .389 with 18 RBIs, while Wagner hit .308 with 25 RBIs. Georgiana was 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA.
Shenango has two aces up its sleeve in senior Marcus Fuller and junior Tino Campoli. Fuller went 6-0 with 61 strikeouts and a 2.14 ERA, while Campoli went 5-2 with 39 strikeouts and a 2.06 ERA. Junior infielder Tyler Kamerer is the top returning hitter.
Serra graduated standout catcher Mark Black, who as a junior in 2019 was the Post-Gazette’s Player of the Year. However, the Eagles return six starters who started on that team, which reached the WPIAL and PIAA championship games. They include junior outfielder Dom DeMoss and junior outfielder Nico Eremic.
Chartiers-Houston senior shortstop Jimmy Sadler is a West Virginia recruit who was a Post-Gazette All-Area selection in 2019 after hitting .426 with an on-base percentage of .500.
Class 1A
Will this be the season Union wins its first WPIAL title? The Scotties lost in each of the past two championship games, but could break through this year due to the return of a strong group led by senior pitcher Jake Vitale, who went 6-3 in 2019.
Greensburg Central Catholic has the arms to make a run. First-year coach Tom Appleby’s pitching staff includes seniors Dylan Sebek and Alex Miller and junior Zach David. All three saw lots of action two years ago when the Centurions reached the WPIAL quarterfinals. Miller was 3-3 with a 2.78 ERA. Sebek is also the top returning hitter after batting .406 and scoring 21 runs his sophomore season.
Brad Everett: beverett@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @BREAL412.
First Published: March 26, 2021, 9:30 a.m.
