Seton Hill baseball has put together its largest recruiting class in program history, getting 12 early signees. And the Griffins kept things in-state. This is the first time since the program joined the NCAA in 2009 that a recruiting class has come entirely from Pennsylvania.
Griffins coach Marc Marizzaldi credited his staff — D.J. Cannon, Anthony Fanelli and former assistant Brandon Jossey — for “identifying the right guys,” and “cultivating relationships.”
“We've positioned ourselves for competitive consistency for years to come with this class,” Marizzaldi said.
The new class includes outfielder Frank Montecalvo (Bishop Guilfoyle), pitcher/catcher Tyler Peterson (Hollidaysburg), infielder Lennox Pugh (Hollidaysburg), infielder Danny Williams (Slippery Rock), infielder Luke Whalen (Norwin), outfielder/pitcher Tristan Tinney (South Fayette), pitcher Greg Coyle (Somerset), pitcher/outfielder Neal McDermott (Greensburg Central Catholic), infielder Jamie Wrabel (Bishop McDevitt), outfielder Jordan Fiedor (Hempfield), pitcher/infielder Colin Loughman (Bethel Park), and pitcher/infielder Jared Kollar (Latrobe).
Whalen played on Norwin's WPIAL Class AAA championship team last season.
“Luke is a high-energy guy that can serve a lot of different roles in the infield for us,” Marizzaldi said. “He has a high motor and an infectious willingness to work and learn.”
McDermott hit .370 with three home runs and 20 RBIs, and went 4-1 as a pitcher with a 1.85 ERA and 42 strikeouts. He helped GCC win the 2015 WPIAL Class A championship and finish runner-up last season.
“We really believe Neal could be a hidden gem in this class,” Marizzaldi said. “He has some funk to his delivery and creates some angles that give hitters fits. He brings some good athleticism and arm strength that should allow him to fill a solid role on our staff.”
Fiedor has played on three section-winning teams and is a top-20 player in Prep Baseball's rankings.
“Jordan is as close to a five-tool player as we came across the last year,” Marizzaldi said.
And Kollar batted .413 last season and finished 4-2 on the mound with 57 strikeouts in 50 innings. In Legion ball, he struck out 36 and posted a 0.00 ERA in 23 innings.
“Over the past 12 months, we've seen Jared take huge steps forward into a big-game pitcher,” Marizzaldi said. “His mid-80s fastball dominates the strike zone and his college-ready breaking ball should make him an early and dependable arm for us.”
Shouldering the load
Like his team, Derry's Tyler Balega had a football season to remember, leading the Trojans to their first undefeated regular season, first conference title since 1983, and first playoff win in 21 years.
The Trojans (11-1) lost to Aliquippa in the quarterfinals.
“It still seems too good to be true,” Balega said. “We just kept winning and winning.”
But many don't realize Balega came back from a shoulder injury to rush for 1,726 yards and 27 touchdowns.
The injury occurred in Week 8 last season at Burgettstown — a week before basketball season. Balega separated the AC joint in his left shoulder, which didn't slow him down at the time, but cost him the entire basketball season.
“I still played the next week (against Waynesburg),” Balega said. “But I knew it would be bugging me all year.”
He didn't have surgery but gave the shoulder time to heal.
Balega would have been a key guard. His injury was one of many to shake up the hoops program and led to an 0-22 season.
The rest proved successful as Balega came back virtually unstoppable in football. He won't play basketball this season but still is waiting for his first college scholarship offer.
Balega's Hudl highlights are out there and he has heard from a few schools like Seton Hill and Cal U, both Division II, but no has no offers.
“I don't know what it takes,” he said.
Several Division III schools have shown interest.
“If I don't get an offer I guess I might have to walk on,” he said.
All-conference honors
Several area soccer and volleyball players were named to the “Big 56” all-conference teams, for Class 4-6A schools.
In soccer, Section 4-AAAA first-team selections include Lexie Kolano, Emily Harrigan, Alyssa Victor, Lexy Kendor, Emily Arnold, and Sam Wexell of Norwin; and Ryley Watt, Mackenzie Aunkst, Hannah Nguyen, and Athena Biondi of Penn-Trafford.
Norwin's Lauren Karcher was named the section's coach of the year.
Volleyball Section 3-AAAA first-teamers include Christie Redinger, Gabby Holmberg and Kiersten Schade of Hempfield; and Meghan Marasti and Taylor Wisniewski of Penn-Trafford.
Hempfield's Jenny Feiertag was Section 3 coach of the year.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com.
