Valley baseball ready to roar into season
After watching his team go through a strength and conditioning program four days a week during the winter, first-year Valley baseball coach Jim Basilone sees a group champing at the bit to play ball.
“I feel like I have a bunch of caged tigers, and that I need to open the gate and let them run,” said Basilone, who has 38 years of coaching experience, including 20 at his most recent stop, North Allegheny. “They just can't wait to get on the baseball field. I need to let them get go loose, let them play and enjoy the game, because they're ready to be let loose.”
With an experienced roster and a new section that placed them with rival Burrell, there's plenty for the Vikings to be excited about for this season.
Valley has games scheduled against Summit Academy and Ambridge on Monday and Tuesday, but that long-awaited opportunity to take the field could happen when they travel to Myrtle Beach's Cal Ripken Experience next weekend.
The Vikings will play teams from Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey and finish with Hopewell while in Myrtle Beach. It is believed to be the first time Valley traveled south to start a season.
“The bus ride is going to be fun and hanging out with the team around Myrtle Beach will be fun too,” senior first baseman Anthony Guzzo said. “I also think it's a good opportunity to get a few games in before most teams can play because of our field situations up here. It's going to be fun playing teams from different states because we never really do that.”
Valley has eight returning starters, but two of them begin the season on the injured list. Noah Aftanas, a pitcher and infielder, and outfielder Nick Heuer both had shoulder surgery in the offseason. Basilone is unsure when they'll be ready.
Aftanas and Jordan Frame, who graduated, saw the bulk of the innings on the mound last year. The Vikings will turn to Jeremy Iellimo, Guzzo, Shawn Demharter, Dan Antonacci, Andrew Serakowski and Eli Ferres to bridge the innings gap.
“I know I'm going to be pitching a lot more, but it's not just me. All of us have to step up,” Iellimo said. “It'll be an adjustment, but we'll get used to it, until (Aftanas) comes back at least.”
Guzzo said, “We have six or seven people who can pitch, and all of us are going to step up to the fill the hole for Noah since he's injured. We miss Noah on the field, but he's still at every practice. He's there for us and we're there for him.”
The winter workouts, which focused on foot speed, conditioning, weight training and core strength, have Vikings players feeling faster and stronger. Basilone credited assistant coach Dan Helgert with taking the lead on strength and conditioning.
“Working out every day was hard at times, but in the long run, they're going to be worth it,” Guzzo said. “They made us better as players, and they let us bond more as a team. Everything we did was worth it.”
Valley had success in the summer, finishing as runner-up in Butler County American Legion play. A majority of the Vikings played for Basilone's Independent Players team, which placed second in the Western Pennsylvania Fall Baseball League.
They hope to carry the summer and fall success into a section where they will face all new schools because of the PIAA's move to six classes. Aside from Burrell, Valley will play Shady Side Academy, South Allegheny, Steel Valley and East Allegheny in Section 1-AAA.
After being in a section with larger schools like Knoch, Mars and Hampton, it's a welcome change.
“They are given a great opportunity to compete and to be challenged by these other teams,” Basilone said. “The kids are excited about it. It's a whole new program for them. I think they are a lot stronger than they have been in the past. They realize that it takes hard work to be at the top and they really worked hard in the winter. We're going to put it all out on the field and see what happens.”
Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.
