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Conference Preview: Mid-Penn Conference

March 15, 2014

By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

Mid-Penn Conference

Mid-Penn Commonwealth

Returning Mid-Penn Commonwealth Honorees
1st-team
'14 1B/DH Michael Adams, Cumberland Valley (Albany)
'15 RHP Aaron Gress, Central Dauphin
'14 RHP/SS Stephen McKee, Cedar Cliff
'14 RHP Zach Newmyer, Red Land
'14 LHP Nick Raquet, State College (North Carolina)
'14 3B Isaac Strohecker, Mifflin County

  • DresslerNewmyerFor a team that graduated its four leaders in batting average, Red Land still has quite a few offensive pieces in place. '14 C Ben Snyder (Pittsburgh), '14 OF Jeremy Hileman (Mount St Mary's), powerful '15 OF Eric Dressler (right), and OBP machine '15 IF Dalton Clouser will form the backbone of the Patriots line-up. 6-foot-2 Newmyer (left), '14 RHP/OF Matt Shope, and Hileman all return after giving coach Nate Ebbert quality innings last season.
  • IshlerPetersonOutside of Raquet (5-2, 1.54 ERA, 32 H, 27 BB, 66 K in 50 IP), State College has a lot of holes to fill on its pitching staff. Two potential pieces to that puzzle are 6-foot-6, 255-pound '15 RHP Kyle Peterson (left) and '16 RHP Bailey Ishler (right). The offense lost five every-game starters, but returns '15 OF Caleb Walls as a centerpiece.
  • A veteran group gives Central Dauphin a lot of optimism heading into the season.  '15 OF Jake Artz, '14 OF Blake Lazur (Frederick CC), '14 IF Connor Anderson (Harford CC), '15 IF Colton Currey, and '15 Util Gary Smith will pace the offense. 6-foot-2 '14 RHP/Util Nate Dickey (Indiana U of PA), '14 RHP Alek Bittinger, 6-foot-3 '15 RHP/Util Tony Zimmerman, and 6-foot-2 Gress should rack up the bulk of the innings for coach Brian Zellers.
  • MaloneLackeyCedar Cliff returns its entire infield and a number of arms who gave them quality innings. McKee is a solid two-way guy, while it has yet to be determined which side of the ball toolsy '15 RHP/OF Noah Malone (right) will end up on in college. '14 C Brandyn Smith (Bloomsburg), gamer '15 Util Brayden Lackey (left), and '16 Util Julian Bury will all contribute on coach Justin Phillips' offense as well.
  • A young group of Panthers will have an opportunity to gain valuable experience for Central Dauphin East under coach Jim Mazzolla. '16 C Andy Pineda, the starter as a freshman, will work with a pitching staff that includes '16 RHP/IF Stephen McInturff, 6-foot-3 '15 RHP Justin Cherry, and '16 Util/RHP Quinton Heckard.
  • Reesman'14 RHP Heath Hilday and '16 RHP/IF Isaiah Kearns look to ascend to the top of the Mifflin County pitching depth chart this spring. 6-foot-5, 215-pound '16 LHP Peyton Reesman (right) hopes to make an impact as well, prior to representing Team PA at the PBR Future Games over the summer. Strohecker and '14 1B Hayden Snook are the top returning hitters for coach Travis Zook, while Kearns will also contribute with the bat.
  • Cumberland Valley will look to '14 C Kole Aumiller (Shippensburg) and '14 1B Mitchel Lacey (VCU) as the leaders of an offense (which topped three runs only three times in its last ten games) to provide run support for the 6-foot-4 Adams and '14 RHP Christian McClure (Indiana U of PA).

 

Mid-Penn Keystone

Returning Mid-Penn Keystone Honorees
  1st-team Honorable Mention
Bishop McDevitt '14 2B Pierce Harhigh
'14 LHP/OF Noah Spangler		  
Harrisburg    
Hershey '14 RHP Tim Edwards
'14 IF Jack Gunkel
'14 OF Kevin Kremer		  
Lower Dauphin '14 SS Kaylor Kulina
'15 RHP Blair Lewis
'14 C Deon Stafford (St. Joseph's)		  
Mechanicsburg Area   '15 SS Marc Hershey
Middletown Area '15 RHP Nathan Ocker
'15 RHP Zach Sims		 '15 OF/LHP Jordan Flowers
Palmyra Area    
Susquehanna Township '14 SS Gio Torres '16 C Jake Pae

 

  • OckerWith the strike-throwing duo of Ocker (15 BB, 77 K in 48.2 IP) and Sims (12 BB, 73 K in 44 IP) leading the way, Middletown Area has a good chance to climb out of the middle of the pack this spring. In the most remarkable performance of the season, Ocker (right) struck out 24 of 27 batters faced in one 9-inning outing. Virtually the entire offense returns as well, led by Flowers (.400 OBP, 7 SB), who is himself a strike-thrower on the mound (7 BB, 26 K in 14 IP).
  • Lower Dauphin got as close as a team can get to a state championship, tying the game in the seventh inning before falling in the ninth to North Penn in the class AAAA title game. Luckily for the Falcons, they might just be able to earn another shot at it. Stafford & baseball-savvy Kulina, the 2013 Mid-Penn Keystone Division co-MVPs, return to lead the offense, while Lewis is the incumbent mound ace.
  • MitchellNo player has become more of a mystery to college coaches (or generated as many questions toward the PBR staff) as Susquehanna Township '14 LHP LaRon Mitchell. Touching 90mph without much effort in February prior to his junior season, the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder has since struggled through injury and subsequent velocity loss. His recovery will be one of the most interesting storylines of the spring.
  • '14 RHP Mitchell Sauley (Frederick CC) is one of only four seniors on the roster for Palmyra Area. 6-foot-5 '15 RHP Bobby Dorta could join him in racking up innings, while '15 IF Zach Miller will spark coach Tim Gingrich's offense.

 

Mid-Penn Colonial

Returning Mid-Penn Colonial Honorees
   1st-team Honorable Mention
Big Spring '14 C Mark Sherriff
'15 RHP Lowell Singer		 '14 OF/RHP Dylan Johnson
Boiling Springs    
Gettysburg Area    
Greencastle-Antrim '14 2B Justin Hovey (Frederick CC)
'16 RHP Myles Gayman		 '14 DH/C Ashtin Byers (Frederick CC)
'14 1B/P Jake Crist (Catholic U)
James Buchanan   '14 2B/OF Josiah Utermoehlen
Shippensburg Area    
Waynesboro Area '14 RHP/IF John Barr (South Alabama)
'14 RHP/IF Alex Cline
'14 C Tim Ingram		 '14 OF Clay Eberhardt

 

  • GaymanPitching will be the name of the game for defending District III class AAA Greencastle-Antrim. '14 RHP Ryan Ricci (George Mason) is a team leader and big-game bulldog. He will be joined by 6-foot-2, 170-pound Gayman , who will represent Team PA at the PBR Future Games over the summer, and '14 RHP Jesse Beeler (Juniata). Hovey (.456 AVG, 11 SB), Crist (.333 AVG, .438 OBP, and Byers (.351 AVG, .432 SLG) will be the backbone of an offense that, given the Blue Devils pitching prowess, may not have to score many runs for coach Eric Shaner.
  • The 6-foot-4, 175-pound Singer returns to lead the pitching staff for Big Spring, which could add 6-foot-4, 235-pound '16 RHP Bryce Ruth to the mix. Sheriff (.431 AVG, .553 SLG) will team with Johnson (.333 AVG, .429 OBP) and '14 IF Michael Pifer (.308 AVG, 10 SB) as coach Brad Shover's primary run-producers.
  • JacobyShannon'15 C Nick Jacoby (right) and '15 IF Nate Reiner will be among a junior class for Shippensburg Area that will have to grow up quickly in order to replace ten graduated seniors. Speedy '14 SS Levi Varner returns to build upon the .353 AVG he posted prior to suffering a season-ending injury. Coach Dan Watkins is close to cornering the market on southpaws in the division, as he has 6-foot-4 '15 Cordell Shannon (left), '14 Dustin LaBonte, and '15 Daulton Brenize at his disposal.

 

Mid-Penn Capital

Returning Mid-Penn Capital Honorees
  1st-team Honorable Mention
Camp Hill '15 IF/RHP Michael Hope
'14 SS Robbie Thompson (Dickinson)		 '14 2B Teddy Zanger
East Pennsboro   '15 OF/RHP Grayson Miller
Milton Hershey '15 OF/P Manny Garcia '14 IF Jimmy McDonnell
Northern York '14 RHP Ryan Schreiber  
Steelton-Highspire    
Susquenita '14 SS/RHP Brett Morrison (Lock Haven)
 '14 DH Shane Smith
Trinity '14 OF/LHP Andrew Scarpelli (James Madison)
  
West Perry '15 RHP/3B Ben Dum (Virginia Commonwealth)
'14 2B Deric Ellerman
'14 1B Tanner Gerst
'15 LHP/OF Tregg Liebel
'14 OF Chase May
  

 

  • Returning five first-teamers after going undefeated in division play, it's hard to imagine anyone but West Perry as the Capital favorite. Liebel and Dum form an excellent 1-2, left-right punch on a staff that also includes '14 RHP Joel Clabaugh. Ellerman, Gerst, and May return to an offense that has a number of holes to fill.
  • Northern York will rely on Schreiber (32 H, 4 BB, 29 K in 34.1 IP) and '14 LHP Rodney Copenhaver (36 H, 18 BB, 37 K in 29.2 IP) as the backbone of its pitching staff. Following the graduation of five of the top six hitters (in terms of plate appearances), '15 OF Zach Zinn will team with a large group of seniors to try replace the production for coach Brian Robison.
  • MillerYoderIn addition to the positions he garnered recognition at last year, East Pennsboro's Miller (right) showcases above average actions, feet, and hands at shortstop with easy carry across the diamond. 6-foot-4, 225-pound '16 RHP Connor Yoder (left) will represent Team PA at the PBR Future Games over the summer.
  • '14 IF Jimmy McDonald and '15 RHP/3B Chris Santana will help set the tone for a rebuilding effort at Milton Hershey under rookie head coach John Karavage.

 

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