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By Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting

Before we finish our coverage of class 6A the next two days with a focus on the southeast quadrant of the state, today we hop around the state as we continue to polish off our season preview content, which is running for four weeks up to the first official PIAA competition date on March 24. Each article includes a list of top prospects from amongst the cohort of schools, as well as write-ups of a number of teams in the cohort. The number in parenthesis after each header is the number of state tournament bids allotted to that district or sub-region.

We received inquiries in the past regarding how we decide which teams to detail. A team profiled in the article is less an indication of what type of season we expect it to have and more a function of how much information we are able to compile. For example, if we have not recently seen a team in person (there are over 600 baseball-playing high schools in the state), stats are not available on-line, and a school district spam filter gobbled up our e-mails to the coach that contained the questionnaire, we might not have enough information to write a full paragraph on that school.

Sub-region II/IV (1 bid)

Top Prospects:
1. Zach Klapak, 2018, C/RHP, Delaware Valley (Pittsburgh)
2. Cole Stetzar, 2017, IF/RHP, West Scranton (St. Joseph's)
3. Chic DeGaetano, 2019, RHP/3B, Hazleton Area
4. Trevor Smith, 2017, IF/RHP, Delaware Valley
5. Tanner Esposito, 2018, RHP/IF, Williamsport Area

Virtually the entire roster returns for Williamsport Area, as the Millionaires lost just one senior starter to graduation. Esposito and senior RHP Jalen Jackson appear ready to each step up one rung on the pitching ladder this spring, where they will be joined by junior RHP Isaac Snyder looking to take on a greater workload. Senior outfielder Elliott Walker, infielder Jackson, and junior first baseman Ethen Stryker will again power coach Ryan Miller's offense, which could find junior outfielder Quentin Brown play his way into a larger role.

Delaware Valley welcomes back two-thirds of its line-up regulars, highlighted by the physical left-handed hitting Klapak, senior infielder Zach Kain, junior outfielder Ryan Simpson, and athletic, 6-foot-2, 175-pound Smith. The Warriors graduated one key cog from the pitching staff, but returns four others in the senior trio of Christian Jorgensen, Matt Cavallaro, and Dylan Petzold, as well as Klapak, with the live-armed Smith as a wild card.

Stetzar will again spark the offense and serve as a dominant staff ace for West Scranton. A veteran roster than graduated just four will also get production from junior IF/RHP Shayne Merrifield, junior RHP Thomas Ivanoff, senior outfielder Griffin Loureiro, and transfer senior infielder Cory Miller, the leading hitter at Holy Cross last season.

Scranton welcomes back two of its most experienced pitchers in Mercy-bound RHP Jack Kelly and 6-foot-5, 180-pound senior LHP Zach McDonald as the one-two punch atop a rotation that should also have seniors Ross Zanghi and Aiden Santorsa log innings. An otherwise senior-laden line-up will feature junior infielder Robbie McAndrew and sophomore Brandon Karp, plus third baseman Colin Mullena and catcher Nick Santoro.

Senior Colin Stauffer and junior Scott Shamany will again front a Hazleton Area pitching staff that returns 98% of its innings, but likely will need to improve its collective strike-throwing (112 walks vs 92 strikeouts last year) in order to push back into the team's accustomed contender status. Senior Livan Reinoso and sophomore Alex Klein highlight an offense that will otherwise need improvements from its four other returning starters. Physical 6-foot-2, 190-pound DeGaetano could provide a much-needed boost with his arm and bat.

Sub-region VI/X (1 bid)

Top Prospect: Kevin Karstetter, 2020, IF, State College Area

McDowell captured a sub-region championship to earn a state tournament berth last spring and now welcomes back a dozen seniors into the fold. The senior trio of OF/IF Michael Ruf, C/OF Cam Petruso, and 1B/OF Adam Snyder will power an offense that nonetheless must replace four significant contributors. A pitching staff that remains virtually intact will again be fronted by Mercyhurst-bound RHP Chase Barricklow and should get a boost from a full season from senior RHP Carter Ryback, who missed seven weeks at the end of his junior campaign due to injury. Senior RHPs Taylor Rogers and Gannon-bound Thomas Boyd logged double-digit innings last year, while sophomore RHPs Hunter Sorensen and Matt Manczka could find themselves in the mix for coach Nick Leslie as well.

Mifflin County dropped a heart-breaking sub-region championship game in eleven innings to McDowell last spring, and now must contend with replacing its top two pitchers. The senior RHP trio of Ross Underhill, Kyle Peachey, and Ty Bodtorf will get an opportunity to fill the void. Juniata-bound catcher Isaac Maclay will shepherd the staff and power coach Bernie Howard's offense, along with senior infielder Cade Attick, junior first baseman Ryan Walker, and senior outfielder Andrew Larson.

State College Area graduated ten seniors, leaving coach Troy Allen to revamp an offense that does not have a single holdover who accrued more than 28 plate appearances last spring. A little more stability exists on the pitching staff, where Penn State-bound RHP Mason Mellott returns to front a rotation that will also feature Hamilton College-bound RHP Gavin Schaefer-Hood and senior LHP Christian Friberg.

Two of the three most-used members of the Altoona Area pitching staff -- junior RHPs Braeden Burchfield and Jake Stolarski -- return to front the rotation. An offense that must replace four line-up regulars will be led by the college-bound duo of outfielder Elliot Mast (Chesapeake College) and IF/OF T.J. Becker (Pittsburgh-Johnstown), along with sophomore IF/OF Matt Hartman, who comes off a solid rookie season after being inserted into the line-up for the second half of the schedule.

District VII (2 bids)

Top Prospects:
1. Troy LaNeve, 2019, OF, Pine-Richland (Vanderbilt)
2. Connor Ollio, 2018, IF/RHP, Butler Area (North Carolina)
3. Josh Spiegel, 2018, C, Penn-Trafford (Oklahoma State)
4. Tor Sehnert, 2017, OF, Peters Township (Coastal Carolina)
5. Cameron Weston, 2019, RHP, Canon-McMillan (Michigan)
6. Justin Wright, 2018, 3B, Hempfield Area (St. John's)
7. Ryan Kircher, 2018, LHP, Plum (Kent State)
8. Zach Rohaley, 2018, IF/RHP, Canon-McMillan
9. Andrew Walker, 2018, OF, Pittsburgh Central Catholic
10. Cade Negley, 2017, RHP/IF, Butler Area (Santa Clara)
11. Simon Brown, 2020, RHP/1B, Butler Area
12. Zachary Mancz, 2018, IF, Penn-Trafford (Pittsburgh)
13. Ryan Okuda, 2017, LHP, Pine-Richland (Virginia Tech)
14. Jordan Fiedor, 2017, OF, Hempfield Area (Seton Hill)
15. Derek Orndorff, 2017, Util, Connellsville Area (Penn State)
16. Christopher Wallace, 2018, RHP, Norwin (James Madison)
17. Brady Sigut, 2018, OF, Norwin (Seton Hall)
18. Andrew Funovits, 2018, RHP, Seneca Valley
19. Dom Cepullio, 2018, OF/LHP, Upper St. Clair
20. Chad Coles, 2017, RHP, Norwin (Youngstown State)

One season after having two chances to earn a state tournament berth, Canon-McMillan welcomes back an experienced, albeit still fairly young, roster. The physical Rohaley returns to front the pitching staff, while the polished Weston could slide from the closer role into the rotation, and junior LHP Ian Hess should log significantly more innings as well. Four stalwarts in coach Tim Bruzdewicz's line-up include first baseman Hess, athletic junior outfielder Nick Serafino, sophomore second baseman Cam Walker, and third baseman Rohaley. Others, such as junior outfielder Brandon Kline and sophomore catcher Branden Rea, could end up playing large roles as well.

Pine-Richland welcomes back three experienced college-bound pitchers in the lanky, projectable Okuda, polished LHP Thomas Zbezinski (Newberry), and RHP Hunter Treese (Mercyhurst). A full season from Okuda, who missed a chunk of last spring, will only boost the Rams' stock. While coach Kurt Wolfe's offense may not need to score a ton of runs, it will be looking for increased production from a group that includes talented left-handed hitter LaNeve, George Washington-bound infielder Jacob Maggi, Presbyterian-bound outfielder Maxx Harpalani (who could also see time on the mound), and sophomore catcher Matt Wood, who comes off a solid rookie campaign.

Plum welcomes back a solid core of the team that suffered its only two losses in the WPIAL and state championship games, albeit one of the significant holes in the line-up and on the pitching staff happens to be the first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins. The lean, projectable Kircher started the state title game as a sophomore, and will be followed in the rotation by junior RHP Will Rumcik with senior RHP Alex Terrell (also the starting catcher) serving as the bullpen stopper. Joining Terrell in primary run production duties will be senior outfielder Mike Anderson, junior 1B/C Tanner Froelich, and senior infielder Nick Frazetta.

A Bethel Park line-up that welcomes back two-thirds of its regulars will be sparked by the senior quartet of Gannon-bound first baseman Rob Morosetti, Seton Hill-bound shortstop Colin Loughman and his double-play partner Jeremy Lazzari, plus senior catcher Cole Rogers. Coach Tony Fisher's pitching staff also returns three major contributors in junior RHP Justin Meis, senior LHP Zack Straub, and senior RHP Jake Miller.

Butler Area will roll out a formidable one-two rotation punch in Negley, one of the few Pennsylvania products headed to college west of Ohio (let alone the Rocky Mountains), and Ollio, an all-around ballplayer who previously competed on the USA Baseball 15U National Team. Six starters are back for coach Todd Erdos, highlighted by the middle infield trio of Ollio,  Negley, and junior Nicolas Kibbie, along with senior outfielder Dallas Hays.

The defending big-school WPIAL champ, Norwin has retained some of its pitching depth, although is faced with overhauling a line-up that returns just three starters. 6-foot-3, 185-pound Coles, the bellcow for the pitching staff last year, should be joined in logging innings by senior RHP Ryan Weaver and the massive, 6-foot-5, 235-pound Wallace. The outfield trio of fleet-footed Sigut, Penn State Behrend-bound Weaver, and senior Eric Sico will spark coach Mike Liebdzinski's offense, which could also get contributions from the middle infield duo of junior Nick Zona and Seton Hill-bound Luke Whalen.

A trio of senior RHPs -- 6-foot-5, 235-pound Trine-bound Drew Cebulak, Jack Tumulty, and Nolan Martino -- return to front an experienced rotation for Pittsburgh Central Catholic. The left-handed hitting Walker will power a Vikings offense that lost two power bats and will look for a group that includes juniors Max Cebulak and Austin Vigliotti, plus Drew Cebulak and Tumulty to pick up some of the run scoring slack. Clarion-bound outfielder Matt Privette is a good athlete who has the ability to affect the game on offense and defense with his plus wheels.

The line-up for Penn-Trafford will feature a couple of boppers in the physical, left-handed hitting Mancz and toolsy right-handed hitting Spiegel, who is also a stud defender behind the dish. A pair of juniors -- outfielder Ben Mongelluzzo and first baseman Logan Hawkins -- along with sophomore outfielder Jordan Sabol, will join an otherwise inexperienced offense. Senior RHP Brian Hellested is poised to serve as the staff ace, while junior RHPs Mongelluzzo and Christian Pfronger, plus 6-foot-2, 270-pound RHP Hawkins (who, if you haven't already guessed, is a lineman on the football team), are slated to round out the rotation.

Coming off a big-school state quarterfinal appearance, Hempfield Area can run out a fairly experienced line-up that will be highlighted by the polished Wright, who is also a quality defender, toolsy Fiedor, and Patrick Henry CC-bound infielder Charlie Varriano. Juniors Isaiah and Nick Diandreth should also contribute offensively, while senior catcher Dylan Visnic will manage a pitching staff that will feature Wright and junior RHP Braden Brose, with junior Jacob Anderson and sophomore Tyler Dancu slated to log innings as well.

Four of five pitchers who logged double-digit innings for Peters Township last spring return, led by 6-foot-3, 185-pound ace senior RHP Eric Riotto. Senior RHPs T.J. Dailey (a St. Vincent College commit) and Reagan Lawlor should again accrue significant mound time, while the junior duo of LHP Nolan Thompson and RHP Garrett Miller could see their roles expand. An athlete with a feel for the barrel and good pop in his bat, Sehnert (who participated in both the East Coast Pro Showcase and Area Code Games last summer) highlights an offense, along with Riotto, with just three returning regulars. Alderson Broaddus-bound infielder Lawlor and senior OF/3B Ethan Young are among a group that could jump from part-time to full-time status.

After dropping a one-run game in the second round of the WPIAL tournament to eventual champion Norwin, Shaler Area must replace two-thirds of a starting line-up that will now be led by California (PA)-bound shortstop Anthony Venezia and seasoned senior catcher Adam Zulka. Lanky 6-foot-1 junior RHP Christian Seelhorst returns to front the rotation, while coach Brian Junker will turn to junior RHP Patrick Gumto and Zulka to log innings after not toeing the varsity rubber last spring.

North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck's first year at the helm will coincide with a large roster turnover. A number of players could make a major two-way impact, including 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior IF/RHP Colin Cain, 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior IF/RHP Bob Brown, junior OF/RHP Luke Trueman, and sophomore IF/RHP Anthony Hattrup. Baldwin Wallace-bound outfielder Jack Lehew will spark a line-up that will also get big contributions from senior outfielder Alex Mesaros.

Upperclassmen will set the tone for Upper St. Clair, led by Cepullio's two-way production. The senior RHP duo of Dylan Winseck and Tom Bash will join him in logging innings, while a quartet of seniors -- outfielders Jackson Geisler and Tanner Cicchini, and the double-play combo of Ronaldo DelDuca and Winseck -- will steady coach Jerry Malarkey's line-up.

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