Of coaches, decisions and softball qualifiers
The firing last weekend of Boston manager Alex Cora and five of his coaches had a trickle-down effect in the Red Sox system, one that has given former Waynesburg University baseball player Kyle Sasala an opportunity of a lifetime.
When the Red Sox’s mass firing of coaches happened, Chad Epperson, who was manager of the Portland Sea Dogs, Boston’s affiliate in the Class AA Eastern League, was promoted to third-base coach of the Red Sox.
Sasala, who had been the Sea Dogs’ defensive coach, was then named interim manager in Portland.
After his playing days at Waynesburg, where he twice was a two-time All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference second team pick as a shortstop, and graduating in 2013, Sasala spent nine years on the coaching staff at Grove City College before taking a job with the Red Sox.
In Sasala’s first game as manager last Sunday, Portland defeated Hartford and did so in no-hit fashion.
Championship connection
Gannon University’s men’s basketball team won the NCAA Division II national championship in March, blowing out Lander 84-61 in the title game that was played in Indianapolis.
Gannon has a tie to Washington County. The Golden Knights’ head coach, Easton Bazzoli, is the son of Remo Bazzoli, who was an outstanding football player and wrestler at Chartiers-Houston during the days of former head football coach John Haught. The elder Bazzoli went on to play college football at Geneva.
Easton Bazzoli, who won the national championship in his second year as a college head coach, played his high school basketball at Seneca Valley and went on to Liberty University.
Tough decisions
One guy who will have a difficult job in the next few days is Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth. He must trim Washington’s roster from the 36 that were in camp Thursday to 28 by Sunday night, and then to a 25-man active roster by the Frontier League team’s season opener Thursday at Windy City.
And this might be the most-talented group of hitters Washington has ever had on a spring training roster. Those roster decisions won’t be easy. You can be sure Vaeth will be losing some sleep because of these moves. A couple of injuries that were suffered by outfielders during exhibition games this week might give Vaeth a few options and make his decisions less difficult.
The Wild Things will play their final spring training game tonight (Saturday) at EQT Park against the Lake Erie Crushers.
Softball qualifiers
In Friday’s edition of the O-R, sportswriter Jerin Steele detailed the muddled playoff scenarios that many local high school baseball teams will face in the upcoming week.
The playoff picture is crystal clear in softball. Thirteen local teams have qualified for the playoffs and no others can play their way into the postseason.
The qualifiers are: Canon-McMillan in Class 6A, Trinity in Class 5A, McGuffey and Charleroi in Class 3A, Chartiers-Houston, Burgettstown, Bentworth and Washington in Class 2A and Carmichaels, West Greene, Jefferson-Morgan, Beth-Center and Monessen in single-A.
The WPIAL is expected to release its playoffs brackets for softball on Thursday and baseball on Friday.
Right move
Kudos to the Waynesburg Central School Board for naming the high school’s running track in honor of the Raiders’ former track and field coach, the late Howard “Butch” Brunell. Rarely do you find a man or coach that is as nice and universally respected as Brunell.
Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com