Softball, baseball finalists were hits
It was another strong season for the area’s high school baseball and softball teams.
Three coaches in baseball – Nick Damico of California, Scott Van Sickle of Carmichaels and Frank Zebrasky of Canon-McMillan – led their teams into the postseason. Three others in softball – Jim Armstrong of Waynesburg, Mark Deer of Burgettstown and Michele Moeller of Canon-McMillan – matched that feat.
Those six are finalists for this year’s Coach of the Year award in their respective sports from the 2014 season at the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Banquet.
The six will be honored, and the winner announced in both baseball and softball, at the Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the Year Banquet at 5 p.m., Sunday, April 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.
Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., 15301. Reservations can be made by calling athletic director Joe Nicolella at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091.
All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.
Under Damico, California went undefeated in 10 conference games to win the Section 1-A title by two games over second-place Carmichaels.
The Trojans shut out North Catholic and routed Sewickley Academy to reach the WPIAL finals. California defeated Carmichaels for the third time in the season to become WPIAL champion. In the state tournament, California fell to Cranberry for its only loss of the season in 21 games.
Van Sickle led Carmichaels to a second-place finish in Section 1-A, losing only to California in compiling an 8-2 record.
The Mikes were dominating in the first three rounds of the WPIAL playoffs, knocking off Springdale, Western Beaver and Riverview. In the PIAA tournament, Carmichaels downed Southern Fulton before losing to Elk County Christian. The Mikes finished with a 15-4 record.
In arguably one of the most unpredictable and competitive sections in the WPIAL, Canon-McMillan won a one-run game over Bethel Park to finish third and earn a playoff berth from Section 5-AAAA.
The Big Macs then knocked off North Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs before falling to Moon in the quarterfinals. Canon-McMillan finished with a 6-4 record in the section and 13-6 overall.
With a four-game winning streak at the end of the season, Waynesburg won the Section 2-AA softball title, finishing a game ahead of McGuffey.
Armstrong led the Raiders to a first-round win over Freeport but had the run stopped with a quarterfinals loss to Keystone Oaks. Waynesburg finished with a 13-9 record, which is deceiving as four of those losses came to powerful programs on a season-opening trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Raiders had only five seniors and 12 players who were either a freshman or sophomore.
With a roster that included just one senior, Burgettstown had a championship season. Burgettstown won all 12 games to capture the Section 1-A title. The Blue Devils defeated Frazier and Shenango in the WPIAL playoffs to advance to the semifinals where eventual WPIAL champion Neshannock stopped the run.
Burgettstown qualified for the state playoffs by knocking off Jefferson-Morgan for the third, and final, berth. The Blue Devils defeated Southern Huntingdon in the first round but ran into Neshannock again with similar results. Burgettstown finished with an 18-6 record.
Following a PIAA championship season, Moeller led the Big Macs to another playoff run. They again captured the Section 4-AAAA title and won 11 of the final 12 games in the regular season.
The Big Macs made it to the WPIAL title game with wins over North Allegheny and Latrobe, but C-M would fall to Shaler. In the state tournament, the Big Macs were upended by Dubois in the first round and finished with an 18-5 record.