Mar 17, 2016 5 min read

Every coach searches for a season-defining moment.

Trinity second-year head coach Matt McCartney found that moment in one of the Hillers’ most heartbreaking losses last season to eventual Section 3-AAA champion Chartiers Valley in mid-April.

It was a moment he hasn’t forgotten.

“Our left fielder, and one of our best athletes, laid out for a ball in the last inning. After traveling a long distance, the ball dropped in and we lost the game 3-2,” McCartney recalled.

Ater the game, McCartney’ posed a simple question to his players.

“Did you give it your all?” he asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

“That is all I could ask for,” McCartney continued.

Understanding the game of baseball was something the new coach continued to stress to the Hillers.

“Last year, we focused on how to play the game right,” said McCartney. “That Chartiers Valley game was the first time it really clicked. Once we learned how to play the game, we could start to learn how to finish game.”

Following the devastating, yet beneficial loss, the Hillers followed up by winning three of their final four games to finish at 5-11.

Trinity will rely on its pitching again as senior Garrett Briant and juniors Nick Herrnberger and Kyle Kelley figure to be key pieces on the mound.

“I expect big things out of all three of them,” said McCartney. “They will be major contributors.”

Unlike last season, the Hillers must make things easier for their pitching staff. Trinity averaged just 2.8 runs per game in its losses last season.

Offensive production will not come any easier with the graduation of first baseman Dom Neff, the Hillers’ leading hitter with a .333 average last season. Neff also scored seven runs while driving in 11.

“During offseason workouts, we focused on both live pitching and hitting,” said McCartney. “We did not have our timing down, especially in the beginning of the season.”

Trinity returns five starters.

“The sophomores and juniors understood what we had to do to be successful,” said McCartney. “Just simple things like understanding the count and being smart on the bases. We need to understand the battle for 90 feet.”

Like Trinity, South Fayette suffered through a tough first season under head coach Ken Morgan.

South Fayette finished 7-10 and in fourth place in Section 3-AAA, allowing more than 10 runs in seven games, an issue Morgan says came down to a variety of factors.

“Pitching is everything at the high school level,” he said. “Successful teams have two or three really good ones. Last year, we had way too many walks and errors, digging ourselves into some holes.”

Those errors might have had a direct correlation to South Fayette’s youth, but the Lions return seven starters this spring.

“Anytime you lose six seniors and that kind of leadership it is blow,” said Morgan. “I still like our youth and the experience that they have, something we did not have last year. We started a lot of sophomores and they gained a lot of experience.”

One of those sophomores was pitcher and outfielder Tristan Tinney, who has already received some Division I interest from Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth and Dartmouth.

“We put a lot on his shoulders last year, particularly due to the injuries we suffered,” said Morgan.

South Fayette also will rely on returning catcher Tyler Reyes in one of the toughest sections in Class AAA. Section 3-AAA had three of the four teams in the WPIAL semifinals last season.

“As a coach, you want to compete and push players to their max potential,” said Morgan. “We have a very tough section and you find out a lot about guys when trying to make it through the gauntlet. It keeps everybody excited deep into the season and there is never a day we can take a practice off.”

Despite a tough season that only resulted in a lone victory (1-13) – against defending WPIAL champion and 2015 runner-up, West Allegheny, no less – the Highlanders return 13 of 15 players.

With the loss of first baseman and pitcher Matt Chambers, head coach Scott Henson will lean on a deep pitching staff this season, including seniors Dan Orr and Connor Thompson.

The biggest difference for McGuffey would be improving its offensive production. The Highlanders scored just 27 runs in 2015.

Leopards head coach Daryl Hixenbaugh has his entire starting lineup returning and only one of their primary pitchers not coming back for the 2016 season.

Belle Vernon is coming off a 10-9 record and an opening-round WPIAL playoff loss to Knoch.

But it returns an experienced offense that will cause issues for many pitching staffs in Section 4-AAA, led by senior infielders and team captains Justin Ivill and Evan Hannan. Ivill batted .303 last season and stole 12 bases, while Hannan hit .296.

Juniors Jacob Callaway and Mikey Fine will look to improve upon impressive sophomore seasons, when both batted near .350.

The Rams are looking forward to a fresh start under the direction of new head coach Rob Nystrom.

Ringgold sprinkled in a pair of two-game winning streaks in 2015, however, it was the only success it would find as five consecutive losses to end the regular season resulted in a 4-11 record.

Bo Haines, Zack Byczynski, Connor Garry and Matt Morgan are back.