Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Tor Sehnert
School: Peters Township
Year: Junior
Sport: Baseball
Sehnert’s week: Forget about the whole week; how about Sehnert’s day? The Indians’ center fielder went 4-for-6 with four home runs, seven RBI, five runs and two walks last Friday in a doubleheader at the Cal Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Sehnert hit two home runs with three RBI in Peters Township’s 10-9 loss to Williamsport and added two more home runs with four RBI in an 8-7 win over North Hills. He capped the weekend with an RBI in the Indians’ 5-3 win over Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
“It was fun to watch him because even last year, as a sophomore, he got a lot of innings and I think he put so much pressure on himself last year that he’d be the first to tell you he didn’t perform up to his capabilities,” Peters Township head coach Joe Maize said. “He’s looking so much more relaxed out there.”
Clear mind: It’s easy for a high school baseball player to feel the pressure of college coaches sitting in the stands. Sehnert admitted that’s why he pressed so much as a sophomore – a season when the recruiting process begins to heat up.
He batted .333 with one home run and four RBI in 18 games for the Indians last season. The power-hitting righty bounced back with a big summer, batting .434 with 13 doubles, 10 triples, two home runs and 24 RBI for the Steel City Wildcats of the Western Pennsylvania Elite Baseball League.
“I was just pressing too much,” Sehnert said. “I told myself to take some pressure off and go back to the way I played as a little kid. That seemed to help. It relaxed me.”
The big summer led to plenty of college interest and it didn’t take long for him to commit to Coastal Carolina University. With a clear mind and no pressure, he’s starting to show the skills of a five-tool player that were evident when he hit his first career varsity home run in a win over Canon-McMillan last season.
It took almost 11 months, but Sehnert is showing that same power for Peters Township (2-2), which is replacing 10 seniors who started at least one game for the Indians last spring. His bat has earned him the lofty comparison to Jordan Jankowski, who led the Indians to back-to-back WPIAL titles and finished his high career with 36 home runs and 132 RBI.
Though Jankowski is now a pitcher in the Houston Astros’ organization, he is regarded as one of the top hitters in WPIAL history.
“He has everything he needs,” Maize said. “When he gets that extension, it just comes off the bat. We were talking as coaches the other day that his bat speed reminds us of Jordan Jankowski’s. Every time J.J. swung the bat, it was like, ‘My God,’ and the ball just explodes off his bat.”
All in the family: Sehnert has genetics on his side. His older brother, Dane, is a junior offensive lineman at Johns Hopkins. Their father, Robert, threw the shot put on the U.S. Naval Academy’s track and field team, and their mother, Loran, swam for the University of Pittsburgh.
“They all led me to stay on the right path and make good decisions,” Sehnert said. “I get my work ethic from them. My mom and my dad are both very hard workers. Seeing my brother go through the recruiting process was a good eye-opener and helped me when my time came.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski