Mar 27, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

Avella baseball coach Jason Fogg got plenty of requests from his players to go hit in the batting cages during the winter months.

They couldn’t wait to get back on the diamond in the spring and who could blame them after the historic season they had a year ago.

The Eagles made a run as the No. 6 seed in the WPIAL Class A playoffs to the semifinals and won a PIAA postseason game for the first time in school history.

They wanted to be ready for the season and so far, they’ve shown that is the case.

Avella is 6-0 through Thursday and swept the opening Class A Section 1 series against West Greene Monday and Tuesday.

“Everyone got a taste of it and they want to get back,” Fogg said. “They all worked really hard in the offseason. They knew we had lost our top batter and probably our No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher, so they knew they had to replace that. It’s been a hot start, but we also know that some of our biggest games are at the end of the season.”

Isaiah Braddock, the team’s top hitter and one of the key starting pitchers last year, was the one who graduated, but Bryce Wright has stepped up to fill both of those roles in the early going.

Wright, a junior, pitched 4 2/3 innings against West Greene, struck out nine and yielded only one run but got a no-decision in a 4-3 win in eight innings. He also doubled, homered and had two RBI.

The next day he hit another home run and drove in three runs in a 15-7 win.

“Bryce has so far succeeded in every situation imaginable,” Fogg said. “He’s provided power. He’s getting on base. He’s our No. 1 pitcher up to this point. He’s the straw that stirs the drink right now.”

Avella has nonsection wins against Washington, Brentwood, Western Beaver and Summit Academy. The Eagles have outscored their opponents 51-12.

Chas Rush, a sophomore, has slotted in as the No. 2 pitcher and when he isn’t on the mound is the team’s shortstop. The Eagles have another pitcher, senior Logan Fedak, who’s recovering from an injury sustained in a dirt bike accident. Fogg is hopeful to have him back on the mound soon.

The pitching and defense are facets that Fogg is confident in and he’s pleased to see that his team has swung the bats well early on to compliment the other two.

“We have a good amount of pitching for a Class A team and play pretty good defense, so we will go as far as our hitting takes us,” Fogg said. “Usually at the beginning of the year, the hitting can be a little bit rough, because of the weather and it being early in the season. In the offseason you’re hitting off machines and not seeing live pitching. So, hopefully you can hit a hot streak kind of like what we did last year in the WPIAL’s and the PIAA tournament.”

Other players that have played key roles are catcher Brayden Fuller, a junior. Fuller came on in relief in the first game against West Greene and did not allow an earned run in 3 1/3rd innings to get the win.

Tristan Davis, a sophomore, is in his first season seeing a lot of varsity action and is someone Fogg said has come up with clutch hits. Noah Kimberland, a junior, did not play last season but has come in and inserted himself as the team’s starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.

Jorden Moore, a freshman, is another player Fogg said has stepped up right away. Moore was on the Washington County Pony League World Series team.

Avella has a nonsection game at Northgate scheduled for Friday before a section series against Mapletown Monday and Tuesday.

The Eagles’ final two section series are against Greensburg Central Catholic and Carmichaels.

Avella played Carmichaels three times last year, including the WPIAL consolation game, which the Eagles won 6-2.

Greensburg Central Catholic was a top team in Class 2A before dropping down for this two-year cycle.

“(Greensburg Central Catholic) is going to be tough,” Fogg said. “Carmichaels has an excellent program and Jefferson-Morgan has two really good pitchers. They’re another team to keep an eye on. West Greene has three good pitchers too, so we were fortunate to get a sweep against them.”