Four local baseball players named to All-State team
A quartet of local baseball players were recognized for their strong seasons on the diamond.
Ringgold’s Gavin Angotti, Belle Vernon’s Connor Bergman and Canon-McMillan teammates MJ Maruschak and Sebastian Shulsky earned spots on the Pennsylvania All-State baseball teams, which were released on Friday.
The teams were selected by the The Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association. Players were nominated by coaches and voted on by the PSBCA All-State committee. There are 40 players in each of the six classifications, who make up first and second teams.
Angotti and Bergman, who are infielders, are on the Class 4A first team.
Maruschak and Shulsky made the second team for Class 6A, Maruschak as a pitcher and Shulksy as an athlete or utility player.
Angotti hit .453 with nine doubles, three triples and two homers in his senior season. He drove in 14 runs and scored 21. He led the Rams in each category and also had a team-best nine stolen bases.
He helped the Rams earn a playoff berth in Class 4A Section 2.
Angotti was also strong defensively in the middle infield with a .908 fielding percentage. He’ll continue his career at PennWest California.
Bergman put up similar numbers to Angotti in his final season at Belle Vernon. He had a .458 batting average with a pair of homers and drove in 33 runs, helping the Leopards finish second in Class 4A Section 2 and finish with a 14-6 overall record.
He scored 22 runs and stole three bases. Bergman will play college baseball at Pitt-Greensburg.
The top two pitchers on Canon-McMillan’s staff, Maruschak and Shulsky were driving forces in a season that featured a section title and a second consecutive trip to the WPIAL Class 6A semifinals.
Maruschak carried an ERA under 1 in the regular season and allowed only one run in four innings of Canon-McMillan’s, 16-1, drubbing of Seneca Valley in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Though he made the All-State team as a pitcher, he was also a key cog with the bat, typically hitting second in the lineup.
Maruschak will continue his career at Winthrop.
Shulsky paired well with his good friend Maruschak atop Canon-McMillan’s pitching staff. He was typically the Big Macs’ designated hitter on days he didn’t pitch and went 3-for-3 with two runs scored in the 16-1 win over Seneca Valley.
Shulsky pitched well in Canon-McMillan’s 4-3 semifinal loss to North Allegheny. He yielded three runs on five hits over six innings and had 10 strikeouts to one walk.
Shulsky is headed to Cincinnati to play college baseball.