Mar 16, 2015 5 min read

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories profiling the area’s high school baseball and softball teams.

Last spring ended in similar fashion for the baseball teams at Canon-McMillan and Peters Township. Both saw their respective seasons come to an end at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park.

The Indians finished second in Section 5-AAAA before exiting in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs against Pine-Richland. The Big Macs took third place in the section and defeated North Allegheny to open the postseason before losing in the quarterfinals to Moon.

The disappointing finish for both programs did not reflect the strides made on the field. The Indians swept the Big Macs in the regular season and split with first-place Mt. Lebanon.

Canon-McMillan proved to have one of the top outfields in the WPIAL, and its top pitcher, Jake Trainor, finished with a 2.40 ERA and his only two losses came in one-run games against the Blue Devils and Bethel Park.

Their paths to the playoffs were similar, but the 2015 season brings different challenges for both as the WPIAL baseball season officially begins Friday.

The Big Macs lost center fielder Teagan Piechnick, who is playing at Rider University, their starting catcher and starting third baseman. The Indians lost all but one pitcher and 11 seniors, including Phil Pisarcik and Tyler Schmidt.

Focusing on the losses won’t help either team regain a playoff spot in arguably Quad-A’s toughest section, which added WPIAL runner-up Baldwin after realignment.

“The section is great. It’s a piece of work,” Canon-McMillan head coach Frank Zebrasky joked. “The section is what high school sports in this area is all about. It’s very competitive.”

Mt. Lebanon, which is led by starting pitcher Austin Kitchen, a Coastal Carolina recruit, is the perceived favorite. The rest is wide-open. Zebrasky believes the Big Macs are capable of competing for a section title with their pitching staff and experience gained over the past three seasons.

Along with Trainor, Canon-McMillan’s rotation boasts junior Matt Mish and senior Luke Blanock, who missed last season while receiving treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma. Senior right fielder Jared Beach and junior shortstop Connor Coleman are also expected to contribute on the mound.

The offense will be led by Beach, an Observer-Reporter First-Team All-District selection last spring and Gannon recruit who batted .485 with four home runs and a team-high 35 RBI. The top of the order will cause issues for opponents with the speed of Coleman and senior left fielder Chandler Palyas, a Marietta College recruit.

“You bring back two of the better outfielders in the area,” Zebrasky said. “(Beach and Palyas) are going away to play baseball. When you add quality pitching on top of that, we’re pretty excited about this upcoming season.”

Peters Township head coach Joe Maize is equally excited. The Indians return senior outfielder Frank Jezioro, who led the team with a .439 average while committing one error in 20 games. Senior shortstop Ryan Tassone, a George Mason recruit, also is back.

Speed and defense will once again be the strength, but the biggest question rests on the mound. Senior Phil Mary will lead pitching staff, while senior Bob Finn, sophomore Eric Riotto and several others will get a chance to provide quality innings for Maize, who doesn’t like to play his pitchers at a position to allow them to concentrate on their mound duties while receiving proper rest.

“Probably our biggest challenge is replacing our pitching staff,” Maize said. “In years past when we were pretty successful, we had two or three horses and probably kept a pitcher or two to help in relief, but the last few years, we’ve kind of changed things and went pitch-by-committee.”

It’s hard to argue with the results. Peters Township reached the WPIAL playoffs for 12 consecutive seasons until 2013. The Indians reached the postseason a year ago behind a strong, deep pitching staff and leadership.

Though Maize is looking to fill spots at first base and third, the Indians’ success could hinge on Mary’s arm and his leadership. A standout on the wrestling team, Mary will get the first crack at the top spot in Peters Township’s rotation.

The Indians do have 16 seniors, many of those have not yet faced varsity pitching. Maize is curious how they will fair in a section that includes two future Division I pitchers and several others who are capable of dominating on any given day.

“The question mark will be will they be able to hit the varsity pitching we’ll see in the section because we’ll come up against some studs,” Maize said. “I know that we’ll be getting each team’s best. If everyone accepts their roles, we’ll be competitive. I’m not saying we’ll win the section because every team has a stud pitcher or has a lot of veterans coming back. It’s wide open.”