Big Macs counting on pitching in 2017
While some coaches might be gnashing their teeth a bit this season because of the new PIAA pitching rules, Canon-McMillan’s Tim Bruzdewicz feels pretty comfortable with it.
When you have two potential NCAA Division I pitchers at the top of your rotation, it tends to make things a little more simple.
Junior Zach Rohaley returns for the Big Macs this season after going 7-4 with a 1.59 ERA a year ago, helping Canon-McMillan reach the third-place game in the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs.
Rohaley, who is receiving interest from a number of Divison I programs, including Penn State, Radford and Elon, is a known commodity.
“Obviously, we can count on him,” Brudzewicz said. “He’s our horse.”
The unknown, to a certain degree, is sophomore Cam Weston.
Weston was on the mound for just 12 innings last season – mostly late in the season. But, he’s matured greatly over the past year and Bruzdewicz is excited about his potential.
A 90-mile-per-hour fastball will have that kind of effect.
“He was kind of our closer late in the season last year,” said Brudzewicz, who guided the Big Macs to a 14-9 record in his first season.
“We really feel like he’s going to make a big jump this season.”
So does the University of Michigan.
The Wolverines already offered, and Weston has accepted, a scholarship.
Not bad for a guy who has yet to start his first high school baseball game.
“The kid throws the ball like crazy,” Brudzewicz said. “He throws extremely well.”
Rohaley and Weston will anchor a pitching staff that is at least seven deep, including seniors Nick Drake and Dylan Coyle, according to Bruzdewicz.
“I think they’ve both taken that next step,” Brudzewicz said of Drake and Coyle. “I’m excited. I wouldn’t trade my pitching staff for anyone else’s.”
Where the Big Macs might be challenged a little more this season is at the plate.
Catcher Tanner Piechnick, shortstop Connor Coleman and third baseman Matt Mish, all of whom batted over .300 last season, are gone.
“Losing those three guys means that it’s going to be more of a team effort to score runs,” Brudzewicz said. “It’s hard to lose that kind of offense.”
Not that the cupboard is bare.
Centerfielder Nick Serafino returns as a top-of-the-order catalyst after batting .414 last season, while Cam Walker hit .400 and Ian Hess .377 with 15 RBI.
“We’re going to go as those guys go offensively,” said Brudzewicz, whose team moves to Section 3-6A this season because of realignment.
The Big Macs will head south to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to open their season and Brudzewicz wants his team to be challenged.
“I told the tournament director I wanted to face the best teams they had,” Brudzewicz said. “He asked if I was sure because we could run out of pitching really quickly, but I want to find out just how good we are.”
Besides, Brudzewicz might want to test out the new pitching rules, which place limits on pitch counts instead of innings, as was the case with the old rules.
“The pitching rules are going to mean a lot more managerial decisions,” Brudzewicz said. “You’re going to see a lot of close, low-scoring games and then you’re going to see a lot of 14-12 games.”
But, Brudzewicz is fine with that.
He feels his young team learned a lot during its run through the playoffs last season, when the Big Macs knocked off North Hills and Pine-Richland on their way to the WPIAL semifinals.
“I tell the kids, play every pitch, because each one is important,” he said. “They learned a lot about that last year in the playoffs. We played really well, until we didn’t.”