Apr 3, 2018 3 min read

The bar was set high for spring sports in this area last year.

In softball, numerous teams qualified for the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments and similar success followed many baseball teams.

That’s what made this year’s Coach of the Year finalists special. They met and even surpassed these accomplishments.

That’s why Dave Briggs of Carmichaels, Don Hartman of Frazier and Bill Simms of West Greene are the finalists in softball and John Curtis of Jefferson-Morgan, Nick Damico of California and Scott Roebuck of Brownsville are finalists in baseball for the Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the Year Banquet, which will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.

Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., 15301. Reservations can be made by calling Washington athletic director Mike Bosnic at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091.

All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.

Winners will be revealed at the banquet. Softball and baseball finalists are based on the 2017 season.

Behind a solid lineup, Briggs led Carmichaels to a second-place finish in Section 2-A, trailing only eventual state champion West Greene. The Mikes advanced to the WPIAL Class A semifinals and won the third-place consolation game to qualify for the PIAA tournament. Dubois Central Catholic ended the season for the Mikes (17-7) in the first round.

Hartman, the one-time baseball coach at California High School, showed his deft touch coaching softball, leading Frazier to the WPIAL Class AA championship with a win over South Side Beaver. The run for the Commodores (19-3) ended in a one-run loss to Charties-Houston in the state quarterfinals.

Under Simms, West Greene became the first PIAA champion in school history, any sport, with a miraculous rally from 7-runs down after two innings to win, 9-8, over Williams Valley in the Class A finals. It was the second straight year the two teams met in the finals. West Greene won a second straight WPIAL title and finished with a 26-1 record.

In baseball, Curtis guided Jefferson-Morgan to the Section 2-A title on the strength of eight wins over the last nine games. The Rockets marched to the WPIAL semifinals, where Greensburg Central Catholic stopped them, the lost the play-in game against Union. Jefferson-Morgan finished with a 12-7 record.

Damico led the Trojans to the WPIAL Class AA title with a victory over Freedom. California won the Section 2-A title and qualified for the PIAA tournament. The Trojans finished with a 20-3 record, thanks to a 16-game winning streak.

With Roebuck leading the way, Brownsville was co-champion with Mt. Pleasant in Section 3-AAA, thanks to a late four-game winning streak. The Falcons advanced to the WPIAL semifinals before falling to Riverside, then to Ellwood City in the play-in game. The Falcons finished with a 14-5 record.