2023 WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship preview: Serra Catholic vs. Seton LaSalle

By: Bill Hartlep
Monday, May 29, 2023 | 8:36 AM

WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship

1-Serra Catholic (19-2) vs. 2-Seton LaSalle (16-4)

1 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park

On the air: Trib HSSN (video)

How they got here: After a first-round bye, Serra Catholic beat No. 9 OLSH, 8-3, in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Burgettstown, 6-1, in the semifinals. Seton LaSalle had a first-round bye then defeated No. 10 Riverview, 6-3, in the quarterfinals and No. 3 New Brighton, 2-0, in the semifinals.

WPIAL titles: Serra Catholic 4 (2009, ‘10, ‘16, ‘22); Seton LaSalle 2 (1995, 2019)

Coaches: Brian Dzurenda, Serra Catholic; Brad Bestic, Seton LaSalle

Players to watch: Joey DeMoss, Serra Catholic; Gio LoNero, Seton LaSalle

Extra bases: Serra Catholic is the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion and is chasing its fifth district title. The Eagles have outscored opponents 199-44. They are led by senior Joey DeMoss, who had 31 RBIs in the regular season. Top pitcher Zach Karp went 9-1 with a 1.23 ERA and 72 strikeouts. Against Burgettstown, Tyler Skaggs was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and also tossed at two-hitter with five strikeouts. … LoNero, a junior, leads the Rebels. The North Alabama recruit hit .607 in the regular season. Brian Reed and Nate Georgiana had 25 RBIs each, and Mark Weber has 20. Reed tossed a two-hitter with nine strikeouts in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, the Rebels trailed 3-2 in bottom of sixth, when Corey Meyers hit a three-run triple for the winning runs.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Serra Catholic, Seton La Salle