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 sports editor of the Tribune-Review. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@triblive.com or via Twitter @BHartlep_Trib.

Tags: Serra Catholic, Seton La Salle