Eden Christian baseball locked in tight battle for section supremacy
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Sunday, April 27, 2025 | 11:01 AM
It’s a three-team tussle for first place in the Section 3-A baseball standings.
Eden Christian Academy, Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin were in a virtual tie atop of the standings as of April 17.
“We are performing the way a young team would typically perform, very up and down,” Eden coach Mark Feldman said. “We are looking for consistency on and off the field. The expectation is to learn from the first half, get better every day and find the consistency we need to keep improving.”
The Warriors were 6-2 and 9-2 overall and averaging nine runs per game with an even 100 runs scored.
Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin were 5-1; both also were proficient offensively. The 10-2 Eagles had accounted for 136 runs, an 11.3 average, while the 6-4 Crusaders scored 93 times, a 9.3 average.
Eden was hitting close to .300 as a team with a .299 cumulative batting average.
The Warriors are led by the talented and athletic trio of shortstop Brett Feldman (.500), pitcher/infielder Brady Hull (.467) and pitcher/outfielder Noah Emswiler (.441), along with pitcher/outfielder Jacob Janicki (.355) and infielder Christian Watkins (.320).
All are juniors except Janicki, who is a senior.
“Our performance this season has been good so far,” Feldman said. “We need to keep getting better and working hard every day. My expectation for the second half of the season is for our team to keep getting better and see where that takes us.
“I’m excited to see what the rest of the season brings.”
Hull owned a slugging percentage of .867 and on-base percentage of .515, followed by Emswiler with an .824 SLG and .548 OBP and Feldman with a .611 SLG and .581 OBP.
“We are working very hard to grow together as a team every day,” Hull said, “but also to keep getting better and improving so once playoffs come, we can be playing our best baseball.
“I really don’t know what the year has to bring because we saw last year there are injuries and absences. But it’s always who wants to win the most and we are a team that’s hungry to win.”
Feldman and Hull both were all-section and all-state selections a year ago and are following a similar path in 2025.
“Brett has been solid at the plate all year,” said his dad, Eden’s coach. “He is a difficult out; he puts a lot of pressure on the defense every time he comes to the plate.
“Brady is back to being Brady. He was banged up a bit to start the season. He is now back to being one of the best hitters in the WPIAL.”
The left-handed Emswiler, Hull, Janicki and Feldman have done the bulk of the pitching for the Warriors this spring.
“Noah (Emswiler) has been a pleasant surprise at the plate for us this year,” coach Feldman said. “We know how good he is on the mound, but he has been our leading run producer the first half of the season.”
Janicki is the lone senior in the starting lineup and one of only two upperclassmen on the squad.
“We have been fortunate to have great senior leadership all year from Jacob Janicki,” coach Feldman said, “not just on the baseball field but also off the field. He is a high character individual who is a great example to our younger players along with our experienced players. Jacob is someone I learn from every day.”
Eden’s lineup normally consists of Feldman (SS), Janicki (CF), Hull (1B), Emswiler (P), freshman Levi DeFazio (3B), Watkins (2B), juniors Luke Burford (RF) and Josh Tilden (C), freshman Kyle Fowler (LF) and junior Levi Parrott (DH).
Janicki, Feldman and Hull are the team’s captains.
Eden started off this spring with six consecutive wins, split section decisions with both Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin and had a two-game sweep against Sewickley Academy.
The Warriors almost ran the table in the postseason in 2024 with WPIAL and PIAA runner-up finishes. They reached the state finals for the second time in four years, finishing 12-0 in Section 3A, 5-2 in the playoffs and 20-6 overall.
Eden was one of the leading offensive clubs in the WPIAL last season, averaging 9.2 runs per game.
Tags: Eden Christian
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