Greensburg Salem baseball team riding hot start
By:
Monday, April 10, 2023 | 7:10 PM
Greensburg Salem’s returning starters are (from left) Owen Tutich, Ethan Wilson and Peyton Chismar.
Greennsburg Salem senior Owen Tutich lays down a bunt during practice Monday.
Greensburg Salem third baseman Peyton Chismar fields a grounder at practice Monday.
From left, Greensburg Salem assistant coach Braden Hoffer, senior Owen Tutich and coach Anthony Manley watch practice Monday.
Greensburg Salem’s Ethan Wilson practices his bunting at practice Monday.
Greensburg Salem coach Anthony Manley (right) talks to third baseman Peyton Chismar during practice Monday.
When Greensburg Salem baseball coach Anthony Manley huddled with his team after practice Monday, they talked about the job in front of them.
The Golden Lions (6-1, 4-0) are off to a good start and sit atop Section 4-3A after two-game sweeps against Waynesburg and Southmoreland.
But Manley, in his first season as coach, knows there are a lot of games left to play, beginning Tuesday with a two-game series with Mt. Pleasant (2-2, 1-1). He took over for Bill Wisniewski, who resigned after last season.
Yough (3-1, 2-0), McGuffey (5-1, 3-1), Waynesburg (2-3, 2-2), Brownsville (1-5, 0-4) and Southmoreland (0-6, 0-4) are still in the playoff hunt.
“We historically have been slow starters,” Manley said. “But this year has been different, and we need to continue our winning ways.”
Manley and his staff worked on fundamental things such as the running game, hitting the right cut-off guys and catching routine fly balls at practice — things the team didn’t do well in a scrimmage against Connellsville in mid-March.
“It’s been like night and day since that scrimmage,” Manley said. “We only returned three starters. We were starting a lot of inexperienced players. But the more games we play, the better we get. The players are starting to find their roles.”
Back are senior pitcher/outfielder Owen Tutich, senior pitcher/outfielder Ethan Wilson and sophomore third baseman/pitcher Peyton Chismar.
Tutich was a returning starting pitcher, and Wilson and Chismar were inning eaters. The other starting pitcher is sophomore Braedon Leatherman.
Junior Grant Smith is batting .478 with 11 hits, including three doubles, and a team-high 10 RBIs. Noah DeMary is hitting .350 with seven hits, including five doubles and nine RBIs.
Tutich is hitting .348 with 12 runs scored, eight hits and seven RBIs. Senior Matt Scarpa is batting .476 with 10 hits, and Chismar is batting .400 with eight hits and eight RBIs.
“We’ve been hitting the ball well,” Manley said. “We’ve also been getting good pitching and making the routine plays on defense.”
Tutich, who got a late start to the season because of an extended hockey season, is one of the top hitters on the team. He has been pitching the second game of two-game series and Leatherman the first game.
Manley was an assistant coach under Wisniewski and coached Greensburg Central Catholic to a title in 2015. His staff includes Ryan Hayden, Randy Naggy, Braden Hoffer, Nick Diehl, Pat Boyer and Steven Saunders.
“I like how we’re there is always room for improvement,” Manley said. “Days like Monday when we can get out on the field are good.”
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Greensburg Salem
More Baseball
• What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 1, 2024: Belle Vernon, Latrobe to play for section title• Trib HSSN Pennsylvania High School Baseball Rankings for April 30, 2024
• WPIAL clinched: Baseball playoff qualifiers as of April 30, 2024
• High school roundup for April 30, 2024: Neshannock ends Riverside baseball’s win streak at 36
• Once North Catholic bats pop, they can’t stop in win over Kiski Area
