North Hills baseball adjusting to challenges of Class 6A

By: Josh Rowntree
Sunday, March 15, 2026 | 11:01 AM

Jon Pedrosky saw the good and the bad of his team’s first season playing in Class 6A last year.

The North Hills baseball team posted an 8-13 record in 2025, going 4-7 in ultra deep and competitive Section 1 and reaching the postseason.

“It was a new environment for us, trying to get to know the teams, the teams getting to know us and things like that,” said Pedrosky, who enters his fifth season with North Hills. “Our section, it’s absolutely loaded with Division I talent, good traditions and just a ton of excellent competition.

“It wasn’t what we thought it would be, with the level of competition being that high in the section. And Class 6A didn’t disappoint in the playoffs as well, when we faced the opposite section.”

North Hills lost to Canon-McMillan, 3-0, in the Class 6A quarterfinals.

On top of that loss and other competitive and challenging games all season, Pedrosky and his young team — which at times started three freshmen during the season — learned some valuable lessons.

“You have to play seven innings,” he said. “I know that I know that sounds cliche, but in quite a few games we got an early lead and kind of sat on it. And when you’re playing teams with that kind of talent, it’s very easy to lose it very quickly.

“That was a hard reality for us to face. But we’ve returned a lot and I think, you know, that will absolutely help us this year.”

While the Indians were dealt a difficult offseason blow with the loss of pitcher Kaden Cutler to an ACL tear, Pedrosky feels like North Hills has the depth to compete in a difficult section.

Austin Ellis will likely be the team’s top two-way player.

“He was a freshman last year but the kid’s just mature beyond his years,” Pedrosky said. “He certainly doesn’t act like a sophomore or carry himself like a sophomore. On the mound and at the plate, he’s come a long way.

“He was one of our top arms as a freshman last year against that kind of talent in Class 6A. I think he’s much better this year and can, without a doubt, compete against some of these other top arms in the section and carry us as far as we can go.”

Andrew Rojik and Kylar Blauth, a pair of seniors, will play prominent roles on the mound, as well as junior Jacob Jurgenson for a pitching staff that Pedrosky admits lacks experience but that has upside.

Offensively, Ellis will anchor the lineup, but will get help from a large cast of capable bats.

Ethan Guszczynski, who is coming off a strong basketball season for the Indians, will add pop to North Hills’ offense. Liam Connolly, who received second-team all-section honors in 2025, and Cooper Ravenstahl will play prominent roles this year on offense and in the field.

Despite the team’s lack of experience, Pedrosky feels the group has an X-factor working to its advantage.

“It’s one of those intangibles you can’t measure and I certainly think we have all we need to compete more, but I just think this team, for whatever reason, is just so close,” Pedrosky said. “It’s one of the closest teams I’ve coached in a long time.

“They care about each other, the play for each other. I think that will carry us.”

Pedrosky saw that characteristic last year when the team faced eventual Class 6A champion Seneca Valley, which he feels will again compete for a title after returning a solid core of top players.

Butler, with two top pitching prospects in the region, is another group Pedrosky feels will be a favorite in the WPIAL, in addition to perennial powers North Allegheny and Central Catholic, who he feels consistently are able to replenish their rosters with star talent.

“This section is very senior dominated, minus us,” said Pedrosky, whose team will drop to Class 5A after this season. “We’re still considerably young compared to some of these other schools.

“I think in these next couple of years, we can do some things. I really do. I think we can take a couple runs in the playoffs and put our chips in there and see where they fall.”

Tags: North Hills