‘Plethora of arms’ makes North Allegheny baseball a team to reckon with

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Some WPIAL baseball teams scramble to find enough pitching to cover their innings, but North Allegheny coach Andrew Heck has a much different dilemma. He’s hoping to find enough innings for all of his pitchers.

The Tigers entered this spring with a pitching staff heavy in talented arms — a dilemma any coach would happily face.

“The biggest challenge for me as a coach this year is just being able to work everybody in,” Heck said. “I always say you earn your innings by how you go out and perform. That still holds true this year. But some of these kids are learning, they’re still developing, so we’ll have to live through some growing pains, even with some good arms out there.”

The top two pitchers from last season are back. Senior lefty J.D. Costanzo and right-hander David Posey pitched North Allegheny to the WPIAL finals a year ago. Costanzo, a West Virginia recruit, went 6-4 with a 1.85 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. Posey, a Navy commit, went 5-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings.

Combined, they started 17 of the team’s 25 games.

“Having them back to lead the way is awesome, and there’s a ton of talent around them,” Heck said. “I feel like it’s one of the best pitching staffs on paper I’ve had heading into a season — depth-wise and talent-wise.”

Two other senior pitchers are committed to play college ball. Right-hander Greg Schmidt is headed to Mercyhurst and lefty Charles Mau is a Penn State recruit. They combined for only 12 innings a year ago, but Heck said he has high expectations for both.

Another senior, right-hander Cole Suba, is a “crafty” pitcher who Heck said brings a change of pace.

There also are three juniors vying for innings. Nico Varlotta is the most experienced, having gone 2-0 with a 2.44 ERA in 23 innings last year. Two others are in the mix. Left-hander Jackson Walsh could draw Division I offers this season, Heck said, and Colin Moore has emerged this spring as a reliable arm.

That gives Heck at least eight pitchers looking for innings.

“We have a plethora of arms,” he said. “As a coach, you love to see it. My message to these guys is, ‘Go out and show it. Go prove it to everybody.’ We can talk about it all day long, but go out and take care of business.”

North Allegheny is optimistic its pitching can take the team back to the WPIAL finals. The Tigers went 17-8 a year ago and finished in a three-way tie atop Section 1-6A.

A no-hitter dashed their WPIAL title hopes in a loss to Mt. Lebanon. They later fell to Cedar Cliff, 2-1, in the state quarterfinals.

“If you take a look at the offensive numbers, we really struggled at times,” Heck said. “To get where we did, it spoke volumes of how good our pitchers and defense played. … I really liked the fight that our guys put out.”

They averaged 5.5 runs per game but were held to two or fewer in seven of their eight losses. The team returns a handful of starters in the field, so there’s hope for an improved offense. Senior third baseman Owen Schall, who batted .385 with 12 RBIs and 11 runs, is back. So is first baseman Posey, who batted .262 with 15 RBIs.

Junior infielder Augie Maslo shifts from second base to shortstop. That leaves a competition at his old job.

When not pitching, Costanzo and Mau spend time in the outfield. Costanzo batted .242 with six RBIs. Senior outfielder Matthew Parreaguirre, limited a year ago by injury, plays center field.

Catcher is an unsettled spot Heck said he has circled. Senior catcher Andrew Dixon, the backup last year, is joined by junior Michael Hershberger, who started for the junior varsity.

“I’m looking for the catchers to really step up,” Heck said. “We have a hell of a pitching staff. We have the horses. Now let’s get the jockey to get them to the finish line.”

WPIAL teams once again will play three-game series against section opponents. That’s an ideal situation for North Allegheny and other teams with pitching depth.

“When you have this many arms, you’re able to keep everybody healthy,” Heck said. “You’re able to spread the innings out early in the season. If everybody is pitching really well, you can kind of do that in the playoffs, too.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny