Scholastic Notebook – 05/15/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 15, 2015 | 6:32 PM

The name is Aaron, as in Hank.

The hitting this baseball season has been Hank Aaron-esque.

California senior Aaron Previsky had a regular season for the ages. A year ago, Norwin’s J.J. Matijevic became the first known player to win the WPIAL triple crown (first in batting average, home runs and RBIs). Previsky didn’t do that, but his regular season also was terrific.

Previsky finished with a .545 batting average, which was good for 13^th in the WPIAL. But he was second in home runs with six and third in runs scored with 35.

But his amazing statistic was RBIs. Previsky had 48 RBIs in only 18 games. That is an unbelievable amount for a high school player, considering he had only 55 at bats. He also had 10 doubles and four triples. His slugging percentage was a whopping 1.200.

Previsky, who will play next season at Seton Hill, is one of the reasons California had a high-powered offense. The Trojans were 17-1 and averaged 12.7 runs a game. They are trying to win a second consecutive WPIAL title and meet Western Beaver in the quarterfinals Monday.

California has lost only two games over the past two seasons.

Like Father, Like Son

Brownsville baseball coach Scott “Skooter” Roebuck was an outstanding baseball and football player during his days as an athlete at Brownsville. His son, Shane, wears the genes well.

Shane Roebuck finished the regular season tied for the second-best batting average in the WPIAL at .660. Shane also had five home runs, 24 RBIs and 24 runs scored.

A Real “Dan-dy”

Could venerable Riverside baseball coach Dan Oliastro be on his way to another WPIAL championship appearance?

Oliastro is 71 and in his 47^th season as Riverside’s coach. The Panthers are 15-3 and have made it to Monday’s Class AA quarterfinals. In the past 10 seasons, Oliastro has guided Riverside to four championship appearances. The Panthers are 2-2 in those games and Oliastro also won a championship in 1996.

Oliastro is the only coach in Pennsylvania history to have four state championships.

Oh, Brother

It didn’t get a lot of attention at Thursday’s WPIAL track and field championships, but one of the most interesting races was the Class AA boys 300-meter hurdles. Dylan Hochbein and Brandon Hochbein are identical twins at Freeport. They finished 1-2 in the race and their times were almost identical.

Dylan won with a time of 40.03. Brandon was second at 40.08.

Oh, Sister

Sewickley Academy’s Aja Thorpe, a senior, finished first in the 100 hurdles, second in the 100 dash and third in the 300 hurdles. Her sister, Summer, a junior, was second in the 300.

Javelin, Anyone?

Throwing spears is apparently a popular activity at McGuffey.

Look at the javelin results from the WPIAL championships and five different McGuffey athletes won medals by finishing in the top eight.

In the boys, Ryan Steinstraw was first with a throw of 172-9, Nathan Whipkey seventh at 156-4 and Damian McCloskey eighth at 154-1.

For the girls, Rachel Czulewicz was third with a throw of 123-11 and Katie Demi sixth at 117-7.

Coaching News

Hopewell hired a new boys basketball coach this week. Tim Gaertner, a former assistant at North Catholic, takes over for the Vikings.

Six Classification Idea

The PIAA board of directors will meet Wednesday in Harrisburg and one of the most interesting topics on the agenda is the possibility of there being six classifications in football, starting in 2016.

There are basically four proposals for the six class idea and the PIAA will discuss the proposals and could bring one of them to a vote. A new proposal would have to pass three readings. It’s questionable if that will happen.

Two of the proposals are the “Super 800” and “Super 700” proposals. Under the Super 700, those schools with 700 or more boys in the top three grades would be placed in 6A. The rest of the schools would be split evenly in the other five classes.

Under the “Super 800,”  those schools with more than 800 boys in the top three grades would be in 6A. The remaining schools would be split evenly in the other five classes.

The WPIAL is against the idea. Under either the “Super 800” or “Super 700,” only Seneca Valley, North Allegheny and Butler would be in 6A.

Tags: Brownsville, California, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Freeport, Hopewell, North Catholic