Scholastic Notebook – 05/29/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 29, 2015 | 4:46 PM

Spring is the time for things to bloom, right? This spring has been a time for a group of young WPIAL athletes to sprout.

One of the storylines for spring sports in the WPIAL has been the young blood that has flowed through the league and made an impact. In case you didn’t notice, it has been a spring where an unusually a number of sophomores or freshmen did some terrific things in a few different sports.

Let’s examine:

* Connellsville sophomore Madison Wiltrout made the biggest impact, setting a national high school record in the javelin. Also, she set a number of invitational and championship meet records. She won WPIAL and PIAA championships along the way and set meet records at both. Her national record throw would have been good for sixth at the most recent U.S. Olympic Trials.

* Knoch sophomore Jordan Geist established himself as one of the best shot putters in the country this season. Geist also won WPIAL and PIAA championships in both the shot put and discus. He is the best shot putter in the WPIAL since legendary Ron Semkiw in the early 1970s.

* Burrell Nikki Scherer turned out to be the fastest girl in the state in Class AA, and she’s only a sophomore. Scherer won the PIAA Class AA 100-meter dash championship last week. It was quite an achievement for someone who missed almost all of her freshman season with a hamstring injury.

* Vincentian sophomore Marianne Abdallah had excellent seasons in cross country and track and won the PIAA Class AA 3,200 championship.

* Turning to baseball, Pittsburgh Central Catholic pitcher Jack Tumulty led the Vikings to their first WPIAL baseball championship in school history when he pitched a shutout in the title game (2-0 victory against Norwin). Tumulty is only a sophomore. By the way, one side note on Tumulty. We keep hearing the question if he is the son of former Penn Hills, Pitt and NFL linebacker Tom Tumulty? No. Jack and Tom are cousins.

* California sophomore Nathan Luketich was second in the WPIAL in RBIs with 39.

* Turning to softball, freshman Bailey Parshall of Belle Vernon is 20-1 as a pitcher and she threw a three-hitter as the Leopards beat Yough, 5-4, to win the WPIAL Class AAA championshipThursday. Parshall already has accepted a scholarship to Penn State.

* Sophomore Megan Ryan, a pitcher for the Hempfield softball team, led the Spartans to the WPIAL Class AAAA title when she pitched a one-hitter in a 3-0 victory against North Allegheny Thursday. Ryan is 17-1.

Considering all of the young talent, there is plenty to look forward to in the next few springs.

Baseball Attendance

The WPIAL baseball championships were Tuesday and Wednesday at Consol Energy Park, home of the Washington Wild Things. Total paid attendance for the two nights was close to 3,000, which was somewhat pleasing to the WPIAL. California, a Class A school, brought one of the largest crowds of all the participating schools.

The PIAA playoffs for both baseball and softball start Monday.

WPIAL in MLB

There was an interesting pitcher vs. batter moment in the Pirates-Padres game Thursday night. It was WPIAL vs. WPIAL.

Cory Mazzoni came on in relief in the sixth inning for the Padres. Mazzoni is a 2008 Seneca Valley graduate who recently got called up to the Padres. One of the first batters Mazzoni faced was Neil Walker.

Two former WPIAL players, who went to schools 14 miles apart, faced each other. It doesn’t happen often. Walker and Mazzoni never played each other in high school, though. Walker was a 2004 graduate and Mazzoni a 2008 grad. Walker, by the way, got a hit off Mazzoni.

It wasn’t a good night for Mazzoni, who pitched two innings and gave up four runs (two earned) and four hits.

Beast in the East for MLB Draft

It seems there is a good chance a high school player from Pennsylvania will go in the first round of the upcoming Major League Baseball draft. But the player is from Eastern Pennsylvania.

Mike Nikorak of Stroudsburg High School is projected as a first-round pick. Baseball America has him as the No. 4 high school prospect for the draft and projects him as a first-round pick. Nikorak is a 6-foot-5, 224-pound right-handed pitcher and outfielder.

He helped Stroudsburg reach the District 11 Class AAAA semifinals before the team’s season ended with a loss to Easton.

Nikorak was named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year this week. He didn’t pitch a lot, though. Before the semifinals, he was 2-1 with a 0.94 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. He also batted .417 with six home runs, 23 RBIs and a .792 slugging percentage.

Nikorak has signed with the University of Alabama.

No WPIAL player is expected to go in the first five rounds of the draft. Baseball America doesn’t have any WPIAL player rated among the top 500. Pittsburgh Central Catholic coach Frank LaCava has said he has been told there is a possibility that senior catcher Dom DeRenzo, a University of Oklahoma recruit, could go in the top 10 rounds.

There could be a former WPIAL player who goes high in the draft, though. University of Cincinnati outfielder Ian Happ is a former Mount Lebanon player who is projected as a possible first-round pick.

Obama Makes Impact

The PIAA Class AA boys volleyball quarterfinals are Saturday, and there is only one WPIAL team left.

Pittbsurgh Obama Academy.

A surprise? Maybe. Obama is a City League school that competes in the WPIAL in a few sports. City League teams have not done well playing in the WPIAL, although Allderdice did make the WPIAL baseball playoffs this season.

Obama lost in the WPIAL volleyball championship last week.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, California, Connellsville, Hempfield, Knoch, Vincentian Academy