Trib HSSN baseball player of the week for June 16, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, June 16, 2025 | 12:00 PM

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Trib HSSN baseball player of the week – Tim Birch

School – Indiana

Class – Senior

Position – Outfielder

#Earned – Indiana leaned heavily on its pitching depth on the road to sweeping both district and state gold this season. Senior Greg Minnick was the Trib HSSN Player of the Week just last week and blanked Central Valley in the state quarterfinals. Senior Ryan Okopal pitched eight innings of one-hit ball in the first round of the state playoffs. Sophomore Brady Oakes got the win for Indiana in the PIAA semifinals, and senior Mark Collinger was the winning pitcher in the PIAA Class 4A championship game. On offense, Charlie Manzi hit the walk-off WPIAL championship winning home run and was 5 for 8 combined in the quarterfinals and semifinals for Indiana, but nobody has been more consistent than senior outfielder Tim Birch. Following big numbers in the district playoffs, he had three hits in the PIAA first round win over Bellefonte. In the marathon 17-inning record-setting state semifinals game, Birch was 3 for 7 with two runs batted in as the Little Indians edged East Pennsboro. Then in the finals at Penn State, Birch went 2 for 4 and drove home two runs to help Indiana win its first PIAA baseball crown with a 4-3 victory over Montoursville.

Background – Birch will continue his academic and baseball career at Seton Hill in the fall where he plans to study exercise science in order to become a physical therapist. He went through rehab twice, when he partially tore his UCL as a freshman, then when he dislocated his shoulder after getting hit with a wave in the ocean last year. Birch was also a member of the Indiana soccer team and was a first-team all-section midfielder in leading the Little Indians to the Section 1-3A title. He also was the kicker this past season on the Indiana football team. He was perfect on extra points, but was 0 for 3 on field goals, two of which he may or may not have been roughed. Tim is the youngest of four brothers, Paul (28 years old), Vince (26) and Nathan (23). This season, Birch batted .345 (29 for 84) with an on-base percentage of .434, slugging percentage of .440 and an OPS of .875. He drove in 15 runs and scored 25 runs. He walked 14 times and only struck out six times all season. He also had 21 stolen bases and 57 quality at-bats. He likes pepperoni on his pizza but also enjoys mushrooms as the lone pizza topping.

What coach says – “He was seeing the ball really well against East Pennsboro,” Indiana coach Dan Petroff said of his performance in the state semifinals. “Tim has a great plan of what he wants to do on the on-deck circle. When in the batting box, Tim’s approach is the drive the ball gap to gap till he gets two strikes, then he shortens up.”

“Awesome moment for Tim and big-time two-strike single to drive in two early runs in the game,” Petroff said about the first of his two hits in the state title game. “This helped our team settle into the game at that point.”

“Offensively we went as Tim went,” Petroff said. “He was our leadoff guy and did a great job with setting the tone. Tim is a patient hitter and smart with a high baseball IQ.”

“Tim played left field for us, but was probably more of center fielder by trade,” Petroff said. “But with his unselfishness and being able to play anywhere, he roamed left field for us. Also, he was our leadoff hitter, but Tim could have batted anywhere in the lineup and had success.”

“Tim and his teammates will always be remembered for getting Indiana baseball on the map,” Petroff said. “No one can ever take away what this group has accomplished and what joy they brought to our community. Tim will play baseball at Seton Hill next fall and has all the tools and work ethic to be a fantastic college career.”

2025 Trib HSSN Baseball Players of the Week

Week 10 – Greg Minnick, Indiana

Week 9 – Zach Hare, Riverside

Week 8 – Cy Herchelroath, Elizabeth Forward

Week 7 – Johnny Bertucci, Riverview

Week 6 – Tyler Skaggs, Serra Catholic

Week 5 – Ryan Piekutoski , Seneca Valley

Week 4 – Brock Budacki, New Brighton

Week 3 – Ryan Lafferty, Plum

Week 2 – Mason Metz, Avonworth

Week 1 – Eli Graff, Thomas Jefferson

Tags: Indiana