Trib HSSN baseball team of the week for June 6, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Friday, June 6, 2025 | 10:57 PM

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Trib HSSN baseball team of the week – South Park Eagles

Coach: Corey Fischer (second season)

Record: South Park finished in second place in Section 2-3A, one game behind champion Avonworth and two games ahead of South Allegheny. The Eagles have an overall record of 17-7 with postseason wins in five of their last six games.

#Earned: South Park suffered a heartbreaking loss to eventual WPIAL Class 3A champion Riverside in the district semifinals. It was a 12-inning marathon in which the Panthers squeaked out a 1-0 victory. The Eagles were in bounce-back mode in the district consolation game and prevailed over Mohawk, 4-3. This past week, South Park opened the PIAA postseason with a trip to District 6 champion Forest Hills. The game was scoreless through four innings before the visiting Eagles scored three runs in the top of the fifth and added two more in the seventh inning. Those insurance runs were needed as the Rangers fought back and scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning before the Eagles closed the door on the 5-3 victory. On Thursday, South Park met WPIAL runner-up Quaker Valley in the quarterfinals. The Quakers had scored 22 runs in a state first-round win over Bedford. The game was tied 1-1 when QV’s Ryan Finamore connected on a grand slam to give the Quakers a 5-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles were able to scratch home a run to trail by three heading into the seventh inning. There, South Park rallied for four runs for a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Quaker Valley, 6-5. That triumph set up a district semifinals rematch against Riverside on Monday in the state final four.

Standout performers: Cooper Hochendoner has been a beast for the Eagles all season. The 6-foot-3 junior is 11-0 on the mound with a 0.69 ERA and has a batting average of .347. He got the start Monday against Forest Hills and pitched 6⅓ innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts. He also drove in a run. Junior Andrew Mittleider was 3 for 4 with an RBI and junior Ryan Spitznagel was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Senior Keegan Fekety contributed with a double and senior A.C. Miller had a hit and an RBI in the victory at Forest Hills. On Thursday, senior Bryce Berzansky, who pitched two-thirds of an inning for the save Monday, threw a complete game for the win thanks to a big four-run rally by the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh inning. Spitznagle was hit by a pitch to start the rally, Mittleider singled and senior Troy Miller singled home a run, then a wild pitch brought home another to make it 5-4. After junior William Hays reached on a fielder’s choice, A.C. Miller ripped a pitch off the fence that scored two more and gave South Park the dramatic triumph over Quaker Valley, 6-5.

Last year: Bethel Park and Waynesburg University grad Corey Fischer took over as head coach of a successful South Park program that in 2023 had finished a game out of first place in Section 2-3A behind Avonworth, but lost in the opening round of the district playoffs to Shenango. Last spring, the Eagles ended up in third place in Section 2-3A, two games behind South Allegheny and a game back of the Antelopes. During the season, the blue and white put together winning streaks of three games in a row three times. They also never lost more than two straight games. In the WPIAL playoffs, South Park won the No. 8 vs. No. 9 first-round contest over Shady Side Academy, 3-2, but then lost 11-1 to top seed Riverside in the quarterfinals to end the season at 13-8.

Remember when: The South Park baseball program has two WPIAL championships to its name. The Eagles flew home with gold in 2013 and again in 2022. Twelve years ago, South Park won the Section 4-3A title with a perfect record of 20-0. The Eagles were the No. 1 seed and played like the team to beat with three straight shutouts in the first three rounds of the 2013 WPIAL playoffs. South Park blanked Yough, 10-0, Thomas Jefferson, 6-0, and Keystone Oaks, 1-0, to reach the district finals. Aaron Thompson drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth inning for the go-ahead run and current Minnesota Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak earned the win with 2⅔ scoreless innings of relief. The Eagles beat Somerset in the first round of the state playoffs, but lost to Keystone Oaks in the state quarters to end the best season in program history with a record of 25-1.

2025 Trib HSSN Baseball Teams of the Week

Week 8 – Freedom Bulldogs

Week 7 – Indiana Little Indians

Week 6 – Mars Fightin’ Planets

Week 5 – Neshannock Lancers

Week 4 – Ellwood City Wolverines

Week 3 – Bethel Park Black Hawks

Week 2 – Waynesburg Central Raiders

Week 1 – Belle Vernon Leopards

Tags: South Park