Trib HSSN baseball team of the week for May 16, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, May 17, 2025 | 12:01 AM

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Trib HSSN baseball team of the week – Mars Fightin’ Planets

Coach: Jason Thompson (fifth season)

Record: Mars finished in fourth place in Section 3-5A with a record of 4-6, two games behind Fox Chapel and four games in back of co-section champions Pine-Richland and Shaler. The Fightin’ Planets have an overall record of 9-10 with two straight wins.

#Earned: The WPIAL baseball postseason started this past week, but the playoffs for Mars began in late April. After missing the district baseball playoff for the first time in 14 years last spring, the team did not want to be postseason spectators for a second straight campaign. The Fightin’ Planets had four section series games remaining against West Allegheny and Shaler and were in fifth place, one game behind the Indians. Mars swept West A, then split two games with Shaler, including a stunner in the regular season finale, 6-5. The momentum from that win was a nice boost heading into the postseason, but the triumph was a distant memory when the Class 5A brackets were unveiled and Mars was the No. 15 seed slated for a first round game against No. 2 Plum, which won the Section 1-5A crown with an overall record of 18-3. The Fightin’ Planets struck early with a run in the top of the first inning in the opening-round matchup at Fox Chapel. Little did anyone know on either side of the field that the one run would stand as Mars stunned Plum, 1-0. It was the program’s first playoff victory since 2021.

Standout performers: Junior pitcher Kyle Krause was phenomenal in Mars’ eyebrow-raising victory over No. 2 Plum in the opening round of the district baseball playoffs. He barely got under the pitch count to throw a complete game, allowing only five hits and a walk while striking out five against a Mustangs lineup that averaged 6.5 runs per game over their 21 games. The Fightin’ Planets offense could only muster two hits against Braden Kemmerer of Plum, a single by junior Grady Spiegle and a run-scoring double by senior Zachary Rozman that produced the game’s lone run. They have been two of the bigger bats in the lineup all season for Mars, with Spiegel hitting .339 (.417 OBP, 452 SLG, .868 OPS) and Rozman batting .315 (.486 OBP, .352 SLG, .838). On offense, sophomore Danny Murray led the team with a batting average of .377 (.535 OBP, .453 SLG, .988 OPS). With the victory, Krause improved to 4-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.44.

Last year: The 2024 season was a mixed bag for the Mars baseball team. The season began with high hopes and a good start. Through mid-April, the Fightin’ Planets were 4-2 in the uber-competitive Section 3-5A and 6-2 overall. However, the team lost four of its last six games and missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years after a 5-5 section record left the Planets tied for fourth place with Moon. They lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Tigers, losing 8-7 at home and 6-2 on the road. The team finished the season with eight wins and six losses.

Remember when: The Mars baseball program has enjoyed plenty of success, especially in this century, but district gold has eluded the Fightin’ Planets over the years. They went back-to-back years in reaching the first two WPIAL Class 5A baseball championship games. In 2017, Latrobe struck early and defeated Mars, 6-2. The Wildcats scored five runs in the second inning off then-sophomore Will Bednar. A year later, in one of the longest WPIAL championship games, the Fightin’ Planets lost a heartbreaker to North Hills in 11 innings, 3-2. Joe Pusateri drove home the golden run for the Indians. Bednar started and pitched into the seventh inning, striking out 10 batters. Rowen Fletcher scored both Mars runs, driven in both times by Jon Wetherholt.

2025 Trib HSSN Baseball Teams of the Week

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: Mars