Valley News Dispatch baseball all-stars: After recovering from injury, Michael Hanz led Freeport to postseason

By: Michael Love
Saturday, June 21, 2025 | 5:51 PM

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Player of the year

Michael Hanz, Freeport

Freeport, Sr., P/INF

Michael Hanz missed Freeport’s first four games of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

But he was strong in his return and made an impact right off the bat. As the designated hitter, he went 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored as the Yellowjackets topped Ligonier Valley, 6-0.

“It was such a sigh of relief and just a great feeling to be back,” said Hanz, a Seton Hill commit.

“I just couldn’t wait to be back. I was taking swings two or three weeks before I played that first game just to see how I felt. I wanted to come back and make sure the hard work in my recovery paid off.”

With Hanz helping provide his power in the lineup, Freeport shook off a tough 1-3 start, went 12-3 over the final 15 games of the regular season and claimed a share of the Section 3-3A championship.

“You are adding the ultimate free agent signing four games in,” Freeport coach Ed Carr said.

“It made everybody better because you knew you had to pitch to him, or if you pitched around him, you had to face Kason (Barker) or our other top hitters. We were a much better team with him than without him.”

Hanz savored the opportunity to be back, and he showed that with his play.

He finished the season hitting .646 (31 hits) with a 1.188 slugging percentage.

Hanz drove in 25 runs, scored 26 times, and collected 20 extra base hits with 15 doubles, one triple and four home runs.

He also was patient at the plate and was among the team leaders in walks with 11.

Hanz’s impact was felt on and off the field this season, and he was selected the Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year from a strong group of candidates that also included Fox Chapel’s Jeremy Haigh and Plum’s Jake Dombkowski.

“With my shoulder, I didn’t know the time frame for when I would be cleared and be back,” Hanz said.

“I just wanted to help the team any way I could, whether that was being a leader in the dugout or through my abilities on the field. I wanted to provide the team with something from me at all times, and I was happy to be able to do that to the level I did.”

Carr said he saw a new level of maturity in Hanz this spring.

“The lessons he learned from adversity the last couple of years with the shoulder issues and then going through everything with West Virginia and not knowing what his status was really helped him grow,” Carr said.

“I think it relaxed him. There was no pressure on him. He knew where he was going to school, and he didn’t have to worry about his shoulder. He could just concentrate on being the best player he could be for himself and his teammates. I know it’s cliché, but for him, it was ‘see ball, hit ball.’

“In 16 games, including the playoff game, he had 20 extra-base hits. That’s insanity. He hit .706 in section games. It was really fun to watch. He really became a good leader to his teammates by example more than anything. I think that was an important goal for him to help lead those young guys.”

Freeport went 8-4 in the section and shared the top spot with four other teams: Burrell, Mt. Pleasant, Ligonier Valley and Deer Lakes.

“It was definitely an odd feeling,” Hanz said. “It was the little things in some games that made the difference. We knew that it should’ve been us at the top, but it also was a good feeling to know that we would have a chance to make a run at the playoffs.”

Freeport won its final six games of the regular season and carried a lot of momentum into the Class 3A playoffs. The Yellowjackets faithful were surprised to be slotted as the No. 13 seed in the bracket.

Despite its best effort, Freeport saw its season come to an end with a 6-2 loss to No. 4 Waynesburg in the first round.

“We jumped out early with two runs in the first inning, but their pitcher controlled things from then on and did a very good job,” Hanz said.

“But we were able to see that we did have a really good season despite the way it ended.”

Hanz’s shoulder injury and surgery changed not only his immediate fortunes because of the recovery process, but it also changed long term plans as far as where he would play the game at the next level.

“With that, and due to the NCAA changing the roster limits at Division I from 40 to 34, things ended up not working out with West Virginia because they just didn’t know where I was going to be with the process of coming back with the shoulder injury.”

A change had to happen, and Hanz committed to Seton Hill in November. He said he is happy with the way things turned out with the chance to contribute to a strong program at the Division II level.

“I am super excited to get on campus there,” he said.

“The coaches there have built a program that is always competing for championships. I am hoping to be a two-way player there. I just want any opportunity I can to get on the field whether that is pitching or playing in the field. I just want to do what I can to help them win games.”

Hanz is busy this summer as a member of the Freeport-based Kiski Valley team in the Tri-State Collegiate League. He also is helping coach a 15U team in the Hardcore Elite travel program.

“Being a player and a coach this summer, I am really getting a good look at the game from both sides,” Hanz said.

First Team

Johnny Bertucci

Sr., P/OF, Riverview

The Raiders finished third in WPIAL Class 2A and qualified for the PIAA playoffs, and Bertucci was a big part of his team reaching both of those goals. At the plate, the veteran hitter averaged .389 with 14 RBIs and 18 runs scored. On the mound, Bertucci fashioned a 6-3 record with a 1.97 ERA in 51 innings at the top of the pitching rotation. He struck out 56 and walked 14.

Kason Barker

Jr., C/INF, Freeport

The versatile junior put together a season that impressed coaches throughout the region as he was voted to the Class 3A all-state second team as an infielder. Also a Section 3-3A first-team pick at catcher, Barker made his mark by batting .444 with 28 hits, a team-leading 27 RBIs and 22 runs scored. Of his 28 hits, 11 went for extra bases with five doubles, four triples and two home runs. Barker also led the team with 14 stolen bases.

Jake Cummings

Sr., P/OF, Leechburg

The three-sport Blue Devils standout — Cummings will join the football team at Division III Allegheny College — kept things going this spring as he led the baseball team in hitting (.534) and guided Leechburg to a Section 2-A title (14-0) and a spot in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Cummings drove in 20 runs, collected a team-best 31 hits and scored 23 times. He recorded at least one hit in 16 of his 18 games. Cummings was honored with inclusion on the Class A all-state first team as an outfielder.

Eli DeVita

Sr., SS, Riverview

DeVita makes his return to the first team after a season that saw him lead Riverview in batting with a .507 average. He collected 22 RBIs for a Raiders squad that won 15 games and finished runner-up to OLSH in Section 3-2A. DeVita crossed home 32 times and delivered 13 extra base hits with five doubles, five triples and three home runs.

Jake Dombkowski

Sr., INF, Plum

Of all the talented hitters, fielders and pitchers in Section 1-5A, Dombkowski stood above them all in a vote of the coaches as the section’s player of the year. He also captured Class 5A second-team all-state laurels as an infielder. In 20 games, Dombkowski batted .433 (26 of 60) with 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored. Half of his 26 hits went for extra bases — seven doubles, four triples and two home runs.

Jeremy Haigh

Sr., INF/OF/P, Fox Chapel

Haigh completed another strong season for the Foxes which saw him earn all-section first-team honors for the third year in a row. He also was voted Class 5A first-team all-state as a utility player. Haigh batted .424 (25 of 59) with a .521 on-base percentage and a .780 slugging percentage. He smacked five home runs, scored 18 runs and drove in 20. Haigh will play in the inaugural Pennsylvania High School All-Star Game, sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Baseball Coaches Association, on Sunday at Penn State.

Braden Kemmerer

Jr., OF/P, Plum

Kemmerer fronted a talented Mustangs pitching staff as Plum won the Section 1-5A title (11-1) and earned the No. 2 seed for the WPIAL tournament. The Class 5A second-team all-state hurler allowed just two hits and no earned runs while striking out one and walking one in a complete-game 1-0 loss to Mars in the first round. Kemmerer led the Mustangs with an 8-1 record and a 1.43 ERA (11 earned runs) over 54 innings with 36 strikeouts against just 11 walks.

Brayden Mell

Jr., P/INF, Burrell

Mell earned the respect of the Section 3-3A coaches as he helped pitch and hit the Bucs to a section co-championship with Freeport and Mt. Pleasant and a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. He finished 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA over 35 1/3 innings. Mell struck out 33 and walked 20. He also batted .271 (16 of 59) and tied for second on the team with 14 RBIs.

Ben Shurina

So., C, Deer Lakes

Shurina provided stability behind the plate and was confident in the batter’s box for a Lancers team that finished in a five-way tie for the Section 3-3A title. He went 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI in Deer Lakes’ 6-3 loss to Mohawk in the WPIAL first round. For the season, Shurina hit .419 (26 of 62) with 19 RBIs, nine doubles and three home runs.

Gavin Tola

So., P/INF, Freeport

Tola provided pop in his bat for a Yellowjackets lineup that scored 8.1 runs a game through 20 games played. He batted .483 and slugged .534 with 10 RBIs, eight stolen bases and a team-leading 30 runs scored. For his efforts throughout the season, Tola earned first-team Section 3-3A honors as an infielder.

Second team

Mason Bertino, So., Utility/P, Leechburg

Tristan Blum, Soph, P/OF, Fox Chapel

John DeLuca, Jr., INF, Kiski Area

Lucas Duncan, So., OF/P, Riverview

Chase Henry, Sr., SS/P, Leechburg

Ryan Lafferty, Jr., OF, Plum

Sean Morgan, Sr., 1B, Knoch

Zane Pacek, Jr., P, Knoch

Noah Stewart, Fr., INF/P, Apollo-Ridge

Max Vollmer, So., INF, Plum

Honorable mention

Kris Bandurski, Sr., DH, Fox Chapel

Alex Clawson, Jr., INF/OF/P, Apollo-Ridge

Trey Coury, So., OF, Burrell

Miles Duncan, So., C, Riverview

Garrett Jones, So., 1B/P, Leechburg

Jake King, Sr., SS/2B, Highlands

Daniel Macioce, Sr., INF, Plum

Dylan Roth, So., C/3B, Knoch

Anthony Smith, Sr., INF/P, Deer Lakes

Dimitri Spagnola, Sr., INF, Kiski Area

Dante Taliani, Jr., INF/C/P, Valley

Luke Whitfield, So., INF/P, Freeport

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.