Westmoreland County high school baseball preview: ‘Tight-knit bunch’ planning encore at Norwin

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, March 12, 2026 | 8:31 PM

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It was quite a year for Westmoreland County high school baseball teams in 2025 as 11 qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.

Four teams — Norwin, Hempfield, Belle Vernon and Greensburg Central Catholic — reached the semifinals. Norwin played for a WPIAL title.

Will any of the county schools challenge for a title this season?

The question will be answered over the next three months.

Many of the teams return quality players.

The other playoff teams were Derry, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant and Penn-Trafford.

Norwin reached the finals only to drop a 1-0 heartbreaker to Seneca Valley.

Fourth-year coach Craig Spisak, who coached seven years at Yough, is excited about the upcoming season.

The Knights (14-9 overall, 8-4 in Section 2-6A) return senior catcher Trevor Vitsas, senior third baseman Jake Knight, senior second baseman Tristyn Tavares, senior pitcher/outfielder Caden Sivrish and senior outfielder/pitcher Matt O’Neil.

The Knights reached the finals by defeating Butler and Hempfield.

Some new faces Spisak expects to contribute are senior outfielder Derek Berger, senior first baseman Liam O’Donnell, senior outfielder Ryan Helphenstein, junior outfielder Jack Beisler, junior outfielder Devin Gribble and senior catcher/first baseman Zane Markovitz.

Spisak must replace five players, including shortstop Nate Silberman (Seton Hill).

“The section is very competitive section,” Spisak said. “Canon-McMillan returns a lot including its top two pitchers, and Mt. Lebanon and Hempfield are well coached and return a good nucleus.

“This is a tight-knit bunch. They have played together since they were little. They all have a common goal; they want to win.”

Hempfield

The Spartans were 6-6 in Section 2-6A and 9-13 overall in 2025. In the WPIAL playoffs, they upset No. 1 North Allegheny, 3-1, in the opening round behind the two-hit pitching of Josh Cayer, and then lost to rival Norwin, 7-4, in the semifinals.

The Spartans return six starters: senior pitcher/infielder Chase Sikorski, senior catcher/outfielder Ian Kovalcik, senior infielder Owen Shuglie, senior infielder Evan Dunlap, senior outfielder/pitcher Drew Jones and senior infielder/outfielder Chase Samaska.

Senior catcher Anthony More, junior pitcher Lucas Simmons and senior outfielder Lukas Murray are expected to contribute.

Cayer (LaRoche), shortstop Quinn Wilkins, infielder Colin Polechko and pitcher Dylan Firmstone (Penn State) graduated.

“It will be very competitive section,” coach Tim Buzzard said. “All the teams are strong.”

Franklin Regional

The Panthers were 6-6 in Section 1-5A and 10-9 overall. They lost 11-1 to No. 4 Bethel Park in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Panthers graduated eight players from that squad, including outfielder Brady Yarabinetz, pitcher N.J. Ramchandran, second baseman Chase Lemke and third baseman Ethan Raver.

Returning starters are senior shortstop Luke Williams, second baseman Anthony Mitchell, first baseman Nico Fioravanti, catcher Trey Muhitch and outfielder Liam Bernadowski.

Coach Bobby Saddler will rely on pitchers James Templeton, Fioravanti and Mitchell.

Williams batted .345 with 19 RBIs, 27 runs scored and 27 stolen bases. Mitchell batted .323 with 15 RBIs.

Some of the new faces include pitcher/outfielder Tyler Quinn, pitcher/outfielder Lucas Brazel, pitcher/infielder Luke Montgomery and pitcher/infielder Aaron Muraco.

Latrobe

The Wildcats, who finished 8-4 in Section 1 and 15-7 overall, were hit hard by graduation as only senior pitcher/first baseman Cole Short is a returning starter.

Latrobe defeated Fox Chapel, 2-1, in the first round of the playoffs, but fell to Pine-Richland, 8-7, in the semifinals.

Some of the key players who were lost to graduation include shortstop Cooper Basciano (West Liberty), third baseman Jack Stynchula, outfielder Eli Boring and pitcher Mason Leonard.

Coach Matt Basciano said he feels Plum and Penn-Trafford will content for the top spots in a well-balanced section.

Penn-Trafford

The Warriors, 10-2 in the second and 14-7 overall, were stunned by Connellsville, 2-1, in the first round of the playoffs.

“The section is very competitive,” coach Lou Cortazzo said. “I like our pitching, and we have a solid group.”

Key returning starters include senior outfielder/pitcher Nico Casciato (who hit .339), senior infielder Dom Delio (who batted .364 with 10 RBIs and was 2-1 on the hill), junior outfielder/pitcher Aiden Drotos (.341), senior pitcher Zach Feldman (2-0), senior center fielder Logan Matrisch (.373, 23 RBIs, eight doubles, two home runs) and senior catcher Colton Tyburski (.289).

Matrisch will miss some time at the beginning of the season after sustaining an arm injury during wrestling season.

“I will be counting on them to be leaders,” Cortazzo said. “We were expecting Logan back midseason.”

A couple new faces to watch: sophomore infielder Tanner DeStefano, junior second baseman/pitcher Connor Korinko and senior pitcher/first baseman Bryce Ruby.

Some of the key losses were pitcher Hunter Brown and pitcher Jon Lovre.

Belle Vernon

First-year coach Tyler Andrisko said he expects the Leopards to compete for a playoff spot from Section 2-4A.

The Leopards (9-3, 16-8) defeated Derry, 7-0, and Beaver, 5-0, in the WPIAL playoffs before falling to Indiana, 11-2. The team dropped the third-place game to Central Valley.

Returning starters include junior outfielder Chase Petrosky (.341, 15 stolen bases), junior shortstop Zach Plymire (.271, 16 stolen bases), senior Jack Edwards, senior catcher Jaden Johnson and senior Connor Bergman (.360, 15 extra base hits, 24 RBIs).

Ian Porter and pitcher Camden Matusik are expected to contribute.

The key losses were pitchers Parker Lind and Lucas Judy.

“We look to be very much in the conversation down the stretch and play meaningful baseball late in the season,” Andrisko said. “Every game matters. I expect the section to be competitive from top to bottom.”

Derry

The Trojans lost to Belle Vernon, 7-0, in the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs. They finished 5-5 in Section 3-4A and 6-8 overall behind Indiana, Greensburg Salem and Knoch.

Returning starters include senior infielder/pitcher Cason Long, senior infielder/pitcher Donovan Trimble, junior catcher Anthony Sacco, junior infielder/pitcher Max Doherty, junior infielder/pitcher Parker Petrosky and junior utility Liam McMahen.

Senior pitcher Colton Sanders and junior utility man Noah Stough also should contribute.

“Indiana is the team to beat in the section followed by Knoch and Greensburg Salem,” coach Doug Kelly said. “Valley and Highlands played a lot of young players and will be improved.”

Greensburg Salem

The Golden Lions finished tied for second in Section 3-4A with Knoch. Their record was 6-4, 8-7 overall. They lost a WPIAL playoff game, 6-2, to Central Valley.

Manley will rely on junior outfielder/pitcher Brody Chismar (.356, 12 RBIs), senior infielder/pitcher Robert Visnick (.364) and senior third baseman/pitcher Anthony Matthews to be the leaders.

Sophomores Tyler Dunmire, Noah Mutnansky, Brady Gillott, Colin Doyle, Ethan Kaylor and senior Zack Smith are expected to contribute.

Three of the players that graduated — Tyler Martin, Peyton Chismar and Tyler Davis — are playing at Westmoreland County Community College.

Coach Anthony Manley said Indiana returns a strong crew and will be the favorite. He also expects Derry, Valley and Knoch to be strong.

Ligonier Valley

The Rams finished in a five-way tie with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Mt. Pleasant for the Section 3-3A title with an 8-4 section record and 10-8 overall. They fell to Quaker Valley, 4-2, in the WPIAL playoffs.

Key returnees include senior infielder/pitcher Jacob Petalino (.365), junior infielder/outfielder/pitcher Miles Smith (.333, 2-2, 2.60 ERA), senior outfielder/pitcher Austin Harr (.379, five doubles, 12 RBIs, 4-4, 3.69 ERA, 51 Ks), junior shortstop/pitcher Noah Knupp (.339, 12 RBIs), junior infielder/pitcher Owen Smith (.292), and senior infielder Gavin Moore (.264, 16 RBIs).

A couple of players expected to contribute are senior outfielder/pitcher Levi Moser and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Rocco Harris.

Coach Jason Bush must replace pitcher Duncan Foust (4-1, 2.48 ERA, .345) and Tyler Smith (.274).

Mt. Pleasant

The Vikings (8-4, 11-7) finished in a five-way tie with Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Ligonier Valley. They lost to South Park, 4-2, in the WPIAL playoffs.

Senior second baseman Dane Firmstone, senior centerfielder Santino Marne, senior third baseman Jordan Grieff, junior outfielder Quinn Painter, junior catcher Trevor Gonofsky and junior catcher Colten Keefer are expected to be team leaders.

“The section is very competitive,” coach Chris Firmstone said. “There are so many strong teams.”

The Vikings also added a strong bat to the roster in former Greensburg Central Catholic third baseman Ian Shipley.

Dane Firmstone and Shipley were Trib Terrific 10 all-stars.

Firmstone batted .422 with one home run, five doubles, 13 runs scored and 15 RBIs.

Shipley hit .418 with 23 hits, 26 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples and 16 RBIs.

Southmoreland

The Scotties won only one game in 2025. Second-year coach Drew Ledbetter looks for an improvement this season.

Ledbetter must replace first baseman Blake Forsythe and outfielder Leyland Stallone.

He will be counting on all-section outfielder Brandon Geho, a senior, to lead the way.

Also back are junior outfielder Grey Moyer, sophomore second baseman Cam Underwood, senior pitcher/third baseman Joey Bentz and senior catcher Jake Govern.

“I want Jake to be the leader I know he can be,” Ledbetter said. “I got hired late last year, and we sort of new we would struggle because we were so young. Underwood was a big contributor.”

Others Ledbetter is counting on are sophomore infielder Mason Myers, sophomore pitcher Peyton Bann, junior first baseman Brian Williams, Jr., senior shortstop Ryan Jones and sophomore pitcher Brock Pritts.

“Watching early workouts, Mason, Brock and Cam have gotten a lot better,” Ledbetter said. “Their speed and accuracy are a lot better. I expect Joey to be ace of the staff.

“I want us to take a step forward. I want us to be competitive in games.”

Yough

First-year coach Andy Chopp does not expect the Cougars (2-15 overall, 2-10 Section 3-3A) to be down too long. In fact, he feels the team will compete for a playoff berth this season.

“We are looking to take over the section,” Chopp said. “My main goal is the future. My staff and I believe we have enough talent to win the section and make a long playoff push.”

Chopp is counting on six returning starters to lead the way.

That group includes senior pitcher/utility player Nate Bell, junior outfielder Tyler Burkett, junior pitcher/outfielder Aidan Shaffer, junior pitcher/shortstop John Steban, junior pitcher/infielder Jake Williams and junior pitcher/second baseman Gabe Shakoske.

Sophomore catcher Ethan Yuvan is a player who could earn a starting job.

Greensburg Central Catholic

The Centurions (18-5 overall, 11-1 Section 1-A) defeated Sewickley Academy, 14-0, and Bishop Canevin, 16-1, before falling to Serra Catholic, 3-2, in the semifinals.

The Centurions finished fourth after losing to Eden Christian, 10-2, in the third-place game. In the PIAA playoffs, they defeated West Middlesex, 12-9, in nine innings before losing to Clarion, 15-5.

Westmoreland County TribLive Player of the Year Anthony Grippo, a senior catcher, and pitchers Tyler Samide and Alex Martin headline the returnees.

Grippo, a Penn State commit, batted .660 with 12 extra base hits and 25 RBIs.

Samide (Chatham) was 6-0 and Martin (Fairmont State) was 4-1. Samide also drove in 24 runs.

Others to watch include junior midfielder Stephen Kochis, senior centerfielder Nolan Sopko, who is returning after a two-year layoff due to arm injury, and freshman corner infielder Carson Kramer.

“Anthony is a strong offensive player, but even better defensively,” coach John Boyle said. “He has a great arm, great baseball mind and is an excellent teammate.

“Samide and Martin are a formidable one-two punch on the mound. Both have good velocity, change speeds well and compete every start.”

Boyle must replace five potent bats: shortstop Brody Bothell, left fielder Jackson McMullen, center fielder Sean Walker and right fielder Nick O’Mahoney to graduation and third baseman Ian Shipley, who transferred to Mt. Pleasant.

“Despite steep offensive losses from graduating seniors and transfers, we should be in the mix to repeat as section champs,” Boyle said. “We had a very competitive section last year.”

Jeannette

The Jayhawks (8-10, 5-7) missed the WPIAL playoffs last spring, but many of the players were key contributors in helping the Bushy Run American Legion baseball team win the state title.

Back is senior first baseman/pitcher Jayden Kennedy (.439), senior center field Noah Rattigan (.435), senior shortstop Amari Thomas (.345), junior second baseman Dom Ponzetti (.304), senior pitcher/third baseman Wyatt Schaeffer, senior pitcher Evyn Yargeau and catcher Kenny Himes.

Veteran coach Marcus Clarkson said he expects to challenge for a playoff spot this season.

Monessen

Second-year Greyhounds coach Frank Repasky hopes his team (1-16 overall, 1-9 Section 3-A) will be more competitive against four strong private schools.

He is counting on sophomore pitcher/catcher/outfielder Addye Fields, sophomore pitcher/catcher Nathan Speicher, sophomore first baseman Colton Shawley, senior second baseman/pitcher/outfielder Christian Scherer, sophomore shortstop/pitcher Daniel Towler, sophomore third baseman/pitcher/catcher John Clingenpeel and sophomore pitcher/catcher/outfielder Jakob Dell to lead the way.

“We are a young team, but we have talent, and are more prepared this year,” Repasky said. “We did not have a lot of time last year to get ready after being hired late.”

Players to Watch

Trevor Vitsas, Sr., C, Norwin

Jake Knight, Sr., 3B, Norwin

Tristyn Tavares, Sr., 2B, Norwin

Caden Sivrich, Sr., P, Norwin

Matt O’Neail, Sr., OF, Norwin

Chase Sikorski, Sr., P, Hempfield

Owen Shuglie, Sr., INF, Hempfield

Ian Kovalcik, Sr., C, Hempfield

Evan Dunlap, Sr., OF, Hempfield

Chase Samaska Sr., INF, Hempfield

Luke Williams, Sr. SS, Franklin Regional

Anthony Mitchell, Sr., 2B, Franklin Regional

Nico Fioravanti, Sr., 2B, Franklin Regional

Liam Bernadowski, Sr., OF, Franklin Regional

Colt Short, Sr., P, Latrobe

Nico Casciato, Sr., Penn-Trafford

Dom Delio, Sr., INF, Penn-Trafford

Aiden Drotos, Jr., OF/P, Penn-Trafford

Logan Matrisch, Sr., CF, Penn-Trafford

Colton Tyburski, Sr., C, Penn-Trafford

Chase Petrosky, Jr., OF, Belle Vernon

Zach Plymire, Jr. SS, Belle Vernon

Conner Bergman, Sr., OF, Belle Vernon

Cason Long, Sr., INF/P, Derry Area

Anthony Sacco, Jr., C, Derry Area

Max Doherty, Jr., INF, Derry Area

Donovan Trimble, Sr., INF, Derry Area

Brody Chismar, Jr., P/OF, Greensburg Salem

Robert Visnick, Sr., INF/P, Greensburg Salem

Anthony Matthews, Sr., 3B/P, Greensburg Salem

Miles Smith, Jr., P, Ligonier Valley

Austin Harr, Sr., OF/P, Ligonier Valley

Jacob Petalino, Sr., INF/P, Ligonier Valley

Gavin Moore, Sr., INF, Ligonier Valley

Dane Firsmtone, Sr., 2B, Mt. Pleasant

Ian Shipley, Sr., 3B, Mt. Pleasant

Santino Marne, Sr., CF, Mt. Pleasant

Trevor Gonofsky, Sr., C, Mt. Pleasant

Brandon Geho, Sr., OF, Southmoreland

Jake Govern, Sr., C, Southmoreland

Grey Moyer, Jr., OF, Southmoreland

Nathan Bell, Sr., P, Yough

Tyler Burkett, Jr., P/OF, Yough

Aidan Shaffer, Jr., P/OF, Yough

Anthony Grippo, Sr., C, Greensburg Central Catholic

Tyler Samide, Sr., P, Greensburg Central Catholic

Alex Martin. Sr., P, Greensburg Central Catholic

Stephen Kochis, Jr., INF, Greensburg Central Catholic

Jayden Kennedy, Sr., p/1B, Jeannette

Noah Rattigan, Sr., CF, Jeannette

Amari Thomas. Sr., SS, Jeannette

Dom Ponzetti, Jr., 2B, Jeannette

Addye Fields, So., P/OF, Monessen

Nathan Speicher, So., P/C, Monessen

Daniel Towler, So., 3B/P, Monessen

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough