With no easy outs, Pine-Richland lineup puts pressure on opposing pitchers

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, April 13, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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For 27 years, Kurt Wolfe has been coaching baseball at Pine-Richland.

His first two years were as junior varsity coach, the next five were as an assistant coach on varsity and for the last 20 seasons, he’s been at the helm for the Rams.

So, when he talks of his 2024-25 team, remember he’s seen it all and knows of which he speaks.

“Throughout the years, we’ve had some good teams come through here and lineups close to the one we have now, but as far as kids that battle, are tough outs, who understand the strike zone and how to waste two-strike pitches, this is one of the better lineups we’ve had,” Wolfe said.

From the leadoff hitter on down to No. 9 in the order, this Rams team can rake. They’ve outscored their opponents 57-18 through the first eight games of the season.

“We’re blessed to have guys one through nine,” Wolfe said. “Where a lot of lineups are top heavy or others have their hitters scattered, we don’t have an easy out, which makes our lineup so difficult to face.”

Case in point, in the team’s 7-2 win against Allderdice on April 7, the meat of the Rams order, the three, four and five hitters, didn’t produce as they had in the fist six games, but the seven and eight hitters went 4 for 5 with a couple of walks and three RBIs.

It all starts with the leadoff hitter, senior left fielder Anthony Mengine, who is a three-time first-team all-section selection. Junior Logan Plummer follows, and those two set the table for three and four hitters, junior DH Benjamin Husted and senior catcher Sam Heckert.

“Mengine sees a ton of pitches and is such a tough hitter to get out when he’s got two strikes,” Wolfe said. “With he and Plummer getting on base a lot, they provide so many opportunities for Husted and Heckert to drive in runs.”

Eight games in, and Heckert leads the team with nine RBIs and Husted is third with five. Senior third baseman Anthony Annichine is second with six and has done most of his run producing from the eighth spot in the order.

Senior shortstop Tanner Cunningham bats fifth and freshman right fielder Breck Hemphill hits sixth, while senior first baseman Jake Waddell hits seventh and senior second baseman Thomas Kapanowski is hitting over .300 from the nine spot.

“It’s such a unique lineup,” Wolfe said. “I mean, how huge is it to have your nine hitter batting over .300 to start the season?”

That lineup has led the Rams to a 7-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Section 3-5A.

Of course, offense is just one side of it, and the Rams have only allowed 18 runs through eight games for a reason.

Pine-Richland returns six of its eight fielders from last year, with only a couple notable changes.

Cunningham moves over to short after playing second last year and Plummer moved from right field to center, which gives the Rams a solid foundation up the middle.

“That’s the biggest comfort for our pitchers,” Wolfe said. “Knowing they have a veteran, experienced group behind them that’s seen it all. Our pitchers don’t have to be perfect, don’t need to strike everyone out. They can attack the zone, hit their spots and know the defense will be there to back them up.”

Having pitchers who are comfortable is big for a team that lost four pitchers to graduation from last year’s team. One was a senior right hander who threw close to over 80 innings and the other three were senior lefties.

The ace of this year’s staff is senior Keegan Deihl, who pitched four of the Rams first games and won all of them.

“You can see the difference in the way Keegan carries himself this year,” Wolfe said. “He’s disciplined, poised and has become a leader, taking the younger pitchers under his wing, teaching them the mental approach and how to prepare.”

One such young arm is sophomore Brayden Hayes, who Wolfe says, “we really like and feel he is going to contribute not just this year, but later on in the future.”

The No. 2 pitcher is junior Drewe Boivin, who has pitched well to start the year, and the No. 3 starter, Noah Mackie, helped the Rams shut out Mt. Lebanon, 5-0, on April 3 by pitching five innings and striking out four.

Senior closer Tritan Farrar returns and already has a couple of saves, and freshman Carso King has thrown some innings as well and also recorded a save.

For most of the veteran team (there are 12 seniors on the 23-man roster) the goals are what they have always been — win the section, make it to the playoffs and hopefully come away with a WPIAL championship or make a run in the state playoffs.

“I always feel empty when I lose a group of seniors,” Wolfe said. “But it’s more difficult when you don’t help them win a championship. That sits in a spot that doesn’t leave quickly.”

Last year, the Rams lost in the Class 6A semifinals to North Allegheny, 5-4 in eight innings, on a hit to right field where the batter reached out and barely got the bat to the ball.

“Those are the tough games that you try to avoid putting yourself into,” Wolfe said. “If a couple of things go our way, it doesn’t even come down to the last second. We win it and we move on. Our guys have learned to not put themselves into such a situation.”

This year, Pine-Richland has moved down to 5A and is in a section with teams like Shaler and West Allegheny, which have won six and five WPIAL titles, respectively, in their school histories. Also in the section are New Castle, Fox Chapel, who is loaded this year, Mars and Allderdice.

“It’s a brutal section,” Wolfe acknowledged. “If anybody outside doesn’t know how difficult the section is, in the Class 5A rankings at the beginning of the year, four of the five teams were from our section. It’s a very competitive section.

“We understand it’s going to be a challenge and that we’re the new kids on the block in the class, but we relish the opportunity. We’re excited.”

Fernsler hits for cycle

It’s not just the Pine-Richland varsity baseball team making headlines. Junior Jackson Fernsler had a season highlight for the junior varsity team last month when he hit for the cycle against Hempfield.

The Rams had 23 hits as a team and won 29-8 over the Spartans on March 18.

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