WPIAL’s youth movement shows in 2019 Trib HSSN baseball all-stars

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, June 23, 2019 | 12:19 AM

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WPIAL baseball has witnessed an influx of talented freshmen in recent years and their arrival is reflected in the Trib 10.

Seton LaSalle’s Drew Lafferty and North Allegheny’s Cole Young, both ninth graders with bright futures, joined a list of talented upperclassmen in this season’s TribLive HSSN all-star selections.

Lafferty was a two-way star for a WPIAL champion, and Young led his team deep into the state tournament in the largest classification with his bat and glove.

Just don’t overlook the upperclassmen, including four who celebrated WPIAL championships. Two selections, Beaver senior Harrison Pontoli and Serra Catholic junior Mark Black, led their teams to the state finals.

TRIB 10 ALL-STARS

Jarett Bach

Yough, Sr., P/1B

The Pitt recruit went 7-1 with a 0.57 ERA and led Yough to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. Bach struck out 112 batters, including 25 in the postseason. He also batted .333.

Mark Black

Serra Catholic, Jr., C

With good reason, playoff opponents often chose to walk Black rather than pitch to him. The St. John’s recruit batted .521 with 14 home runs, 41 RBIs and 33 runs scored.

Andre Good

Steel Valley, Sr., OF/P

Good went 3 for 5 and drove in the game-winning run in the WPIAL Class 3A final. Overall, the Youngstown State recruit batted .420 with 30 runs, 26 RBIs, four triples and five home runs.

Drew Lafferty

Seton LaSalle, Fr., SS/P

Only a freshman, the Kentucky recruit was a two-way standout for the WPIAL Class 2A champion. He batted .446 and posted a 6-1 pitching record with a 2.31 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.

Troy LaNeve

Pine-Richland, Sr., INF

The Vanderbilt recruit batted .324 with a .429 on-base percentage for the WPIAL Class 6A champions. He scored 20 runs and drove in 21.

Jake McGovern

Hopewell, Jr., OF/P

McGovern, who ranked among both the WPIAL hitting and pitching leaders, led Hopewell to the Class 3A finals. He went 8-1 with a 1.46 ERA, and batted .377 with 27 RBIs.

Ryan Perretti

Shenango, Sr., OF

The Radford recruit led Shenango to a No. 1 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. He ranked among the WPIAL leaders in home runs (six), runs (24) and RBIs (43).

Harrison Pontoli

Beaver, Sr., SS

Pontoli provided a steady presence with his bat and his glove for the WPIAL Class 4A champions and state runners-up. The IUP recruit batted a team-best .411 with a .516 OBP and led the Bobcats in runs (26).

Matt Wood

Pine-Richland, Sr., C

Wood was instrumental in Pine-Richland’s WPIAL championship run. The Penn State recruit batted .429 with a .564 OBP with a team-high 26 RBIs and five home runs.

Cole Young

North Allegheny, Fr., SS

Young hardly plays like a freshman. The youngster led North Allegheny in batting average (.414), on-base percentage (.500) and RBIs (26). He also scored 19 times and hit three homers for the state Class 6A semifinalist.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Hopewell, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Shenango, Steel Valley, Yough