Young Valley lineup looks to maintain momentum from trip to quarterfinals

By: William Whalen
Friday, March 22, 2019 | 10:12 PM

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Valley coach Jim Basilone trotted his Vikings off Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial baseball field following a gut-wrenching, 6-5 loss to Brownsville in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals and delivered his most important speech of the season.

“I pulled them off to the side, through the gate, and I told them how much I appreciated their commitment to the program,” said Basilone, who is beginning his third season as the Vikings skipper. “It crushed the seniors. They wanted to go to the semifinals and onto the championship game.

“As far as the young guys go, I told them, ‘Gentlemen, you have been here, you know what its like, remember the taste, and you never want it to happen again.’ ”

Valley (11-7, 8-2) came out of nowhere last season to tie rival Burrell for the Section 1-3A crown. The Vikings regular-season success led to a No. 5 seed in the WPIAL playoffs. Valley earned its first playoff victory since 2006 with a 7-5 win over Beaver Falls.

“The last two years, we made the playoffs and last year nobody thought we’d do what we did,” Basilone said.

Now, Basilone is tasked with finding players to replace the five seniors who graduated. Not only did the Vikings lose a ton of experience on the field but the leadership in the dugout, as well.

“The seniors stepped up and led, and the freshmen stepped on their wings and took off,” Basilone said. “We lost five seniors from last year, five good ones.”

Those freshmen are now sophomores and make up the majority of the team. Valley is now at the other end of the spectrum and is loaded with young players. Basilone has zero seniors and just one junior. The rest of the 14-player roster is made up of a strong and talented sophomore class (nine) and a quartet of freshmen.

“You replace (the seniors) with hard work,” he said. “Honestly, what I can tell you is the freshmen who played on (last year’s) team are going have to step up and play the senior role as a sophomores.”

Perhaps Basilone’s best attribute as a coach is that he has players prepared. Spend any length of time talking Valley baseball with Basilone and there’s one phrase that pops up over and over again: mental toughness.

“Everyday, I talk about mental toughness and being mentally tougher than your opponent,” Basilone said. “Mistakes are going to happen. We need to move on and not stay n the moment.”

Valley has the bats, arms and talent to go even further in the playoffs this season. Valley’s success this season will be determined how mentally prepared the Vikings are.

“The seven sophomores who were on the team, have been through the season, and have been to the playoffs, know what it takes to get there and know what needs to be done,” Basilone said.

The Vikings not only have depth on the mound but they also have quality. Sophomore Cayden Quinn again will anchor the staff. Quinn finished his freshman season with a 4-1 record and pitched some high-pressure games. The righty picked up a late-season road win at Burrell and showed poise in his playoff start against Beaver Falls.

Sophomores Shane Demharter, lefty Evan Henry, John Luke Bailey and freshman Isaac Kelly round out the staff.

“I could go with any three of those guys at any give time,” Basilone said. “If they’re on and we hit, we’ll be fine.”

Basilone’s defensive starters will be predicated on who is on the hill. Sophomore Javon Keys and Henry will share time at first base. Freshman Ben Aftanas earned the nod at second base. Aftanas could also see time at shortstop with Demharter and Quinn in the mix. Bailey and Kelly are penciled in at third base. Sophomore Cameron George will be behind the plate.

“Versatility is going to be huge for us this year,” Basilone said. “These guys are going to have to play a certain amount of positions depending who is pitching.”

Sophomore Justin Hooper, along with Quinn, Kelly, Henry and Keys will make up the outfield.

Valley remains in Section 1-3A this season but the section has a more local feel to it. Rivals Burrell, Steel Valley and South Allegheny remain. The Vikings also picked up two playoff teams from a year ago Alle-Kiski Valley rivals Deer Lakes and Freeport to round out the section. Both teams dropped from Class 4A after the most recent WPIAL reclassification.

The Vikings open up the regular season at home against Springdale on March 25. Valley will head to Myrtle Beach from March 25-31 for the Cal Ripken Experience and play three games against teams from Ohio, Kentucky and Albert Gallatin. The Vikings return home for their section opener against Steel Valley on April 3.

“These guys are bonded together,” Basilone said. “They’re tight and they play for each other. Who knows how this is all gonna shake down, but we’ll compete.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

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