Hard work working for Keystone Oaks
Though Scott Crimone knows there is a long way to go in the high school baseball season, the Keystone Oaks manager paused, ever so briefly, to celebrate his team’s triumph, 12-0, against Seton-La Salle.
“In my entire eight-year career at Keystone Oaks, we have not played Seton-La Salle,” Crimone began. “So, it was a special victory for me since this was my rival when I played at Keystone Oaks.”
Yet, the Rebels are everybody’s rival these days. They were WPIAL Class AA runners-up to Steel Valley last season and entered the season ranked No. 1.
However, as they approached the midway point of the season, the Golden Eagles find themselves on top of the heap. Ranked No. 3 before their win against the Rebels, KO led Section 4-AA with a 4-0 slate. Overall, the Golden Eagles were 6-1 heading into yesterday’s game against East Allegheny (1-4) and today’s fray (April 22) at Steel Valley.
When asked how the win against Seton-La Salle (3-2, 6-2), which slipped into a second-place tie with South Allegheny (3-2, 5-2) in the section, bolstered KO’s expectations for the season, Crimone said the Golden Eagles were not “concerned” about those. “We just want to maintain our work ethic and continue to believe in our philosophy of ‘hard work, works.’ We haven’t finished the first time through the section yet, so plenty of work still needs to be done.”
Nick Riggle worked hard in recording the win on the mound. The junior scattered two hits in five frames. He struck out five. “He was very good as he has been all season thus far,” said Crimone of his pitcher.
SLS took its lumps early as KO put up six runs in the initial inning. “We really never looked back (after that),” said Crimone.
While the Golden Eagles received contributions from every hitter in the line-up, the offensive standout against SLS was Timmy Ali. The junior drilled three hits in four plates appearances. He drove in three runs.
At the plate, Riggle stroked two hits and drove in two runs. He also walked once. Dylan Procopio and Joe Fawcett both contributed two RBI.
Riggle, Procopio, Ali and Fawcett are just a few of the talented underclassmen, who have sparked a club that includes just four seniors – Ben Canty, Devin Rosato, Nick Perella and Brandon Dewick.
As Riggle continues his excellent career at KO, Crimone has been pleased with the potential of juniors Ryan Roell and Stephen Kazalas-Kelley as well. “Ryan swings a hefty bat and Stephen has a chance to be the best defensive catcher in the section.”
With Ali and Procopio, Josh Beck, Stephen Foreman and Michael Wetmiller have been players to watch for the Golden Eagles this spring. Crimone is also “excited” about the skill set of freshman Jerry Volpe and the continued seasoning of Fawcett, a sophomore who had varsity experience coming into this campaign.
KO’s roster also carries juniors Stephen Foreman, Shayne Farrell, and Jay Hinders along with sophomores Dylan Knorr and Nick Callas.
While Crimone expects visiting Steel Valley on May 1 and hosting Seton-La Salle on May 4 doesn’t get any easier, he feels that play at the Class AAA level prepared Keystone Oaks for Section 4.
“We are with perennial powerhouses, but I think we have been playing very competitive baseball at the AAA level the last two seasons. It has been an interesting move for us.”
While the Golden Eagles no longer depend on the services of southpaws such as Taylor Lehman (Penn State) and Jared Skolnicki (Kent State), they have adjusted. They have learned a new way to beat opponents.
“We rely more on the pitching staff this season as opposed to a horse like those guys that can carry a rotation,” Crimone said. “We have some power in the lineup, mixed with some good speed at the top and bottom.”
That new recipe for success is proving sweet so far for the Golden Eagles.
Other action
In a replay of the 2014 WPIAL championship game, Steel Valley came back to beat Seton-La Salle, 2-1.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Alex Ligeros singled home the winning run for the Ironmen, who also won last year’s district title on late-game heroics. Ligeros drove in both runs and socked four hits in five plate appearances.
Carson Rebel tagged a run-scoring single for the Rebels.
Though Chartiers Valley dropped an 8-3 decision to No. 2 Montour, the Colts rebounded to beat No. 1-ranked West Allegheny, 1-0. Cole Horew earned the shutout on the mound. He also drove in the decisive tally in the seventh inning when he slugged a single.
Horew socked six hits as he lifted the Colts to victory, 15-2, against South Fayette.
The Lions, however, edged McGuffey, 12-10, thanks to a four-run eighth inning. Logan Sharp smacked a solo home run to highlight South Fayette’s offensive output.
In Class AA action, Chartiers-Houston succumbed to Brownsville, 8-2.
Behind the pitching of Mitchell Taufer, Bishop Canevin blanked Avella, 4-0. Taufer fanned 10 batters, walked one and allowed three hits. At the plate, he doubled. Justin Dix tagged a two-run single for the Crusaders.