Sep 8, 2015 3 min read

The Steel City Wildcats captured the 2015 Western Pennsylvania Elite Baseball League title, defeating the Pittsburgh Spikes in the best-of-three championship series.

The Spikes had entered the post-season tournament top-ranked and with an unblemished record. And, despite the pitching of Ryan Reicoff, the Spikes also edged the Wildcats, 2-1, in the first game of the series.

Despite the setback, the Wildcats roared back, edging the Spikes, 5-4, in the second game played at Burkett Field in Robinson Township. Mt. Lebanon’s Vince Dorazio and Canon-McMillan’s Tanner Piechnick led the offensive outburst, smacking run-scoring doubles. Christian Fedko drove in two runs and Robbie Saghy smashed two hits.

Behind the arm of Jake Fischbaugh, the Wildcats blanked the Spikes, 1-0, in the championship contest. Fischbaugh struck out seven during a seven-inning stint on the mound. In the third inning, Dorazio doubled home Santino Platt, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, for the only run in the game.

“It was a climatic end to a strong season,” said Mark Saghy, manager of the Wildcats.

The Wildcats finished the season 29-5 overall. They have won five titles in the 10-year history of the league.

According to Saghy, the team benefited from a strong group of seniors that provided great leadership for a talented team of juniors. In fact, four of the five graduating seniors will play collegiately.

Teammates at Lebo, Dorazio will play at Pitt while Austin Kitchen, The Almanac’s MVP for baseball, earned a scholarship to Coastal Carolina. Peters Township’s Ryan Tassone will play for George Mason while Platt is headed to Washington and Jefferson College.

Dorazio led the team in batting with a .456 average. He drilled nine doubles and drove in 26 runs. Kitchen, who batted .400, was 2-0 on the mound with a 1.59 ERA. Tassone batted .352 with 14 RBI.

According to Saghy, the Wildcats are “primed” for another title run in 2016 as they return a majority of their roster. In addition to Piechnick, who recently committed to Ohio University, and Saghy, Reicoff and Tor Sehnert hail from the area.

Reicoff attends Chartiers Valley High School while Sehnert is from Peters Township. Sehnert ranked second on the team in hitting with a .434 batting average. He socked a team-high 13 doubles and 10 homers to drive in 24 runs.

In addition to Fedko and Fischbaugh, Garrett Hagen, Dan McCauley, Frankie Fraschetti, Trevor Smith and Bobby Brown will return next season.

The Wildcats also benefited from the play of Andrew Scherbarth, Brandon Pouch, Luke Mizzi and Connor Brennan. Brennan and Mizzi will graduate from high school in 2016.

Saghy’s assistant coaches included Joe DelSardo, who was recently elected to the Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, Jim Rider, Mike Saghy and Carl Nordstrom.