South Fayette to add freshman baseball team

The South Fayette School Board unanimously voted Oct. 24 to add a freshman baseball team for the upcoming season, per the request of the program’s coaches. The board will pay for transportation, hats and baseballs, whereas the baseball boosters will cover coaches salaries and other costs.
During the Oct. 17 South Fayette School Board meeting, head baseball coach Ken Morgan requested the board consider adding a freshman team to the school’s baseball program, citing an increase in sign-ups.
Morgan said 55 kids signed up to play this upcoming spring, which is 19 more than any have signed up in the past. Between the varsity and junior varsity teams, Morgan said he usually keeps 28-30 players. He also said 25 of the kids set to try out in the spring are freshman.
“With South Fayette growing at the rapid pace it is, we have more and more kids signing up to play baseball,” Morgan said. “We really want to limit the amount of cuts we have to make in our program.”
Morgan said the baseball booster program will pay for the uniforms and the coaches, while the school district would provide the hats and most of the cost of transportation for the eight to 10 road games.
Board member Jennifer Iriti questioned if freshman teams are something all South Fayette athletic programs could utilize. Athletic Director Mark Keener answered questions from Iriti and the rest of the board about the topic, saying not every sport is in need of a freshman team right now.
On Oct. 24, Keener reported after additional research that most sports at the high school don’t have a need for freshman teams. He believes, as do several members on the board, that if freshman teams were advertised, more kids would tryout.
While a few cuts will still have to be made, Morgan said the addition of a freshman team will greatly improve the baseball program.
“If we would keep the same amount of kids we’ve kept in the past, you’re talking about 25 kids that would have to be cut from the baseball team,” Morgan said. “We really don’t want to turn anybody away from our program if we don’t have to.”