Bethel Park baseball team featured in Brentwood celebration
To the victors go the spoils, and the Bethel Park baseball team is starting to reap the benefits of winning a second straight state championship.
Thanks to a 5-0 win over Selinsgrove in the PIAA Class 5A final played at Penn State’s Medlar Park, the Hawks have been invited to participate in the Brentwood Fourth of July parade.
The parade steps off at 10 a.m. at Sankey Avenue and proceeds along Brownsville Road to Brentwood Towne Square at Dewalt Avenue.
“It is very cool to get added to that parade,” said BP manager Patrick Zehnder. “Anything to celebrate this awesome group of kids is a great idea to me. These players deserve as much positive notoriety as possible.”
District Judge Ron Arnoni felt the same way. A former councilman and mayor of Brentwood, Arnoni is now a Bethel Park resident.
During the team’s welcome home parade on June 17, Arnoni mentioned to Traci Kessler that he wanted to give the team credit it deserved. He contacted Missy Lenigan and the Brentwood Fourth of July Committee chairperson arranged a spot for the team in the parade.
A Baldwin native, Kessler spent much of her youth in Brentwood. Her sister also lived there for several years. In addition, she has known Arnoni since the 1980s.
Kessler said when there wasn’t baseball for her son, David, who has been the starting shortstop on two state winners, or volleyball for her daughter, Brooke, the family would go to the parade.
“It has always been a tradition,” she said. “Yes, we are one of the families that put out chairs the day before the parade to reserve our spot.”
Brentwood holds a special place for BP second baseman Bo Conrad, as his mother grew up in the community, and for infielder Evan LeJeune, as his father has participated in the annual Firecracker 5K Run.
The road race precedes the parade at 9 a.m. The course follows the parade route.
“A lot goes into planning something like this especially last minute, but we are so grateful and happy that we have been able to make this happen,” Kessler said.
“This success is a culmination of the love, support, and coaching that these guys have received their whole lives, not just in high school,” added Zehnder. “This is a special event.”
Brentwood plans a holiday of festivities for its guests.
Fireworks will be held at 9:30 p.m. Seating is available in the stadium and the park.
The annual Brentwood Street Fair, featuring the Battle of the Barrel between competing fire departments, will be held the day prior on July 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Activities occur near the municipal building along Brownsville Road.