Monday, the WPIAL released the brackets for the baseball playoffs. Finalists in Class AAAA make the state playoffs, and the top three qualify in the other classifications.
Class AAAA:
Top seeds: 1. North Allegheny, 2. Pine-Richland, 3. Peters Township, 4. Woodland Hills
First round
North Allegheny, Pine-Richland bye
Tuesday, May 12
Peters Township vs. Kiski at Shaler, 4:30 p.m.; Woodland Hills vs. Bethel Park at Haymaker Park, noon; Norwin vs. Butler at Hempfield, 4:30 p.m.; Gateway vs. Seneca Valley at Pullman Park, 7 p.m.; Upper St. Clair vs. Plum at Pullman Park, 4:30 p.m.; Latrobe vs. Mt. Lebanon at Gateway, 7 p.m.
Quarterfinals
North Allegheny vs. Latrobe-Mt. Lebanon winner; Pine-Richland vs. Upper St. Clair-Plum winner; Peters Township-Kiski winner vs. Gateway-Seneca Valley winner; Woodland Hills-Bethel Park winner vs. Norwin-Butler winner
Class AAA
Top seeds: 1. Hopewell, 2. Trinity, 3. Blackhawk, 4. Laurel Highlands
First round
Hopewell, bye
Tuesday, May 12
Trinity vs. Knoch at Chippewa Park, 4:30 p.m.; Blackhawk vs. Elizabeth Forward at Burkett Complex, 7 p.m.; Laurel Highlands vs. Hampton at Hempfield, 2 p.m.; Moon vs. New Castle at Chippewa Park, 2 p.m.; Greensburg Salem vs. Chartiers Valley at Haymaker Park, 3:30 p.m.; West Allegheny vs. Indiana at High Field No. 1, 4:30 p.m.; West Mifflin vs. Ambridge at Burkett Complex, 4:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Hopewell vs. West Mifflin-Ambridge winner; Trinity-Knoch winner vs. West Allegheny-Indiana winner; Blackhawk-Elizabeth Forward winner vs. Greensburg Salem-Chartiers Valley winner; Laurel Highlands-Hampton winner vs. Moon-New Castle winner
Class AA
Top seeds: 1. Shady Side Academy, 2. North Catholic, 3. Freedom, 4. Laurel
Preliminary round
Tuesday, May 12
Deer Lakes vs. Riverside at High Field No. 2, 2 p.m.; Burgettstown vs. Riverview at Herb Field, 1 p.m.; Steel Valley vs. Washington at Southmoreland, 3:30 p.m.
First round
Tuesday, May 12
Laurel vs. Greensburg Central Catholic at Gateway, 2 p.m.; South Fayette vs. Ford City at Plum, 4 p.m.; Seton-La Salle vs. Beaver Falls at High Field No. 2, 4:30 p.m.; Burrell vs. Beaver at Shaler, 2 p.m.; Brownsville vs. Center at Burkett Complex, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13
Shady Side Academy vs. Deer Lakes-Riverside winner at Shaler, 3:30 p.m.; North Catholic vs. Burgettstown-Riverview winner at Burkett Complex, 6:30 p.m.; Freedom vs. Steel Valley-Washington winner at Burkett Complex, 4 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Shady Side Academy--Deer Lakes-Riverside winner vs. Brownsville-Center winner; North Catholic--Burgettstown-Riverview winner vs. Burrell-Beaver winner; Freedom--Steel Valley-Washington winner vs. Seton-La Salle-Beaver Falls winner; Laurel-Greensburg CC winner vs. South Fayette-Ford City winner
Class A
Top seeds: 1. Serra, 2. Neshannock, 3. Carmichaels, 4. Chartiers-Houston
First round
Serra, bye
Tuesday, May 12
Neshannock vs. Springdale at High Field No. 1, 2 p.m.; Carmichaels vs. Vincentian at Mt. Pleasant, 4:30 p.m.; Chartiers-Houston vs. Cornell at Gateway, 4:30 p.m.; Rochester vs. Geibel at Canon-McMillan, 4:30 p.m.; Avonworth vs. Monaca at Herb Field, 3:30 p.m.; California vs, Jeannette at Mt. Pleasant, 2 p.m.; Avella vs. Beth-Center at Canon-McMillan, 2 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Serra vs. Avella-Beth-Center winner; Neshannock-Springdale winner vs. California-Jeannette winner; Carmichaels-Vincentian winner vs. Avonworth-Monaca winner; Chartiers-Houston-Cornell winner vs. Rochester-Geibel winner
50 comments:
Mike
How do you think the Big Macs will do in the state playoffs? I'm looking at a repeat.
With a 1st round bye C/M shoulb be well rested
Rested? It's high school baseball.
Didn't see Canon-mac listed in the first round or with a bye. Must be automatically placed in the championship game.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!!
guys, it's hard enough for frank zebrasky to look in the mirror let alone have to handle you guys kicking him when he is down. He tried his best. It wasn't good enough. Big deal. So the bucci administration was far more successful. The only thing that matters now is frankie z is the coach and that's all there is to it.
The only guarantee anyone made from the c-m team was that they would be the hardest working team in the wpial. I think they accomplished that. I mean watching baker and pihikis run 20 wind sprints after each practice really set the tone for the group. Losing leadership like that will hurt but I expect frank to have a few tricks up his sleeve next year.
DOes anyone out there care about CM baseball? Let's talk about the teams who qualified, please. You people who are involved in CM baseball wouldn't be satisfied with whoever the coach would have been. Being a coach in your district is a lose lose situation for anyone. My question is if your coaches are that inept then why didn't you "throw your hat in" when they were looking for a coach? Those who bark the loudest usually know the least!
I'm looking for a solid run all the way to the PIAA AAAA title for CM. Remember, they are the hardest working team in America, with a work ethic like that they have got to be considered the front runner.
All of you people who are bashing cm let me know when you team wins a state baseball championship. No one has been saying anything about cm until you low life people decided to try and bash us, grow up and move on.
Jim Rider strikes again! Go Bethel!
The C-M fans just don't get it - and probably never will. It was their ridiculous expectations that have led to the bashing - like winning a state title every year is a given. They proved this year that winning a section title every year isn't even a given.
Peters bounced early. What happened?
Peters, BC and Wash High bounced. So much for the sleeper....
For Class A, I have Carmichaels and Neshannock in the championship.
It was definately an odd year for Wash High, that's all I can say.
Odd year? I have been following high school baseball for 25 years and it seems like some schools just underachieve a lot. They have a year where they meet pre-season expectations and they may overachieve at times. High school baseball is a funny sport. You deal with weather. You deal with a very short season. There are many factors that can make or break a team. The most important factor, in my opinion, is how can a head coach get the most out of his team.
Does anyone know where some of the local bigger name players from the class of 2008 will be playing summer ball this year? Jankowski, Rider, Dittmar, and so on?
Some of the CM guys who are in college now will be playing in the Daily News League I believe. Not sure about anyone from Peters, BP, or Lebo.
What's the Daily News League?
an adult league. leaguelineup.com/dnl
Wow that's a pretty cool league. Doesn't Ken Barna play in it?
Actually Barna hasn't played in the league in about 15 years. He is however an original founder of the league and has managed many championship teams.
Barna helped to make the DNL great and I hope that with some Washington County boys coming over it will be great again!
Other than Dittmar, what people with local ties will be competing in the league?
Aaron Wiegel (CM), Chris Douglas (CM), Andre Hayden(CM), maybe Brian Muransky (CM), maybe Mike Mish (CM), maybe Phil Avolio (CM), Brandon Dittmar (CM), Alex Herrnberger (CM), Dan Cybulski (BP), Eddie Kessler (BP), Luke Pisarcik (PT)
Can anyone tell my why Pete Logan is still the Ringgold Boys Basketball Coach??? The man had a few lucky teams with players like George Lemon. That Brownsville team would have won without a coach.
Logan is terrible. Kids are quitting the team. No one shows up for practice. He still plays kids who never show up to practice. This guy is not building a program. He is just contributing to the downfall of the program.
Ringgold Baseball coach is terrible he will be out the door next. Great job ruining another talented group.
I dont care if Coach Grandstand played for the Wildthings or not. He cant coach. Hopefully they leave and dont come back. What a waste.
Funny how people think that just because they played college ball that it meets the requirements to be a head coach. Why is it so hard to find good baseball coaches? Most of the "marginal" baseball coaches either play their favorites or are very inept at spotting true baseball talent. Can someone give me their top 10 and bottom 10 of area baseball coaches?
I can already see this last question leading to some ridiculous comments.
It may not be fair to list the bottom 10 but there are some really good coaches out there. Jim Maize is one of them. Great feeder system plus he gets the most out of his players, year in and year out. I would vote for him in my top 10. Coach Bates and Coach Alderson are two more. They always have competitive teams. Trinity's Bristor seems to be ok too. He does have a stable of pitching right now. We will see how good he is next year.
Anon you didn't specify as to whether or not you wanted "coaches" or "HEAD coaches" so I'm going to assume you just want coaches...
After watching many years of high school baseball, I have to say I have not seen a better coach than Miller who was the pitching coach at Canon-McMillan in 07 and 08.
guys, it's hard enough for frank zebrasky to look in the mirror let alone have to handle you guys kicking him when he is down. He tried his best. It wasn't good enough. Big deal. So the bucci administration was far more successful. The only thing that matters now is frankie z is the coach and that's all there is to it.
The only guarantee anyone made from the c-m team was that they would be the hardest working team in the wpial. I think they accomplished that. I mean watching baker and pihikis run 20 wind sprints after each practice really set the tone for the group. Losing leadership like that will hurt but I expect frank to have a few tricks up his sleeve next year.
May 11, 2009 11:56 PM
OK Mrs.Z.
Now that the CM baseball team has a coach that insures their season will end early, hopefully the extra time will be put to good use in improving his "real coaching job" the Defensive Coordinator of the CM football team. Running windsprints after practice doesn't make you the "hardest working team in the wpial" Bethel Park runs wind sprints after every practice and GAME!!! The truth is they were in a bind because of the late resignation so they turned to Frank as a "fill-in." Hopefully the CM ....AD, School Board, & Administrtion will do the right thing for these "hardest working" kids and re-open the NOW so they have plenty of time to get a real coach, a good coach, a coach truly dedicated to this team so he can build a program. The must be patient and stop the every 2-3 year cycle. Maize, Mularky, Rider are some of the best in the WPIAL and are respected throughout HS baseball circles because they have been successful over the LONG HAUL. They have built PROGRAMS so even after winning back-to back WPIAL titles and losing a ton of talent Maize still won the section and led his team to the playoffs, as did Rider, & Malarky. These great coaches are dedicated to their sport and their team. What everyone at CM should do is Thank You Frank for filling in at a desperate time but we must move on because these kids deserve the same opportunity to have a great coach that will be dedicated to them both in season & OUT. As the Defensive Coordinator for the AD/Head Football coach you simply cannot provide that type of dedication to both. Please CM do the proper thing because these baseball player are STUDENTS at CM too and should be forced to endure another season with a mediocre at best head coach......it simply is not the right thing to do.
You are correct when you say that successful coaches are dedicated. They live baseball. Their families understand that for a few months of the year that "dad" will be gone for most of the evenings. They go over player evaluations, depth charts, etc. They watch summer league games to see who will be coming up into their programs next year. Their assistant coaches are required to have baseball knowledge too. The most successful programs year in and year out have quality coaches at the 9th grade, JV and varsity level. Schools who don't have quality coaches will NEVER be successful. EVER. The team can have the best athletes in the nation but can't win without a good coach. It is frustrating to know that there are some schools out there that have good baseball players but are being held back because their coaching staff has no baseball knowledge. On the flip side of that, just because you have baseball knowledge doesn't make you a coach.
And there are a lot of programs, like CM, that are being held back by unrealistic expectations and a lack of talent on the roster.
And there are a lot of programs, like CM, that are being held back by unrealistic expectations and a lack of talent on the roster.
May 16, 2009 10:17 PM
Yes, CM did lose talent from last years great team but there was enough to at least make the playoffs. To simply say there was not enough talent misses the point of the previous 2 posts. Talent is developed over time and the coaches previously mentioned from Peter's, USC, & BP have withstood the tests of time and their programs have appreciated the benefits. These coaches like coaches in other sports work with their players during the off season to make them better. As the Defensive Coordinator of a AAAA football team you cannot be effective serving 2 masters, either your football players or baseball players will suffer. It is time for CM to decide if they want quality programs for all their sports of does the AD just want to let HIS assistant coaches make a few extra bucks. Is the CM school board & administration concerned about all of their students or just the football players & wrestlers. Your decisions speak volumes. If you are truly committed to quality education then hire quality coaches for all sports not just a select few.
Can we talk about summer league teams? High school baseball is a joke...
Steve Bitc*y, his wife Vicki Guerrero, and his assistant Jordan A (hole) have littered these comments boards with ridiculous comments for far too long. Stop bashing the Canon-Mac program, Coach Z, and Coach Montecalvo. Get a life and move on. The programs are in good hands.
Stop bashing the Canon-Mac program, Coach Z, and Coach Montecalvo. Get a life and move on. The programs are in good hands.
May 18, 2009 11:41 AM
This post is a joke. EVERY program but Track are losers. Even the hallowed wrestling program has lost it's luster and hasn't won a WPIAL title for several years. If they don't take 4 teams to the playoffs the AA football coach is over his head with the big boys in AAAA and we saw how far his good buddy destroyed the baseball program in 1 year. As the AD the football is even worse. Good hands......how about hands of stone.
11:41am: Great alternative names for the Big 3. I agree that those 3 have done nothing but contribute negative energy to the program since March. It's a shame that they cannot support what was once "their" program and instead have let jealousy dictate their thoughts.
The people at Canon-Mac always treated Bucchi (Bitc*y) and his family with tremendous respect. Unfortunately I guess he and his wife feel as if they walk on water because they clearly do not appreciate just being "cult-legends" in the community. Perhaps we should have showered them with gifts? Given the immature way they have acted since March, I would assume they will have to move to Texas, Alaska, or California because I don't think Pennsylvania is a large enough state to contain their egos.
11:41am: Great alternative names for the Big 3. I agree that those 3 have done nothing but contribute negative energy to the program since March. It's a shame that they cannot support what was once "their" program and instead have let jealousy dictate their thoughts.
What PROOF do you have that this family is responsible for these posts. Posts like these are baseless, slanderous, and unfounded. If you have real proof then show it and prove that the former coach of the State Champions is responsible, if not then you are a pathetic hateful moron. Since I do know that my name is none of those that you've slandered and I written some posts defending the former coach I do know for a FACT that you are indeed a pathetic, hateful, slanderous moron. Go ahead CM behappy with your new coach but shut up when you never make the playoffs.
Does anyone have a top 10 list of baseball coaches? Let's try to keep this positive, since there seems to be so much negativity...
Top 10 coaches list (Wpial):
1. Cornell, West Allegheny
2. Miller, Canon-Mac
3. Maize, Peters Twp
4. Bates, Carmichaels
5. Banner, Woodland Hills
6. Colella, Hopewell
7. Barton, South Fayette
8. Amelia, Blackhawk
9. Thompson, Moon
10 Kirkwood, Neshannock
Note: Miller is not a head coach, the rest are. But he makes the list because he excels at coaching pitchers.
Note: Miller is not a head coach, the rest are. But he makes the list because he excels at coaching pitchers.
May 19, 2009 3:51 PM
Please show a little intelligence, you cannot begin to compare a position coach to a Head Coach. The roles & responsibilities are more complex that simply focusing on a specific group of players. The coordination, the selection of a coaching staff, the communication to both coaches & players just to name a few things makes the job of a head coach more difficult so no position coaches should be included on a Top 10 list and to do show is ridiculous.
Collella --- Hopewell
Banner --- Woodland Hills
Maize --- Peter's
Wayman --- Franklin Regional
Amelia --- Blackhawk
Malarky --- USC
Thompson --- Moon
Rider --- Bethel Park
Bates --- Carmichael
Alderson --- Char-Houston
8:32 anon,
Show me a coach that is better in any role than Miller is in his. He makes the list because someone asked for the top 10 coaches (not head coaches). The kid is by far the best in the area at what he does (coaching pitchers) which puts him in the discussion of top coaches.
Based on your argument a guy like Mariano Rivera would never get mentioned as one of the best "pitchers" in baseball history because he only gets the last 3 outs of a game. Instead, you would probably put Ian Snell in front of him in your rankings.
8:32 anon,
I agree with the comments from 11:09 anon. The coach in question did way more to help the team than the head coach. He ran the offseason program, the fall program, and then during the season handled the pitching staff and aligned the defense. It is no coincidence that Canon-Mac was so good in close games because Miller was the one calling the shots that directly affected the outcome of the game.
Having been witness to many of the games that he coached, I can honestly say there were many times when I had my doubts about something he was setting up. But just about every time I had to open mouth and insert foot. For example, there were times when he would move a fielder 5 or 6 full strides off of their normal fielding position and I would be going crazy. But then the ball would be hit directly to the fielder in his new position. In my eyes that's GREAT coaching and I'm sure the 11:09am anonymous witnessed the same things.
So before you discount a great coach just because he isn't labeled a "head coach" please do some original thinking. In many ways Miller was the head coach of the 07 and 08 Canon-Mac teams and he deserves to be on the list of best Wpial coaches.
So before you discount a great coach just because he isn't labeled a "head coach" please do some original thinking. In many ways Miller was the head coach of the 07 and 08 Canon-Mac teams and he deserves to be on the list of best Wpial coaches.
Who would you remove from the other lists of longtime successful "headcoaches."
Did he apply for the vacant CM head-coaching position, if not why? Because he was assisting somewhere else is not a good reason if you have the opportunity to run your own show. If he applied and was passed over for the Football teams Defensive coordinator then the CM AD should be fired immediately. I don't know the answers to these questions but would love to have them. Regarding Anon 11:09, your point is ridiculous because MLB already puts a higher value on "starting" pitchers over relief pitchers/closers. How many win the CY Young Award, How many are in the MLB Hall of Fame. Also many assistants cannot successfully make the jump from great assistant to great HeadCoach a more appropriate example would be our own Dick LeBeau who is one of the best Defensive Coordinators ever but failed terribly as a headcoach ...... so yes there is a difference between the 2 and any list of great coaches should only include the HeadCoach.
Regardless of who you put on your list the CM head baseball coach will not make the top 1000 as either a headcoach or assistant. He is terrible at both.
9:25am,
Those are all valid points, however I suggest you watch Miller coach a game and you'll understand why so many people are high on his skills.
As a player for several years in the CM baseball program this ridiculousness has got to stop. Our parents and players are not posting these comments. Coach monetcalvo actually called Coach Miller to recruit him for the job but he was not available because of his job. I know for a fact this is how it went down cause i talked to coach Mils. He also tried to get our two assistant coaches who teach at the high school to take the job but they wanted no part of it at the last minute. We all know who is making these posts. Just get over it, you didn't get the job and are acting like a psycho. quit giving the CM parents and players a bad name.
I really hope that people dont think I am actually going on this blog and posting things under the anon tag that bash the canon mac program. I have posted my name to every one of my tags and would never be a coward and post anything anonymously. I havent even checked this site out in months and someone brought it to my attention that some how my name is being brought up again, which is pretty funny. I do not see where the previous poster said that I had negativity towards the canon mac program when the truth is that I really like most kids in the program and always wish them the best of luck. So for you anon posters that get on here and make stuff up about about me...you need to pick yourself up a big pair of clown shoes.
Jordan A is being unfairly grouped into the mess created by former coach Bucci. Jordan A fully intended to be coaching the Canon-Mac kids this past season. He came to roughly 30 offseason workouts (all by himself) and helped to get the team ready for the rigors of section 3 AAAA. He was not compensated for his efforts. So I think we owe him a debt of gratitude for helping to put our boys in a position to have success. He did not manage or coach a single game this year, so any frustrations over the results of the 2009 season should not be directed towards him!
I can understand the gripes about Bucci, but not Jordan A. He gave his heart and soul to the program and when faced with a difficult decision in mid-March he stuck to his principles. That's called courage. That's called heart. And that's called character. Let's celebrate a man that holds his personal values ahead of selling out, instead of trying to drag him through mud that he did not create.
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