Following Trinity's loss to eventual PIAA Class AAA finalist Chartiers Valley in the semifinals of the WPIAL playoffs, Colts coach Jim Jaskowski said of Hillers pitcher Alex Frey, "If he isn't the best pitcher in the WPIAL, he's one of the top two or three."
After Carmichaels lost to Serra Catholic, another PIAA finalist, in the WPIAL Class A championship, Eagles coach Brian Dzurenda called Mikes pitcher Joby Lapkowicz, "The best pitcher in the WPIAL, without a doubt."
Lapkowicz, who lost only one game during his final two years of varsity baseball, is a hard-throwing lefthander who regularly hits 88 mph throughout a game. He signed with Slippery Rock University to play baseball earlier in the school year.
Frey, another hard-throwing lefty who stays around 84-85, nearly joined Lapkowicz at the Rock before choosing Youngstown State.
"I know Joby and I've watched him pitch a few times. He's really good," said Frey, who – like Lapkowicz – is not tall for a power pitcher. "I almost joined him."
Slippery Rock's loss is Youngstown State's gain. The Rock, however, shouldn't be feeling too bad about not landing Frey. They've plucked several of the area's top talents in recent years.
Besides Lapkowicz, current Rock players include Waynesburg High grad Mitch Monas and South Fayette's Matt Kosik, who finished second on the team in batting average as a freshman. Plus, former California High ace and Observer-Reporter Player of the Year Zach Jeney is on the roster.
58 comments:
Frey might be the best overall athlete in recent history from Trinity
Andrew Sweat (football, basketball baseball as a junior) was pretty good too. Good enough to be the O-R Athlete of the Year in 2007.
Brian Kimutis was the best overall athlete of all-time at Trinity.
Sweat was great at football and baseball but no so much at basketball Mike.
Not putting anyone down....at least not intentionally - but it's easy to be a great athlete when you are over 6 ft. tall. It's a lot harder when you are Alex Frye's size and that says a lot about hardwork, committment and dedication that a guy like Frye has to exhibit in 3 separate sports.
It's easy to be a great athlete over 6-0?
Let's clarify that. It's not easy to be a great athlete no matter what your size.
Is it more difficult for those under, say, 5-10. Absolutely.
But it's never easy, no matter what the sport and regardless of your size.
I would also say that Cody Endres was pretty good at Trinity. And that's just from recent memory.
To call one person the greatest is a dishonor to those who have come before him/her.
Mike Yancich wasn't too shabby either.
Everyone mentioned is/was a great athlete, regardless of size.
Frey struck out 8 at the AAA vs. AAAA allstar game. He also was pitcher of the game. I'm sure he is in the running for Athlete of the Year. However there are a lot of good athletes in the area. Matt from our school is high on my list.
Matt Pierpont? Good baseballer, but not a good all-around athlete. Mike Hull is the definition of an athlete from your school. I'd say the top 5 C-M athletes are:
1. Hull
2. Hagan
3. K Davis
4. B Strimel
5. M Parisse
Of those 5, three play baseball just like Pierpont. Frey is a much better all-around athlete than Pierpont. It's hard to compare them in baseball since they are completely different types of players but Frey was great at 3 sports and Pierpont only 1.
Frey good football player, average basketball player, and great baseball player.
frey all conference in football both sides of the ball...good basketball player 2 year starter...all conference in baseball 2 years in a row conference mvp...and a role model
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Mike Mish is every bit as good as Alexander Frey. Mish was perhaps overshadowed by bigger names, but he put up sick numbers (just like Frey) and throws virtually the same pitches at the same velocity. How come no one ever talks about how awesome Mike Mish is/was and yet we have already inducted Frey into the Washington County Hall of Fame?
Who is Mish? Where does he play? Frey has been a leader since he was 10 years old. The kid is a hard nosed athlete with the will to be the best. He is a great kid off the field too. If I was going to start a team I would select him and Evan Bukowski to build it around. Great athletes. Great character..
Im not from Canon Mac. So if you want to guess where I'm from I will let you. CM is not my school its my name. So take your hate someplace else. Plus I think Frey is better than anyone of those Canon Mac guys.
Who is Mish????
I didnt say he is a bad football player is just not a great football player, he plays both sides on a nad football team. They play in arguably the worst basketball section in the WPIAL, im not sayin he a bad basketball player hes just not good. Baseball speaks for itself, frey is a hell of a player
Mish was the best LHP in the history of Canon-McMillan. After spurning several D-1 and D-2 offers he ended up at Pitt, where he chose to study engineering- effectively ending his baseball career. I admire a kid that is willing to forgo athletic glory because he knows he has the brain to change the world. That's a REAL role model.
Mish had a disguisting changeup. Definitely one of the best straight changeups I've seen in high school or college. It would have been cool to see him keep playing, but as was mentioned he has bigger goals in mind.
first of all frey was garbage at basketball so from this point on he should only be credited as a two sport athlete. anyone can play horseshoes hopscotch and hula hoop and call themself a three sport athlete. the picture hanging inside the canon mcmillan cafeteria that displays chad hagan dunking on freys head shows you he didnt play defense. second, pierpont was, is, and will always be a better baseball player than frey, no matter what position you want to compare them at. and third, if pierpont wanted to play football, he would have been better than frey at that too. dont try to compare the two, its not even close.
You are right it isn't even close. Frey could run circles around Pierpont.
i agree i dont think pierpont would have even started on the trinity basketball team, and because he did not play three sports its not even close...and frey is a role model on top of that...winner frey
lets just see how they both do in college because pierpont got recruited and was given a scholarship to play at Winthrop and very good baseball team in the Big South Conference, while Frey is walking on and not even getting any dough to play baseball at Youngstown St.??? I didn't even know they had baseball in the Horizon League ha
Pierpont likely going to be a bench warmer at Winthrop. Max Vogel (from Hopewell) is the real deal and the only Wpial guy that Winthrop really even wanted. They took Pierpont to make sure they landed Vogel, since that gave Vogel a fellow Western Pa'er to help him adjust to the Southern Culture. Pierpont should just transfer to Duquesne so he can have a non-descript career like his brother who also was once a high school star.
well you can see Lapkowicz pass the ball to Frey this saturday at South Fayette, because there teamates in the all star game...
Agree on Pierpont struggling early on at Winthrop. Not even JJ could manage to hit over .200 in his first year at Miami of Ohio and he was definitely considered a more "immediate impact" type college hitter than Pierpont. We'll see though
I thought this was about frey and lapkowicz why does it always turn into a c-m discussion
It turns into a CM discussion because they, CM followers, don't have anything else to hold onto. I think that Frey will be successful in college. He is a hard worker with the will to win. I have seen him will his team to a victory early in his playing days. Several times, as a matter of fact. He is a solid athlete no matter what sport. It isn't his fault that his support on the Trinity basketball team was sub par. As for college, how many local baseball players really excel at that level? Very few by my count. High school you are a big fish in a small pond. College, small fish in a big pond.
In real life getting a baseball money comes in many different areas. I know Frey got something for going to Youngstown. It might be a work study program or housing, but it is something. Leave CM where they belong (in another blog). Don't hate on Frey just because you could not hit him. I'm sure there are other great players out there, but right now lets focus on these two guys (and be positive!!!!!!!!) I know these guys read this and don't need to hear how they are not as good as ..... Wish them luck encourage them to strive to be their best both on and off the field.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH!!!
Pierpont is a very good all-around athlete who focused on baseball.
He was an excellent basketball player in his younger days.
That top 5 cm athletes list is a joke. Hull belongs.
As for college, how many local baseball players really excel at that level?
Wow someone must have their head buried in the sand because there are a healthy amount of locals excelling at D-1 college baseball:
1. Jim Rider (from Peters)
2. Brian Muransky (from Canon-Mac)
3. Jordan Jankowski (Peters and as a pitcher)
4. Jordan Steranka (Mt. Lebo)
5. Reg Mackworthy
5? That's it? I think that there are a whole lot more that go on to play college ball than 5 kids. Check the west penn baseball web site and you will see how many local kids go to play and are not stars any more. All I was saying is that we should be happy for those who are successful. Not very many are.
Ok then how do we know Frey is successful at the college level? He hasn't played an inning of college ball yet! Let's stop putting immense pressure on the kid and just let him be a kid! Also, those are 5 D-1 kids that either graduated in 07 or 08. Perhaps the class of 09 will add to it. Oh and they are all local. I'd say that's quite a few "successful" D-1 guys in a short period of time.
It seems Trinity people are jealous that Canon-McMillan has the big rings
i'm from wash hi and i believe cm needs to find a life. no where on this does trinity seem to be jealous of cm. what it seems is cm is jealous of frey. let it go there is a new state champ and its not cm.
I watched the north/south game I think Frey and Lapkowicz both showed they could play with anyone even though they did't go to cm
frey was the show last night for the south in the football all star game, he has been the mvp in two all star games in two weeks baseball last week....frey is the show...and he is a role mode...case closed
whatever
I'm not trying to say he isn't a role model, but how is Frey a role model? Is he just a role model because he excels at athletics? Does he contribute to society in other ways to make him a role model? Or are these "role model" posters just friends of him that are trying to pump him up?
Like I said, I'm not trying to bash Frey in any way, shape, or form, but I am curious to know to what depths the kid is a role model.
leads by example, is a member of sadd, not into the party seen, and is leader in school and in community on and off the field
can a greene county kid ever be considered athlete of the year or is it reserved for washington county only
Didn't Lee Fritz and Lanfer Simpson both win the award in the past from Greene County?
In the last couple of years Frey was coaching in bronco at Washington and has been seen at pony this year. I've seen him talking and showing younger kids how to pitch. Just recently he was at the football camp to help out there. I'm sorry the the young man the credit he deserves and back off. He is a leader and a good role model.
Lanfer Simpson was athlete of the year, as was Colby Giles.
As for the talk about Frey, I speak with a lot of kids every year. I can only say nice things about Mr. Frey. The same for Mr. Lapkowicz and Mr. Pierpont.
i could not agree more Mike and there just not the 18 year old young men anymore that don't party or drink like Alex and that is why i say he is a true role model and a great student.
wow don't you have to be his freind to see his pictures some freind you are
ya T.S. or E.B. that is who you are
Frey drinking would constitute an underage drinking offense. That's a poor show of character, but I'm more alarmed by the Skoal. That stuff will cause cancer and Frey should use his head a little.
Coleman Scott was also an Athlete of the Year.
I think Lapkowicz is a great example considering there was a chance he would not get to play anything again after his break
Mike Kovak,
I read in a thread above that Jim Rider (head baseball coach at Bethel Park) may have been fired? Is this true? If not fired, did he resign?
I haven't been able to find anything in the papers about this and was just wondering if you heard some chatter from your colleagues. If Rider is gone, are there any leading candidates (in-house or otherwise) for this job?
I asked a student from trinity today and he said the previous post about frey is not correct. why do people write things like that on these blogs
Marcus,
The job had an application posting in the Post-gazette (I think) about 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure if Rider is gone, but it looks like he will have to go through the application process to get re-hired if he so desires.
This job should go to James Barton (if not Rider). He is easily the best candidate and did wonders for the South Fayette program. Also his son just finished his prep career at Bethel Park, so Barton is certainly familiar with the way things work over there.
I think Tony Fisher is going to get the Bethel job. He has been the top assistant there for several seasons and has also managed their fall ball team. He has been successful in every capacity and it would be a wise move by B.P. to hire Fisher given his rapport with the players.
what? matt pierpont won player of the year? frey is still better though, right?
frey is better than pierpont as a baseball player, a basketball player, a football player, a student, and as a person. i have no idea how pierpont won the award maybe it was in part because of last year. but based on this year the winner should have been alex frey. period!
I have heard nothing about the Bethel Park baseball position.
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