I just wanted to highlight the top performances at this year's Showcase. Here are the top 5 finishers (plus ties) in each of the measurables;

60 Yards

• Taylor Schmidt, North Hills     6.58 (Event record: Harry Austin, North Allegheny 6.50 2005)
• Jason Shirley, Norwin            6.79
• Brett Alberti, Blackhawk          6.90
• Brad Collier, Seneca Valley     6.90
• Luke Horew, Chartiers Valley  6.99

Pitcher Velocity

• Johnny Rossi, Center         90 MPH (New event record)
• Adam Dian, Vincentian        86
• Ryan Minter, Peters             86
• Logan Urtz, Center             86
• Tyler Dean, Mars                85
• Joey Poerio, Hampton         85

Catcher Pop

• Cody Gaertner, North Allegheny  1.88 (Event Record: Jordan Jankowski, Peters & Matt Kirkwood, New Castle 1.87, 2007)
• Matt Rubino, Hopewell               1.93
• Jon O'Neill, Chartiers Valley        1.95
• Dan Powell, Central Catholic       1.95
• Royce Kranz, Riverside              2.01

Outfield Throws

• Dan Petrella, Montour             89 MPH (Event Record: Gus Benusa, Riverview 91 MPH, 2008)
• Nathan Junk, Knoch                88
• Taylor Schmidt, North Hills       88
• Brice Nikithser, North Allegh     87
• Johnny Beatty, Mohawk           85
• William O'Block, Plum             85

Infield Throws

• Logan Urtz, Center                84 MPH (Event Record: Derrik Zeroski, West Allegheny 90 MPH, 2007)
• Matt Rubino, Hopewell           84
• Ryan Finnegan, Riverside       83
• Cayman Hoggard, Riverview   83
• Michael Fulton, Penn Hills       82
• Luke Horew, Chartiers Valley   82

Well, All-Star Weekend is over and everyone involved was breathing a big sigh of relief because of the weather. The All-Star banquet was held on Friday night at the Airport Marriott and was attended by about 250 people. Randy Cosgrove did his usual great job as Master of Ceremonies and Scott Stricklin delivered a great message as our Guest Speaker. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

The Underclassmen Showcase was held on Saturday and, apart from about 15 minutes of rain, went off without a hitch. 123 players performed in front of representatives from 65 colleges and about ten professional teams. There was one milestone achievement during the Showcase as Johnny Rossi of Center High School became the first player in our six year history to hit 90 MPH from the pitchers mound. Taylor Schmidt of North Hills High School was the fastest player at the Showcase, running a 6.58 60.

The All-Star doubleheader was played on Sunday with Class AA defeating Class A and Class AAA beating Class AAAA. Evan Chiapetta of Beaver Falls and Dillon Haviland of South Fayette were selected as Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Pitcher, respectively. Kevin Welsh of Hopewell and Ethan Mildren of Laurel Highlands earned the same honors in the nightcap.

Many thanks go out to all who helped make the weekend a success. Special thanks to Mark Saghy for all of his hard work in planning and holding the weekend. We also want to thank Ibistek, Louisville Slugger, BWP Bats, Worth and The Game for their support, with the special thanks to Robert Kaschak and Todd Schiffhauer. We also thank the Pirates for their financial assistance. The game program also listed Black Bear Fundraising as providing financial assistance, but they never did provide that support.

I get questions from players and parents regarding which Showcases they should attend. As I’m sure many of you have learned by now, you can spend a small (or even large) fortune traveling around the country attending the many showcases and camps that are available to high school players. Whether it is worth a lot of money to attend multiple events is another question. It never hurts to attend as many events as you can, but there is a real question as to whether they are good values.

Since the ultimate goal of attending the showcases is to be seen by college coaches, I asked a number of college coaches what showcases they typically attend. This included a variety of schools (all in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Michigan) across all three levels of NCAA schools.

The Division 1 colleges with strong academic reputations tend to prefer showcases that are geared to the top academic kids. One college mentioned that they never miss the Head First Honor Roll camps  (http://www.headfirsthonorroll.com/). DeMarini also runs academic camps (http://www.top96.com/) that have received mention. Stanford’s camps were also mentioned by these schools. In addition, several coaches have banded together to form GPA Baseball  (http://www.gpabaseball.com/) which also has an academic bent.

Other events mentioned by Division 1 coaches were Area Code tryouts, East Coast Professional tryouts and Perfect Game. Some eastern coaches also mentioned Select Fest, an invitation only camp in New Jersey (http://www.selectfestbaseball.org/) and the All-Star Baseball Academy camp in eastern Pennsylvania (http://www.allstarbaseballacademy.com/college_showcase_series.cfm). All-Star Baseball Academy will also be running a camp in Indiana, PA at the end of June.

A number of the Ohio schools and some western Pennsylvania schools mentioned several Ohio showcases as ones they typically attend. These showcases are the Buckeye Elite showcase, the Buckeye Scout showcase and the Walsh Jesuit Showcase (also known as the Showcase for the Cure). I contacted each of them to ask if their events were open to western Pennsylvania players and received no response.

Local Division II and III schools tend to favor the local showcases, as they primarily recruit in their geographic area. Other than the Ohio showcases mentioned in the preceding paragraphs the following showcases received mentions, with the number of mentions in parentheses, from local and semi-local colleges: WPBP/WPIAL Showcase (10), Ed Santa Showcase (6), Legion tryouts (3), WPEBL Scout’s Day (2), Keystone Game Tryouts (1), Dee Dee Osborne Showcase (1).   

If you have any comments on showcase feel free to add them or email me at wpabaseball@hotmail.com

Quad A

North Allegheny vs Pine-Richland 6:00 Burkett Field

Triple A

Moon vs Elizabeth-Forward 3:30 Burkett Field

Hopewell vs Hershey 3:00 Veterans Field in Altoona

Double A

Burrell vs Mount Union 4:30 White Township Park in Indiana

Single A

Serra vs Mercyhurst Prep 4:00 Neshannock HS in New Castle

Class A

Serra vs Bishop Guilfoyle 4:00 at Seton Hill University

Neshannock vs Homer Center 4:00 at White Park (Indiana)

California vs Elk County Catholic 4:30 at Brockway

Class AA

Beaver Falls vs Martinsburg Central 4:00 at Chippewa Twp

Burrell vs Sharpsville 1:00 at Slippery Rock University

Bishop Canevin vs Mount Union 4:00 at Veterans Field in Altoona

Class AAA

Hopewell vs Punsxutawney 4:00 at Burkett Sports Complex

Moon vs Perry 2:00 at Burkett Sports Complex

Elizabeth-Forward vs Corry 6:30 at Jerry Uht Park in Erie

Class AAAA

Pine-Richland vs Allderdice 4:00 at Shaler

North Allegheny vs State College 5:00 at Shaner Complex in Centre Hall

Here's an updated list of college commitments.

Champion Games

Quad A  Pine-Richlands vs North Allegheny  Console Energy Field June 1 7:30

Triple A Hopewell vs Moon Console Energy Field June 1 5:00

Double A Beaver Falls vs Burrell Console Energy Field June 2 5:00

Single A Serra Catholic vs Neshannock Console Energy Field June 2 7:30

Consolation Games (for spot in PIAA playoffs)

Triple A Elizabeth-Forward vs Mt Pleasant W&J Field June 1 7:30

Double A Bishop Canevin vs Center W&J Field June 1 5:00

Class A California vs Vincentian Academy W&J Field June 2 5:00

I just learned this morning that Ty Marburger passed away on Sunday. Ty was a great baseball player at Blackhawk High School and graduated in 2006. He played in the 2006 WBCA All-Star Game and went on to play college baseball at Northern Iowa. Something like this always serves as a reminder to appreciate the good health of your children. Memorial donations may be made to the Ty Marburger Baseball Scholarship Fund at ESB Bank, 800 Third Avenue, New Brighton PA 15066.

WPIAL BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES

 2010 PLAYERS, PITCHERS AND COACHES OF THE YEAR

PITTSBURGH, May 24, 2010 – The WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today the 2010 winners of its annual Players, Pitchers and Coaches of the Year Awards. Players, Pitchers and Coaches of the Year were selected in Classes AAAA, AAA, AA and A based on regular season performance by a vote of WPIAL head baseball coaches.  The winners will be honored at an Awards Banquet on June 11 at the Airport Marriott.   

Winners of the Player of the Year Awards are:

            Class AAAA  Matt Berezo of Pine-Richland High School

            Class AAA     Colin Loughner of Blackhawk High School

            Class AA       J.R. DeWeese of Center High School

            Class A          Brandon Schultz of Monaca High School

Winners of the Pitcher of the Year Awards are:

            Class AAAA  Ryan Oglesby of North Allegheny High School

            Class AAA     Scott Dierdorf of Hopewell High School

            Class AA       Dillon Haviland of South Fayette High School

            Class A          Alain Girman of Serra Catholic High School

Winners of the Coach of the Year Awards are:

            Class AAAA  Dan Caponi of Baldwin High School

            Class AAA     Joe Colella of Hopewell High School

            Class AA       Chris Graczyk of Freeport High School

Class A          Don Hartman of California Area High School

Awards will be presented to the winners at the June 11 Awards Banquet that kicks off the WBCA’s All-Star Weekend.  In addition to the Awards Banquet, the weekend includes an Underclassmen Showcase to be held at Burkett Field in Robinson Township at 8:00 a.m. on June 12 and an All-Star Doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. on June 13, also at Burkett Field. The All-Star doubleheader will feature the top 80 senior baseball players in the WPIAL.

All games are scheduled to be played on Tuesday, May 25. Here is a summary by game location

at W&J    5:00 Upper St Clair bs. Pine-Richland/7:30 North Allegheny vs Peters Township

at Burkett    5:00 Neshannock vs California/7:30 Hopewell vs Elizabeth-Forward

at Upper St Clair  5:00 Moon vs Mount Pleasant

at Highlands   7:00 Bishop Canevin vs Burrell

at Chippewa   5:00 Beaver Falls vs Center

at Shaler   5:00 Serra Catholic vs Vincentian Academy