The North Allegheny baseball team learned hard work is the best way to remove the bad taste from its mouth.
Coming off a disappointing year that ended with an abrupt one-and-done WPIAL playoff exit, the Tigers spent this offseason with a renewed focus.
“That loss definitely affected all of us,” said senior pitcher Nate Surman, a returning second-team all-section pick. “It just motivated us and pushed us for this season. We never want to feel that way again.”
North Allegheny, which owns more WPIAL baseball titles than any other school, managed only two hits in a 3-1 loss to No. 8-seeded Hempfield to finish an up-and-down 14-7 season.
It had been 13 years since the No. 1 seed lost its opening game in the WPIAL’s largest classification, and it was only the third one-and-done exit for the perennial playoff Tigers in the past three decades.
Now, after countless hours in the batting cages and in the weight room, the Tigers are aiming to bounce back despite graduating three-fourths of their infield and most of their pitching staff.
“We put a lot of work in this offseason, and I think we are going to come out a lot better than we did last year,” said junior outfielder Mason Dratfinsky, a second-team all-section pick. “We took it more seriously this year.”
The primary focus was on improving at the plate. The Tigers hit .239 as a team last season with a paltry .318 slugging percentage.
“We were very disappointed in our finish last year. I don’t think that’s a surprise,” coach Andrew Heck said. “But we understand what we were last year. We were not very good offensively. We’ve got to do a better job of getting guys on base and producing offensively this year. That’s been the mindset and a major talking point among us. We’ve really been pressing that really hard.”
First-team all-section junior outfielder JJ Mancuso (.281) and junior first baseman Christian Simons (.278), a second-team all-section pick, are the top returning bats.
Mancuso, who committed to Seton Hall in November, is the centerpiece of a talented junior class.
“This is his time to shine,” Heck said. “The (recruiting) pressure is off. We’re going to count on JJ having a good year for us. We’re going to count on all of our juniors having a good year. I know they can do it.”
The Tigers also welcome reinforcements from a junior varsity team that went 19-1 and added senior Gavin Ust, a gifted outfielder-catcher who transferred from Pine Creek, Colo.
The retooled pitching staff returns senior Liam Cooper (1-1, 0.68 ERA) and Surman, who went 1-0 with five saves and a 0.58 ERA. The rest of the rotation and bullpen is deep but inexperienced.
“I don’t feel this team is built with a bunch of starters,” Heck said. “We don’t have a guy that you can hand the ball to and go get six or seven innings out of him. We are going to be more of a committee-type of team. But we could be really dangerous if they pitch to the level that I know they can pitch.”
With new starters needed at second base, shortstop, third base and one outfield spot, Heck said he has “a plethora of different guys in the mix.” The jobs will be won by whoever can produce at the plate.
“Defensively, I trust all of these guys,” Heck said. “Who is going to win the battle offensively? That will be the No. 1 question early on in the season.”