Eden Christian Academy came into the playoffs as the favorite to win the WPIAL Class A baseball championship
The Warriors finished first in Section 3 with an 8-0 record, ended the regular season 13-4 overall and was seeded No. 1 in the WPIAL Class A bracket.
“We played a very challenging schedule, which we hope has prepared us well for the postseason,” Eden coach Mark Feldman said. “Along the way, we were able to evaluate a variety of lineup combinations.
“Our coaching staff is excited to watch this team compete in the postseason. The players have worked extremely hard to reach this point, and we are looking forward to the opportunity ahead.”
A district semifinalist and a state runner-up in 2025, Eden Christian was ranked No. 1 in its division by Trib HSSN all year.
After a slow start, the Warriors won 10 games in a row, including four that were halted by the mercy rule, and 12 of their final 13.
Eden outscored the opposition 137-69, averaging 8 runs per game and allowing an average of 4 runs.
The Warriors received a first-round bye and were scheduled to meet No. 8 Carmichaels in the quarterfinals May 18 at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Field.
Carmichaels defeated ninth-seeded Sewickley Academy, 7-4, on May 11 in the Class A first round to improve to 9-9 overall. The Mighty Mikes tied for third place with Jefferson-Morgan in Section 1.
Eden was highly regarded entering the 2026 season following its banner 2025 campaign. The Warriors finished in a tie with Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin at the top of the section standings last year and racked up a second consecutive 19-6 record.
Eden was a state runner-up for the second year in a row, winning 38 of 50 games during that span.
“There are a lot of very good teams in the WPIAL, including three strong teams in our section,” Feldman said. “Our expectations are to compete hard every game and continue to improve as the season goes on.”
More than halfway through this decade, the Eden baseball program has enjoyed tremendous success. The Warriors have reached both the WPIAL and PIAA championship game four times in the last five years, finishing second in the state in 2021, 2024 and again last spring.
Eden lost only one senior starter to graduation from last year, giving the club a ton of experience this season.
“We’re excited about this group of players,” Feldman said. “They’ve put in a lot of work.”
The Warriors’ leading players include seniors Brady Hull (INF/P), Noah Emswiler (OF/P), Brett Feldman (INF/P), Josh Tilden (C), Luke Burford (OF), Christian Watkins (P/INF) and Levi Parrott (2B), along with sophomore Levi DeFazio (OF/P).
Hull (Slippery Rock), Emswiler (Lipscomb) and Feldman (Washington & Jefferson), all fourth-year starters, will be competing at the next level in 2027.
According to MaxPreps, Hull led the club offensively in batting average (.565), on-base percentage (.623), home runs (6), hits (26), runs (18), RBIs (25), slugging percentage (1.130) and doubles (8).
The Warriors batted .312 as a team and seven players hit .300 or better: Hull, Emswiler (.442), Parrott (.348), Feldman (.333), Tilden (.317), DeFazio (.316) and freshman outfielder Andew Sharpless (.308).
“As a team, we got off to a little bit of a rough start this season,” Parrott said, “but we know our talent and know our skill and continued to grind out a lot of baseball games and a lot of quality wins, as well.
“I expect us to come into the playoffs with an attitude to prove something, to others and ourselves, after falling short the past couple years.”
Eden’s pitching corps includes Emswiler, Brett Feldman, Hull, DeFazio, Beck and seniors Christian Watkins and Jackson Bremmer. The left-handed Emswiler is the ace of the staff with six wins and 60 strikeouts. He was the Warriors’ starting pitcher against Southern Fulton in the PIAA championship game last year at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Eden was led offensively last spring by, you guessed it, Hull, despite being plagued by a nagging stress fracture.
He had a .539 batting average, .575 on-base percentage, .882 slugging percentage and 1.456 OPS with 41 hits in 76 at-bats including 15 doubles, three home runs and 44 RBIs.
Hull hit .533 with runners in scoring position, had 12 two-out RBIs, 19 extra base hits and 67 total bases.
He was particularly effective in the state playoffs a year ago.
“I think my best defensive game was against DuBois Central and my best offensive game was against Clarion,” Hull said. “Just stepping up in huge spots for my team.”
The Warriors blanked North Catholic, 5-0, in a final tuneup for this year’s playoffs as Emswiler, Beck, Hull and DeFazio combined on a two-hit shutout.
Hull singled, doubled and drove in a run and DeFazio had two hits and two RBIs.