As the Central League baseball season kicks off, all eyes are on reigning champion Strath Haven.
The Panthers are fresh off a double crown as league and District 1 Class 5A champions, and are likely the best team in Delaware County, poised to make a second straight trip to the state final at Penn State.
Leading the charge for Strath Haven is All-Delco pitcher Luke D’Ancona, who is a Boston College commit. The junior standout anchors the team’s starting rotation and plays first base.
Backing up D’Ancona is a solid lineup of returning veterans, including senior catcher Matt Kane, whose defensive prowess and leadership behind the plate make him one of the best in the county at his position. Senior shortstop Zane Malarkey provides steady defense, while senior outfielders Jake McDonough and Will Thompson offer both defensive stability and offensive firepower.
Joining the returning seniors is junior second baseman and leadoff hitter Ben Milligan. Jake Shuster has already made a significant impact with his bat in his first season as a starter.
The Panthers have won their first three games, including a 7-0 decision over Marple Newtown.
And speaking of the Tigers (0-1), they have returned all but two players from last season.
Among them is senior shortstop Bennett Cox, who was an All-Delco last spring. Other fourth-year starters include Paul DeFruscio (second base/pitcher), Lucien Burger (center field), Aiden Pearson (third base/pitcher), Jason Bennett (catcher/pitcher) and Noah McIntire (first base). Junior infielder/pitcher Jack Maholick and sophomore pitchers/outfielders Aidin Curran and Jackson Burger round out an impressive list of returning starters for the Tigers.
“We’re looking to build off of the experience we gained last year. We have a veteran team that has worked really hard throughout the offseason,” coach Toby MacCart said. “Our goal is to be a team that gets better as the year progresses.”
With eight starters back in the fold, Springfield (1-1) should contend for the title after a rebuilding season in 2023. Slugging first baseman/pitcher Matt Bean and pitcher/infielder Sean Williams, a Seton Hall recruit, lead a senior-laden group that also includes catcher Ethan Marshall, outfielders Vinny Valerio, Mike Turner and Zach King, and pitchers/infielders Colin Truede and Jake Adams.
Penncrest (2-1) won only four games a year ago, but the Lions have a solid core back and early returns have been positive.
On Tuesday, Gavin Brown, Josh Kalinowski and Mike Pagliaccetti pitched a combined no-hitter against Chichester. Other names to watch are seniors Nico Tozzi (outfield), Sam Dinitz (shortstop/pitcher) and Ben Ettien (catcher), as well as junior Harry Giles (outfield). Tozzi is bound for Catholic University.
Haverford has endured plenty of struggles in recent years, and finished 6-10 in 2023, but second-year coach Brian Miller is optimistic about the future.
“We return most of our lineup and pitching that gave us the most success last year,” he said. “We should be able to exceed the win total from 2023.”
Watch for senior pitcher/third baseman Will Hoffman, bound for Thomas Jefferson, to lead a roster that also includes senior shortstop Will Timar, junior catcher Owen Fleishauer, junior first baseman Nishan Elvanian, sophomore outfielder/catcher Shane Durkan and sophomore pitcher/infielder Jimmy Boyle.
The 2023 season was the first time in Radnor coach Mark Jordan’s long career that one of his teams did not qualify for the District 1 playoffs, finishing with a 7-13 (4-12 league) record. The Raptors have enough returning talent to make it back to the postseason, but they’ll have to do so without junior pitcher Matt Szychulski, who is recovering from an ACL injury suffered during football season.
One bright spot for Radnor (2-2) in the early going has been sophomore pitcher Austin Havertine, who tossed six shutout innings in a win at Disney’s Wide World of Sports during spring break. Seniors Andres Cruz (infield/pitcher/outfield), Jack Jordan (infield/outfield) and Andrew Barbasi (DH/first base) join the junior quartet of Teddy Monahan (outfield), Joe Krasowski (infield), Kyle Mittenberger (infield) and Zach Fein (infield/catcher) returning for another year of varsity ball.
“We have lots of returners with experience, but loss of the top battery will hurt us,” Jordan said. “We need to play clean baseball and get some pitching help alongside Havertine to get back to the top half of the league.”
Tom Carey is at the helm of Ridley after overseeing a successful season at Upper Darby last spring. The Green Raiders (1-1-1) welcome back seniors Danny Stickney (catcher), Tyler McDevitt (second base), Bryant Cauthorn (center field) and Chris Kimmel (third base/pitcher) to a program that won 11 games last spring.
“We have a solid group of seniors and juniors that work well together and are ready to compete,” Carey said.
Garnet Valley (1-1-1) has a young and talented nucleus led by juniors Chris Shaller, who is committed to Richmond, slugger Brady Thompson (outfielder) and Nolan Carroll (catcher/outfield), as well as sophomore infielders Cole Lombardo and Harrison Maull. The Jags’ senior contingent includes Eddie Cwiertniewicz, who is headed to DeSales, Mark Zuppo, Logan Hamilton and Justin Gretsky. The question for GV is whether it has enough pitching to improve upon 2023’s eight-win mark.
At Upper Darby, every starting player from last spring’s 12-win roster is gone, none more important than All-Delco Chris Zupito, who struck out 18 in the Royals’ District 1 Class 6A tournament first-round win over Council Rock North and threw a no-hitter late in the regular season against Garnet Valley. Zupito is pitching at North Carolina State. The Royals have started 0-3 under first-year coach Kenny Kissinger.
As for the non-Delaware County schools, Conestoga has the Sacred Heart-bound Jake Friel leading its pitching staff. At Harriton, Ross Brotherston should be among the top power hitters in the league. Lastly, at Lower Merion, East Carolina signee Van Willner is considered the top pitcher in the conference and one of the best talents in the entire area.
Tomorrow: Look for previews of the local Catholic League and Inter-Ac teams, along with the Del Val League.
