Dan Petroff’s conversations with his Indiana team are often different than they were last season.
“Last year it was, ‘Let’s show teams who we are and let’s catch somebody,’” Petroff said. “Now this year I have to keep reminding them that we have the X on our back.”
While Petroff admits that he liked the underdog role a little better, the Indians have proven to be very good with the target on their backs, too.
Actually, they’ve been perfect.
Indiana has followed up on what was the most successful season in program history by starting this season 10-0, which includes a 5-0 mark in Class 4A Section 3. The Indians, who reached the WPIAL and PIAA championship games for the first time a season ago, are one of only two unbeaten teams in the WPIAL.
“It’s different playing as the hunted compared to being the hunter,” said Petroff, who is in his second season. “We’ve got the X on our back and have been getting everybody’s best shot. We have to respond to each challenge. We’ve played some really good programs. It’s been a good start, but we still have some things to improve on.”
Indiana has been excellent offensively, defensively and on the mound, as the Indians have outscored opponents, 85-15. Pitching is the team’s strength. In fact, the Indians might have the best group of pitchers in the WPIAL. The staff is headlined by senior right-handers Greg Minnick and Ryan Okopal. Minnick, a Texas Tech recruit, is 4-0 with a 0.38 ERA, while Okopal, a Mercyhurst recruit, is 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA. But the talent doesn’t end there, as junior Sully VanHoose, senior Mark Collinger and sophomore Brady Oakes are among those who have also been big contributors.
“Our mindset is, if we can score three or four runs, we like our chances against anybody,” Petroff said.
Despite graduating the majority of its lineup from last season when it went 16-11, Indiana hasn’t skipped a beat offensively. The Indians have collected at least six runs in every game and have scored at least 10 in five games. Oakes (.462), Collinger (.452) and senior Rocco Cosentino (.429) have been the top hitters. Collinger, a Meryhurst recruit and the only returning starter among the three, has a team-best 10 RBIs, while Cosentino has hit a team-high two home runs. The Indians also create a lot of chaos on the basepaths, with senior Carter Putt accounting for 14 of the team’s 40 stolen bases.
And while Indiana has gone from hunter to hunted this season, this is still a very hungry bunch. The Indians know that as good as they were a season ago, they didn’t have any titles to show for it. But if they have their way this time, that will soon change.
“We were second in everything last year. Second in our section, second in WPIALs, second in states,” Petroff said. “We obviously want to get off of that 2-line and up our standards. They’re focused. All of those losses hurt last year, and they’re hungry to achieve those things this time.”
Waynesburg’s many W’s
The WPIAL’s other unbeaten team is Waynesburg, which earlier this week won a pair of games against two-time defending WPIAL champion Seton LaSalle to improve to 10-0 overall and 6-0 in Class 3A Section 4.
Waynesburg has been fueled by a powerful offense that’s averaging 11 runs per game, the most of any WPIAL team in the four largest classes. The Raiders have scored double-digit runs in seven games, this after accomplishing the feat six times all of last season when they averaged 6.7 runs per game.
Senior Alex VanSickle leads the Raiders with a .606 batting average, 3 home runs, 14 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Seniors Derek Turcheck (.500), Tyler Groves (.483) and Jake Stephenson (.424) are all batting better than .400. Stephenson is one of the WPIAL’s top all-around athletes. He rushed and passed for more than 1,000 yards in football and won a WPIAL wrestling championship.
Groves and junior Austin Surber have given Waynesburg a strong 1-2 punch on the mound. Groves is 5-0 with a 1.70 ERA and Surber is 3-0 with an 0.86 ERA.
Major power
When Mason Metz and Colton Temple have gotten their bats on the ball this season, that ball has often ended up clearing the outfield fence.
Metz, a senior at Avonworth, and Temple, a sophomore at Fort Cherry, have been busy putting on power displays this season. Each has hit seven home runs, which ranks among the top marks in the entire state. Coming into the season, the two had combined to hit five homers in their careers, with Metz accounting for three of them and Temple the other two.
Metz is a Seton Hill recruit who hit home runs in both games of Avonworth’s doubleheader sweep of Shady Side Academy on Tuesday. Metz has now homered in four consecutive games, drilling a total of six in that time. He hit two in back-to-back wins against South Allegheny last week.
Pitching to Temple has been like the “Temple of Doom” for opposing pitchers. Temple’s latest two dingers came in Monday’s win against Northgate. It was the first multi-home run game for Temple, who began the season by hitting home runs in his team’s first three games.
In addition to hitting home runs, Metz and Temple have something else in common. Both are WPIAL football champions. Metz helped Avonworth win the WPIAL Class 3A title last season, while Temple has helped Fort Cherry to consecutive WPIAL Class 1A titles.
The ‘Real Deihl‘
If Pine-Richland hurler Keegan Deihl loses a game at some point this spring, it won’t just be his first loss of his season but also the first of his entire career.
This Keegan continues to be the “Real Deihl” for Pine-Richland, which is 10-1 overall and 5-1 in Class 5A Section 3. A 6-foot-2 senior right-hander, Deihl gave up two runs — one earned — and two hits while striking out seven across seven innings in Monday’s 4-2 win against West Allegheny. The win improved Deihl to 5-0 on the season and upped his career record to a perfect 15-0. He went 4-0 his sophomore season before going 6-0 a season ago.
This future Baylor Bear has been a bear for opposing hitters to have any type of success against this season. Deihl has given up only 6 earned runs, 11 hits and 13 walks while striking out 36 in 26⅔ innings. He boasts a 1.58 ERA and opponents are hitting just .111 against him.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.