‘I don’t know where we’d be without him’ — After waiting his turn, Shaler senior catcher Joe Rispoli emerges as one of the WPIAL’s best hitters

Joe Rispoli patiently waited for his opportunity his first couple of seasons playing on the Shaler baseball team, and he did so in an honorable way.

“He didn’t get a lot of playing time his sophomore and junior years, but he never did any pouting, never any complaining,” Shaler coach Brian Junker said. “He never even asked me what he needed to do to get more time. He’d just show up and work. And in today’s day and age, you never see that. He’ll always have a spot in my heart.”

Rispoli, though, didn’t have a full-time spot in the Shaler lineup until this season. But once given the opportunity following an injury to the team’s multi-year starter at catcher, this senior put the barrel on the ball and ran with it.

Rispoli’s breakout season is one of the more improbable stories in the WPIAL this spring. A part-time starter and light hitter in the past, Rispoli has been on a roll. He’s batting a team-best .522, which ranks among the top marks in the WPIAL and has him in striking distance of breaking the program record for batting average in a season (.525), a mark Miguel Hugas set in 2022. Rispoli’s play at the plate and behind the plate has played a crucial role in Shaler reaching the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals after sharing the Section 3 title with Pine-Richland. The No. 3-seeded Titans (14-6) will face No. 11 Connellsville (14-5) in a quarterfinal Monday at Plum.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” said Rispoli, who was named team MVP and was voted all-section. “I’ve always believed in myself, but I would have never thought I’d be doing what I’ve been doing. It’s my last season. I’m trying to go out with a bang. Everyone that sits the bench wants to play, so when I finally got my chance, I knew I needed to take advantage of it.”

When Rispoli says it’s his last season, he means it. He’ll be done completely. He’s a 5-foot-11, 205-pound linebacker who will continue his football career at Wheeling University this fall.

Rispoli caught six or seven games last season and got a few dozen at-bats as he served as the backup to starting catcher Luke Jarzynka. Jarzynka, a starter on Shaler’s WPIAL title team in 2023, was likely going to start for a third straight year, but he sustained an elbow injury and underwent Tommy John Surgery last year. Jarzynka is playing this season, but has been limited to playing the outfield as he continues to work his way back to 100%.

“He now might be cleared to catch, but Joe is on such a roll, it’s his position now,” Junker said.

Count Junker among those amazed by the season put together by Rispoli, the team’s No. 2 hitter who has helped Shaler average 6.9 runs per game, best in WPIAL Class 5A.

“Maybe I was hoping he would bat .300 and do his job behind the plate, block some balls, throw some guys out,” Junker said. “But he is the best high school hitter, in my opinion, that has ever come through Shaler.”

That’s high praise considering that just in recent seasons Shaler has produced Bryan Rincon, an MLB draft pick playing in the Phillies organization, and Hugas, the Pittsburgh Union Progress Player of the Year two seasons ago. Hugas plays at Chipola junior college in Florida and just recently committed to play at Division I Mercer next season.

“Miggy is going to be mad I said that,” Junker said with a laugh.

Rispoli has been so good that he has surprised even himself. He’s 36 of 69 at the plate, which includes 28 singles and eight doubles. He has drawn six walks and has struck out only four times. His 18 RBI’s also ranks among the team leaders. He knocked in two runs in last week’s 8-0 first-round win against Montour.

“I always knew I could be a mid-.300 guy or maybe .400, but never in the .500’s,” said Rispoli, who has a 3.5 GPA and plans on majoring in nursing at Wheeling.

So, why the big uptick in production? Rispoli credits Junker and assistant coach Ben Yeckel for their assistance. Rispoli also pointed to a change in his batting stance, which has become much wider than in the past. He’s a strong kid, so when he connects with the ball, it’s usually in a very hard way. Rispoli can squat 505 pounds and bench 265, and Junker called him the strongest player on the team.

Shaler has won two WPIAL titles this century, and a Rispoli has played on both of those teams. Joe Rispoli’s brother, Nick, was a standout junior on the 2019 team and was the winning pitcher in Shaler’s win over Laurel Highlands in the WPIAL Class 5A championship after throwing 4⅓ innings of relief without allowing a hit. Joe said he skipped school that day to go watch the game. Nick went on to pitch at Dayton and is currently finishing his college career at IUP.

But for little brother, pitching was never it.

“I tried when I was younger, but I could never throw a strike,” Joe said.

He’s become really good at hitting them and catching them, though, and that could propel Shaler to a seventh WPIAL title all time and a second for Rispoli.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Junker said. “We definitely wouldn’t have been section champs, and I’m not sure we would have a shot to make a run at [winning the WPIAL title]. That’s no knock on the rest of our guys. We’ve got four first-teamers [all-section] and a second-teamer. This is possibly our most solid lineup we’ve had here, but without Joe, we’re not the same.”