Bulletin Board
Subscribe to our NewsletterOhio Valley striving to reach top tier
Now in its third year in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation League, Ohio Valley is inching closer to breaking through to the top four of the league standings, but the team is also finding out how difficult it is to crack the league's upper echelon.
The top four in the eight-team league qualify for the postseason. Through Tuesday, St. Johns Lefty's (12-2-1), the Pittsburgh Riverbandits (12-3-2), Bellevue (8-3-4) and Allegheny Valley (8-5-1) had separated themselves from the pack.
At this rate, postseason qualifying may be decided with weeks left to play in the schedule. Ohio Valley (4-9) hopes that is not the case.
They have gained a four-point lead over the league's three remaining teams, C-I-T, Mt. Lebanon and East End, which all have two victories.
They are also finding out just how deep and talented the top four teams in the league are.
Manager Pat Reilly brought Ohio Valley into the Federation League in 2009. He compiles his roster with a majority of former Sto-Rox High School players as well as other players who formerly played for west suburban high schools such as West Allegheny, Montour and Moon Area.
With four wins this season, Ohio Valley has exceeded its win total from last summer when it won only three games.
Ohio Valley has yet to knock off one of the top four teams in the league, but it has remained competitive against them. Against Bellevue, Ohio Valley had a lead in the sixth inning but could not hold on and eventually lost, 5-4.
"It is very difficult," Reilly said. "The top four teams are a lot deeper pitching-wise.
"That makes a big difference. You have teams such as St. Johns that go 10 deep [pitching]. They keep reloading every year. Basically, I pretty much have been going with three starters and when I need a fourth pitcher, I have some guys split up innings."
Ohio Valley received a big boost when Lou Parrilla, a former catcher at Thiel College, returned to the team this season. He had played in 2009 but took last season off because of injuries. Through 11 games Parrilla had a .400 on-base percentage thanks in large part to drawing a team-high 11 walks. He also had three stolen bases and scored five runs.
The pitching staff has been anchored by Pat Reilly's son, Mike, who has three of Ohio Valley's four wins. Through 11 games, Mike Reilly led the team with 19 strikeouts, 33 innings pitched, three complete games and a 2.73 ERA.
The two other primary pitchers on the staff are Sam DeWitt and Andrew Krull. DeWitt has pitched 181/3 innings and has a 5.89 ERA and Krull has pitched 221/3 innings, including two complete games, striking out 18. He earned the other win while holding a 6.04 ERA.
Krull is a West Allegheny graduate who is a relief pitcher for Grove City College. DeWitt is a former resident of Germany who played for CCAC-South. DeWitt resides in Robinson.
The Serkoch brothers, Dave and younger brother Mike, are two of the top hitters in the lineup. Both graduated from Sto-Rox. Mike Serkoch leads the team with a .324 batting average and six RBIs. Dave Serkoch is hitting .316 with five runs scored. The brothers share the team lead with three doubles.
This weekend Ohio Valley gets another shot at a top-flight Federation League team when it visits the Pittsburgh Riverbandits Sunday for a doubleheader at North Hills High School.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11174/1155440-139-0.stm#ixzz1R9E0feZs
The top four in the eight-team league qualify for the postseason. Through Tuesday, St. Johns Lefty's (12-2-1), the Pittsburgh Riverbandits (12-3-2), Bellevue (8-3-4) and Allegheny Valley (8-5-1) had separated themselves from the pack.
At this rate, postseason qualifying may be decided with weeks left to play in the schedule. Ohio Valley (4-9) hopes that is not the case.
They have gained a four-point lead over the league's three remaining teams, C-I-T, Mt. Lebanon and East End, which all have two victories.
They are also finding out just how deep and talented the top four teams in the league are.
Manager Pat Reilly brought Ohio Valley into the Federation League in 2009. He compiles his roster with a majority of former Sto-Rox High School players as well as other players who formerly played for west suburban high schools such as West Allegheny, Montour and Moon Area.
With four wins this season, Ohio Valley has exceeded its win total from last summer when it won only three games.
Ohio Valley has yet to knock off one of the top four teams in the league, but it has remained competitive against them. Against Bellevue, Ohio Valley had a lead in the sixth inning but could not hold on and eventually lost, 5-4.
"It is very difficult," Reilly said. "The top four teams are a lot deeper pitching-wise.
"That makes a big difference. You have teams such as St. Johns that go 10 deep [pitching]. They keep reloading every year. Basically, I pretty much have been going with three starters and when I need a fourth pitcher, I have some guys split up innings."
Ohio Valley received a big boost when Lou Parrilla, a former catcher at Thiel College, returned to the team this season. He had played in 2009 but took last season off because of injuries. Through 11 games Parrilla had a .400 on-base percentage thanks in large part to drawing a team-high 11 walks. He also had three stolen bases and scored five runs.
The pitching staff has been anchored by Pat Reilly's son, Mike, who has three of Ohio Valley's four wins. Through 11 games, Mike Reilly led the team with 19 strikeouts, 33 innings pitched, three complete games and a 2.73 ERA.
The two other primary pitchers on the staff are Sam DeWitt and Andrew Krull. DeWitt has pitched 181/3 innings and has a 5.89 ERA and Krull has pitched 221/3 innings, including two complete games, striking out 18. He earned the other win while holding a 6.04 ERA.
Krull is a West Allegheny graduate who is a relief pitcher for Grove City College. DeWitt is a former resident of Germany who played for CCAC-South. DeWitt resides in Robinson.
The Serkoch brothers, Dave and younger brother Mike, are two of the top hitters in the lineup. Both graduated from Sto-Rox. Mike Serkoch leads the team with a .324 batting average and six RBIs. Dave Serkoch is hitting .316 with five runs scored. The brothers share the team lead with three doubles.
This weekend Ohio Valley gets another shot at a top-flight Federation League team when it visits the Pittsburgh Riverbandits Sunday for a doubleheader at North Hills High School.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11174/1155440-139-0.stm#ixzz1R9E0feZs
By Nicholas Tolomeo, Tri-State Sports & News Service. June 18, 2009
The Sto-Rox baseball team in 2004 reached the WPIAL semifinals, PIAA quarterfinals and finished with a 19-3 record. Later that summer, most of the team stayed together and reached the second round of the American Legion regionals during summer ball.
Now, five years later, some of the players are back for another go at summer ball, this time in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation League -- and this time with Ohio Valley written on their jerseys.
Manager Pat Reilly got his son, Mike, and a few other Sto-Rox graduates together this summer and joined the Federation League under the name Ohio Valley.
Since that 2004 season, a few players have moved on, some have returned to the diamond after a long layoff and some have returned after college careers.
Based on the success during the memorable 2004 campaign, there hardly was a need to panic after a slow start in its inaugural season in the Federation League. Ohio Valley is just 1-4-1, but with a 28-game season, many are hopeful things get turned around.
"The biggest transition from the high school team in 2004 is that some players hadn't played much since then," said Matt Stumpf, the leadoff hitter and staring shortstop. "We played together for four years [at Sto-Rox] and then the guys that didn't really play college ball, they needed to get back in with what they were used to."
Nine players from that 2004 Sto-Rox baseball squad are on this team.
"The guys on our team are mostly from Sto-Rox and these guys just remained friends since they were done playing high school ball," Pat Reilly said. "They wanted to continue to play ball and they wanted to have their own team again."
The biggest adjustment for the team in its first season in the league is getting used to the wooden bats used, unlike the aluminum bats in high school or college ball. The nine-inning games are also different for some of the players.
To make up the solid core of his batting lineup, Pat Reilly simply had to go around to his son's former teammates. The pitching has been another issue. Besides Mike Reilly, who has been lost for the season with a broken ulna, Pat Reilly had to find pitching in other areas, such as Moon, Montour and West Allegheny.
"The slow start has been frustrating for everyone," Stumpf said. "We are used to winning and it is tough just losing. I think in the long run we will get back into it. For now, we have to roll with what we got and keep fighting for some wins."
Stumpf and several other Ohio Valley teammates played baseball at Thiel College. Stumpf graduated this year after playing four years at the school. This season in the Fed League, he is hitting .364 through six games.
Lou Parrilla, another standout for Ohio Valley, played mostly as a catcher at Thiel and in summer ball, is starting in center field. Parrilla is hitting .353, has drawn eight walks through six games and has an on-base percentage of .556.
Dave Serkoch, another 2004 Sto-Rox graduate, came back to play for the team this summer after playing at Robert Morris the past few years. He leads the team with 5 RBIs and a pair of home runs. His younger brother, Mike Serkoch, also plays for the team and plays in the outfield.
"The guys we got together now have always won," Dave Serkoch said. "The slow start is definitely something we are not used to. We lost a couple core guys from the high school team and the legion team, but we got a good situation where we if we play the way we are used to, we can turn things around. We are only six games in, we got 28 total, we got plenty of time."
