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Conference Preview: Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference

March 20, 2014

By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference


PHAC Division I

Returning PHAC Division I Honorees
School (PIAA Class)
 1st-team 2nd-team
Danville Area (AA)
   '14 IF Garrett Krum
Jersey Shore (AAA)
 '14 IF Colton Potter
'15 OF Zach Miller
'14 OF Christian Rishel		  
Midd-West (AAA)   '14 OF Shane Connahan
(Middle Tennessee St)
'14 C Luke Zimmerman
Mifflinburg Area (AAA) '15 IF Brady Lloyd
'14 RHP Andrew Leitzel		 '14 OF Devin Hendrix
Milton Area (AAA) '14 DH/Util Mark Artley '14 C Brady Chappell
Montoursville Area (AA)
 '14 IF/RHP Andrew Null (Slippery Rock)
'14 C Cameron Ott (East Stroudsburg)
  
Selinsgrove (AAA)    
Shikellamy (AAA) '15 IF Nick Dunn
'14 OF Jean Turber
'15 C Colby Lahr		  

 

  • PlantsExpected to once again be a force on the mound and at the plate for Montoursville Area, Null is the reigning PBR District IV Player of the Year. Ott and '14 3B/RHP Quinton Kuntz are among five returning starters for coach Travis Wurster, while '16 OF Aidan Plants (right), '16 IF/RHP Dylan Fontenot, and '15 OF Curtis Miller look to establish themselves on the varsity level.
  • Jersey Shore returns four full-time starters and four other position players who saw significant action on the varsity level from its district championship team of a year ago. The three players listed above, along with '14 3B/OF Zach DePasqua, will power the offense.  Strike-throwing '14 RHP Travis Eiswerth (Susquehanna) is back as the staff ace for coach Matt O'Brien. Despite all the veteran players, '17 SS Lance Welsh has the opportunity to earn playing time as a freshman.
  • LahrDunnDunn (left) is an intriguing, toolsy talent at Shikellamy.  As a switch-hitting SS, he has exhibited good wheels, arm strength, and power potential (.544 AVG, .789 SLG, 11 SB). He has also shown the ability to post sub-2.0 pop times behind the plate, with plenty of room for mechanical adjustments. Dunn has stuck at SS due to the presence of Lahr (right) behind the dish. The Braves pitching staff returns nearly all of its innings and will be looking to improve on a 5.66 team ERA.
  • Lloyd (.415 AVG, 14 SB) will set the tone for a Mifflinburg Area offense that returns five starters from last season and should add '16 C/3B Dillan Weikel to the mix as well. Outside of Leitzel (57 H, 6 BB, 36 K in 66 IP), coach Thomas Church and '15 C Andy Aurand will be working with a revamped pitching staff.


PHAC Division II 

Returning PHAC Division II Honorees
School (PIAA Class)
 1st-team 2nd-team
Central Columbia (AA)
 '14 C Cody Bowman  
Hughesville (AA) '14 IF Tyler Mitcheltree (Messiah)
 '14 OF Brady Kimble
Lewisburg Area (AA)   '14 C Jacob Girton
Loyalsock Township (AA) '15 IF Tommy Baggett
'15 IF Kyle Datres (North Carolina)
'15 OF Jimmy Webb (Wake Forest)
'14 OF Robbie Klein		 '14 DH/Util Phil Krizan
Mount Carmel (AA)    
Shamokin Area (AAA)
    
South Williamsport (AA) '14 LHP Billy Rummings '14 IF Nick Mistretta
'15 OF Anthony Caruso
Warrior Run (AA)    

 

  • MooreBaggettWhile there may be debate at the other levels, there is little doubt that defending state champ Loyalsock Township is the class of class AA this year. Webb and 2013 District IV co-Pitchers of the Year -- Datres and '15 RHP Luke Glavin (Duke) -- form a trio of ACC-bound talents rarely seen at a large school, let alone a smaller one. Klein and Baggett (left) will help spark the offense. The biggest hole on the team is behind the plate, where '14 C Bailey Young and '15 C/1B Evan Moore (right) will battle for the starting job, with the other possibly finding himself in coach Jeremy Eck's line-up at another position.
  • Lewisburg Area coach Kevin Kline will turn to '14 IF Luke Smith, '15 OF Drew Newcomb, and 6-foot-1 '16 LHP Noah Inch as the Green Dragons try to pull themselves into contention.
  • A season that almost didn't happen due to a fractured elbow turned magical for '14 RHP/IF Justin Lambert (California U of PA), as he went 7-3 with a 1.51 ERA, 29 H and 65 K in 46.1 IP to lead Hughesville to the district title and state quarterfinals. Kimble looks to improve on his .351 AVG from a year ago, while Mitcheltree brings an element of toughness (21 HBP, .495 OBP) to the field for the Spartans.
  • Caruso (.364 AVG, .455 OBP) and Mistretta (.395 AVG, .538 OBP) return to lead a South Williamsport offense that graduated five regulars. Two pitchers who accounted for 61% of the team's innings last year are back, including Rummings (5-1, 29 H, 14 BB, 56 K in 40.1 IP)


PHAC Division III

Returning PHAC Division III Honorees
School (PIAA Class) 1st-team 2nd-team
Benton Area (A)   '15 IF Garret Watson
Bloomsburg Area (AA)
 '14 OF Colby Klingerman
'14 RHP Colton Hock (Stanford)		 '14 IF Ricky Klingerman
Millville (A)   '16 C Brittan Kittle
Montgomery Area (A)   '14 OF Corey Kriner
'14 RHP Marcus Bartlett
Muncy (A) '15 RHP/C Kenny Koch '14 DH/Util TJ Moyle
Saint John Neumann (A) '14 OF Noah Beiter '15 C Ryan Reid
'14 DH/Util Richard Allen III
Southern Columbia (AA)
 '14 IF Garrett Sosnoski
'14 OF Mason Peters		  
Sullivan County (A)
    

 

  • Defending division champ Bloomsburg Area brings back seven position players starters, including the Klingermans, who will both play football in college. Hock is the crown jewel, a power pitcher who was selected to the New York Yankees Area Code roster following his sophomore and junior seasons. Rookie coach Keith Thrush's biggest challenge will be developing mound depth behind his stud.
  • Koch was dominant on the mound as a sophomore for Muncy, posting a 1.44 ERA, 19 H, 27 BB and 76 K in 43.2 IP, while also contributing with the bat (.267 AVG, .392 OBP), his legs (6 SB) and defensively (threw out 4 of 8 attempted basestealers). Coach Chris Persing will be looking for consistency out of an offense led by Moyle, '14 1B Anthony Barberio, '16 SS Andrew Keller (who got his feet wet on varsity as a freshman), and '14 2B Dalton Smith.

     

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