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Conference Preview: WPIAL Class AAA - Section 3

March 10, 2014

By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

With the start of the high school season less than a month away we will be previewing conferences around the state leading up to opening day. In addition to a look at the top teams we will also highlight some of the top prospects in each conference.

           WPIAL Class AAA - Section 3

Preseason Favorites

Chartiers Valley (17-5), Keystone Oaks (20-8)

Both teams lost a number of talented players to graduation but both return a dominant left handed pitcher at the front end of their rotations. The Colts will have Akron recruit Josh Lapiana and the Golden Eagles have Penn State recruit Taylor Lehman. Both lefties will give their respective teams a very good chance to win each time they take the field.

 

in the mix

Trinity (10-9)

The Hillers graduated all but 24.1 innings of pitching from last year's roster. Senior Noah Lolley (Waynesburg commit) accounted for 20.1 of those innings and will be relied on as the staff ace.

 

Preseason Co-Players of the Year

Taylor LehmanTaylor Lehman, Keystone Oaks (Class of 2014)

Lehman went 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 2013 as the No. 2 starter behind Jared Skolnicki (11-1, Kent State). The 6-foot-7, 215-pound lefty sits in the mid 80s and is capable of running the ball to the plate at 88 mph. Lehman is ranked No. 41 in the PA Class of 2014 and is a Penn State recruit. The lefty showed well as one of two PA participants in the PBR Super 60 Pro Showcase in Chicago, IL last month.

Josh LaPianaJosh LaPiana, Chartiers Valley (Class of 2014)

LaPiana is a three sport athlete that sits in the low to mid-80s with command of a fastball with significant arm side run. His changeup is thrown at fastball arm speed and shows late down action. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound lefty will be relied on to be the staff ace this year. LaPiana is ranked No. 50 in the PA Class of 2014 and is an Akron recruit.

 

Top Prospects

chartiers valley

Josh LaPiana, LHP/1B (Class of 2014, Akron recruit)
Tanner Garis, OF/3B (Class of 2015)
Nicholas Jennings, RHP/OF (Class of 2015)
Cole Horew, OF/2B (Class of 2016)
Joseph Sibeto, C (Class of 2016)

Keystone OAks

John Beveridge, OF/RHP (Class of 2014)
Taylor Lehman, LHP (Class of 2014, Penn State recruit)
Nick Riggle, SS/RHP (Class of 2016)

Trinity

Noah Lolley, RHP/1B (Class of 2014, Waynesburg recruit)
Zach Cain, 2B (Class of 2015)
Guy Markley, C/SS (Class of 2015)

 

view all conference previews & preseason players of the year by conference

 

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