Players happy to be back on the field

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

For months, players like Colby McKeta and Nick Stanger wondered if they’d ever play the game of baseball again.

Their senior season at Belle Vernon Area was wiped out in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the American Legion season couldn’t be salvaged. 

The pair, like many others, found it difficult to remain positive regarding whether they’d step foot on the diamond again.

“I thought I wasn’t going to play baseball ever again and that I wasn’t ever going to lace up the cleats,” said McKeta, a veteran outfielder. “We had been working our behinds off since late November, so not having that season was really disappointing.”

There was always hope, though. 

“I was just hopeful for a long time,” said Stanger, an infielder. 

The doubts and the uncertainty were recently put to rest with the formation of the new Western Pennsylvania Summer Baseball League. The league includes players and teams from five local schools — Belle Vernon Area, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier, Ringgold and Thomas Jefferson — in addition to several others. 

Valley native Geno Sedlak helped organize the league along with Bob Johnston and Bill Chruscial. 

Opening games were played Wednesday with Belle Vernon hosting Mon City, a team featuring Ringgold players, in a night game at the DiVirgilio Sports Complex in Rostraver Township. 

Mon City scored nine unanswered runs and rallied from an early five-run deficit to defeat Belle Vernon, 10-6, in seven innings. 

Sedlak mentioned last week that the league isn’t about wins or losses. In fact, standings aren’t being kept and each team will qualify for the playoffs at the end of the regular season. 

Instead, the league helps fill the void of what was lost this spring and provides a platform for players to showcase their skills. Not to mention they get to have a little fun, too. 

“It was exciting to be back out there with guys I’ve played with for many years,” said Stanger, who went 1 for 3 with a run scored in Wednesday’s loss. “We didn’t win, but it was just fun to get back out there.”

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