Eagles must play ‘Serra baseball’ against Shenango

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

Serra Catholic head coach Brian Dzurenda isn’t worried about his team suffering a letdown today after a big PIAA quarterfinal win over Seton LaSalle last week.

Now he just wants his team to show up with the same passion, energy and consistency for today’s PIAA semifinal and Western Regional final against WPIAL champion Shenango at Neshannock High School. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

“Last game really struck home with me. That (4-1) win over Seton LaSalle, that’s the way we play baseball,” Dzurenda said. “We’ve played that way all year. If we play that way again, we’re going to stay in the game. At this point in the season, that’s all you want. You want to stay in the game and give yourself a chance to win in the end.”

When the Eagles (21-4) beat Seton LaSalle, it avenged a 12-0 loss against the Rebels in the WPIAL semifinals. Many may have seen that as a tall task, but today’s game may be even taller.

“Man to man, Seton LaSalle was a better team than we are right now,” Dzurenda said. “Shenango probably is, too. But if we can stay in the game, you never know what can happen.”

For Dzurenda and the Eagles, it’s all about specific preparation. 

“We’ve practiced every day. It’s about game planning for specific teams,” he said. 

In preparing for Shenango (22-2), it’s all about getting ready for senior pitcher Shane Cato, who enters the game 9-1 on the season.

“It’s a bit of a change from going up against Seton’s Sam Georgiana. Cato throws a lot of pitches a bit off the plate and I’d say 60-70% of his pitches are curve balls,” Dzurenda said. “It’s a lot of pitching machine stuff from the right-hand side. A lot of tee work on specific parts of the plate and looking at taking the ball the other way. I’d say he gets it up there between 82 and 76 miles per hour.”

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