Expectations high for Monroeville Junior Legion this summer

Monroeville Junior Legion coach Rich Otterman saw determination in the eyes of his returning players at the start of the season last month.

It is a mission, he said, to go further and reach at least the Western Regional tournament after being eliminated in last year’s Westmoreland County Youth Legion playoffs.

Otterman said he liked what he saw after eight games played through an 8-1 victory over Uniontown last week.

“Last year, we had a tough run,” Otterman said. “We had a young team, one of the youngest in the league. This league is really good. The top three finishers in the state last year are in this league. So far, we’ve played well. We’ve been dealt some tough losses, but the guys continue to come together. I think our best games are yet to come.”

Monroeville defended home turf at Monroeville Community Park East last Wednesday (June 7) with an 8-1 victory over Uniontown as the team fared well in all three phases: offense, pitching and defense.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and put the team at 4-4 on the season.

Monroeville suffered a pair of tough losses to Penn Township to start the season. The first game was close — a 3-1 final — before Penn Township flexed its muscles for a 14-3 victory.

Monroeville then went on a three-game winning streak over Ligonier, 7-1; Smithfield, 3-2; and Uniontown, 9-1; before setbacks to Connellsville, 4-2; and Murrysville, 13-3.

Harris Otterman picked up the win against Uniontown on June 7. He improved to 2-0 with a 1.23 earned-run average in 11 innings of work.

DeVaughn Earl-Hayden led the team with 15 2/3 innings on the mound through the first eight games and owned a 1-2 record with 15 strikeouts and a 2.23 ERA.

He was saddled with the loss in the 3-1 result against Penn Township. He worked six innings and allowed only one earned run.

“DeVaughn has been outstanding,” Otterman said. “He’s shown great command of his fastball and off-speed pitches. He wants the ball in big situations and against the top teams.”

Penn Township was 10-0 as of last Wednesday’s games and is the top-scoring team in the league.

Ethan McMullen, through the team’s eight games, is 1-1 with 12 strikeouts and a 3.82 ERA in 11 innings.

At the plate, McMullen has shined with a team-best .524 average, 11 hits, eight runs scored, five RBIs and nine stolen bases.

“Ethan has been among the top hitters in the league the first half of the season,” coach Otterman said.

“He is a tireless worker in the cage and sets a great example for the younger players on how to prepare to compete in this league.”

Earl-Hayden batted .435 through eight games with 10 hits and a team-high six RBIs.

The players on the team were born between 2007-09 which equates roughly to those heading into their freshman, sophomore or junior years of school.

Of the 18 players on the roster, 12 attended Gateway this past school year. Eleven of the 12 played on either the Gators’ middle school, junior varsity or varsity teams.

Catcher Micah Rawls, a rising freshman at Gateway, didn’t play baseball in the spring as he opted to compete for the Gators middle school track and field team.

JP Romanelli, an eighth-grader at St. Bernadette in Monroeville this past school year, also didn’t play school baseball this spring as the school doesn’t field a team.

McMullen is a rising sophomore at Norwin. The area where he lives doesn’t sponsor a Junior Legion team, so neighboring Monroeville was eligible to pick him up.

The same is true for Earl-Hayden, a rising junior at Woodland Hills.

Owen Dumbroski made his Monroeville Junior Legion season debut last week against Uniontown and contributed to the offensive output.

Also a standout player on the Serra Catholic boys basketball team, the rising junior was away from the team as Serra baseball competed in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs.

Dumbroski was a major contributor to the Eagles’ efforts as they finished runner-up to Seton LaSalle in WPIAL Class 2A. Serra fell to District 10 champion Sharpsville on June 5 in the PIAA first round.

“He can play multiple positions and pitch for us. He’s just an extremely good athlete,” coach Otterman said.

“He’s strong and throws well. He’s a total-package player and a significant lift for us.

“I would’ve loved to have seen Serra still play and go all the way and win a state championship, but at the same time, we’re happy to have him back.”

Dunsmore, a catcher, batted .273 (9 for 33) with four doubles and four RBIs this spring as a freshman for Gateway varsity.

Dunsmore is a multi-year player for Monroeville Junior Legion.

“Grady is another player with power and who swings the bat well,” coach Otterman said.

“He’s also really coming into his own defensively.”

Coach Otterman said the defense and its flexibility so far has been a solid aspect of the team.

“McMullen (center field/third base), Romanelli (second base/shortstop) and (Nico) Comunale (second base/third base) have played well in multiple infield roles. (Braden) Washington and (Ryan) Deselich have been steady performers in the outfield.”

Each of the nine teams will play the other eight teams twice for a 16-game regular season.

All nine teams qualify for the playoffs set to start early next month. The seeding for the tournament it based on regular-season records.

The top two teams from the WCYL playoffs qualify for the Western Regional tournament.

The third-place team from the league also will qualify if it can beat the Indiana County champion in a play-in game.

The top three teams from regionals head to states.

Murrysville is the defending state champion, and Penn Township won the state title in 2021.

“A lot of the guys on this team have been playing together for a number of years, and we have developed a lot of good chemistry,” Dunsmore said.

“We’re just getting closer and closer as a team as the games go on. We have the pieces to make a deep run in the playoffs. Our ultimate goal is to get to states, and I think we can do that.”