Westmoreland County Community College baseball coach Mike Draghi said he knew his team was better than its record.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many National Junior College Athletic Conference Division III teams in Region XX opted not to play this spring.
That left WCCC scrambling to find opponents; the result was playing numerous scholarship programs.
But the Wolfpack (8-25) hung in there and won the Region XX title by defeating Prince Georges Community College. Now, they are two wins away from going to the World Series.
WCCC opens regional action in Wentworth, N.C., on Friday against Rockingham Community College (26-14), the Region 10 champion.
Rockingham opened that tournament with a 13-5 loss to Surry, but battled back to win five consecutive games, including two wins against Caldwell, 5-2 and 11-10.
Draghi said Rockingham has a couple outstanding pitchers in freshman Jonathan Todd, who averages 15 strikeouts, and sophomore Scott Meitzler, who averages 12.
Meitzler, who also catches, is hitting .412 with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs.
“We’ve had to endure a lot this season,” Draghi said. “But the players held their heads above water and were able to compete against a very tough schedule. The tough competition has made us better.”
Jarred Wagner (Mt. Pleasant) earned NJCAA Pitcher of the Week honors for his performances against Prince Georges. He earned the win in the championship game by tossing eight scoreless innings. He started the 3-2 win and pitched nine innings.
“After we beat them the first time, Jarred came in and told me he felt fine,” Draghi said. “He came back on three days rest and was outstanding. I never planned using him for eight innings, but he only threw 70 pitches.”
And while the overall pitching numbers aren’t impressive for WCCC, Draghi said it’s misleading because of the competition they played against.
“We have a lot of confidence in our pitchers,” Draghi said. “At the beginning of the season we weren’t good defensively. But we’ve improved and went 19 errorless innings against Prince Georges.
“We struggled offensively against Prince Georges in the first two games, but our pitching and defense was strong. We solved their pitchers better in Game 3.”
Wagner, Damian Serralta and Logan Gustafson are the starters Draghi expects to use this weekend.
Tom Kegerreis (Franklin Regional) and Matt Wicker (Greensburg Salem) have led the offense. Kegerreis is hitting .455 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBIs.
Wicker is hitting .433 with 20 doubles and 30 RBIs.
Other contributors include Tanner Orndorff (Connellsville), Noah Sweeney (Greensburg Salem), Cade Kastronis (Yough), Dom Koch (Yough) and Reid Amundson (Greensburg Salem). Draghi said when Orndorff returned from injury he secured second base.
“We’ve been able to compete against good competition,” Draghi said. “Our goal is make to it Tennessee (for the World Series). It’s a busy trip for the players, and I’m eager to see how we perform.”
