Rapsky eager to revive Hounds’ baseball program

He’s encouraged by the turnout as Monessen has more than 20 players on its roster.

Frank Rapsky could have probably chosen a better situation for his first-ever varsity head coaching job, He was hired in December to try to turn around a sagging Monessen program that went 0-17 last year and failed to go past three innings in many of their games.

And the Greyhounds play in a section that features the defending 1A champion (Bishop Canevin), the 1A runner-up (Eden Christian) and for good measure Serra Catholic, which finished as WPIAL runners-up in 2A last season and moved down.

Surprisingly, Rapsky doesn’t sound like a man who is being sent into the lions’ den. Instead, he is extremely upbeat.

“A year ago, the numbers were so bad they didn’t have enough players to play a game,” Rapsky said. “This year, I have over 20 players and I have a really good group of freshmen who have played a lot of baseball.

“We ran out of uniforms, and to me that’s a good problem to have.”

The Greyhounds have five players back with starting experience, and Rapsky said a few of them are being pushed by those freshmen.

“Our freshman class is going to go a long way in how we do,” he said. “We’re going to grow together and I can see maybe five of them in the starting lineup and four of them will be pitching for us.”

The veteran players are seniors R.J. DiEugenio (center field, pitcher), Matthew Moore (utility), Giovanni DeStefano (infield, catcher), Christian Williamson (outfield) and junior Christian Scherer (second base, pitcher).

Of that group, Rapsky is extremely high on DiEugenio, who will play center field and pitch.

“R.J. is definitely our best player. He can play anywhere and he will do whatever he is asked to do,” Rapsky said. “He’s a leader.”

Highlighting the group of promising freshmen are Daniel Towler (shortstop, pitcher), John Clingenpeel (utility), Jakob Dell (pitcher, third base), Addye Fields (pitcher, outfield), Colton Shawley (first base) and Nathan Speicher (pitcher, catcher).

“We have six pitchers and I like them all,” Rapsky said. “But four of them are freshmen and it’s a different game on the varsity level. We will see how it turns out.”

Rapsky said from Day 1 of working with the team he has been stressing fundamentals.

“We are starting from scratch, really. It’s all routine baseball, hitting, fielding … all the basics. We’re hitting all of that really hard right now,” he said.

Rapsky has also spent time talking to the players about overcoming hard times.

“The last couple years, this program has dealt with a lot of adversity and we need to respond to that in a more positive, responsible way,” he said. “When things get tough, we need to stand together as a team.”

Monessen plays in arguably the toughest section in the WPIAL, headed by Canevin, Eden Christian, Serra Catholic, Sewickley Academy and Clairton.

“When you are trying to build a program, the last thing you want to see are so many teams in your section with WPIAL championship experience and we have three this season,” Rapsky said.

The first-year coach isn’t talking section titles or even playoffs. But he doesn’t want to be a cellar dweller either.

“I think we can compete with some of these teams,” he said. “We should win a few games. It’s a long journey, but I’m excited about the mix we have on this team. The numbers are up. The interest is up. That’s a good start.”

Monessen opens non-section play Tuesday at Southmoreland, and the first section game is set for March 24 at home against Serra.