Dallastown, Red Lion baseball rivalry heats up again - with both aiming for state title

The goal hasn't changed for the Dallastown baseball team. 

The Wildcats want what they just missed out on two years ago. To be the last team standing in Pennsylvania's highest classification by the middle of June. 

They aren't the only local team that feels that way. 

Red Lion is openly talking about winning a PIAA state championship. The Lions are coming off the most successful season in program history, going 17-8, reaching the District 3 title game and winning a state playoff game for the first time. 

Yes, the season is just beginning and a lot of teams have big goals in March. It will be a long time before we know who are the true state title contenders are. The 2019 baseball season is set to start this week after weather postponed games over the weekend. 

Dallastown and Red Lion, however, have established themselves as two of the best teams in District 3 Class 6A the past few years. The two frontrunners in YAIAA Division I return enough talent to make postseason runs seem possible. 

"We may be deeper," Red Lion head coach Kevin Lawrence said at the beginning of March. "We're certainly more experienced. My concern isn’t what we’re capable of, it’s what we’re willing to invest to realize that. But we had a very good first week of preparation."

Added Dallastown coach Greg Kinneman: "Our goal is always going to win the 6A state title, and I've shared that multiple times before. Along the way we want to win the league title, win the district title as we build for that."

Players on both teams share the thoughts of their coaches.

Most of Dallastown's players were on the roster two years ago and still feel the sting of the 1-0 loss to Pennsbury in the PIAA Class 6A title game. Losing in the first round of states last season has added to their motivation. The Wildcats finished 2018 with a 18-6 record and a Division I title. 

On the other hand, the Lions are itching to go further in states after bowing out in the state quarterfinals to a stacked La Salle College team. Lawrence noted that the players have scheduled their senior week after the conclusion of the state tournament. 

"That wasn't because I told them to, that was on their own," Lawrence said. "If that gives you any insight into what they believe they're capable of."

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One of the fiercest rivalries in the YAIAA in all sports, Dallastown vs. Red Lion baseball games were some of the league's highest-interest events last spring. The teams met three times with the Lions winning each time, including in the District 3 semifinals. 

Of course, the biggest key for Red Lion in those games was 6-foot-6 pitcher Tyler Burchett, who is now a freshman at the University of Kentucky. The right-handed flamethrower gave up a combined seven hits, two runs and struck out 29 batters in those three games. The Lions won the first two games by one run and the District 3 playoff contest by three. 

The two teams are scheduled to play April 3 at Red Lion and April 29 at Dallastown. 

"I think it makes it more exciting knowing we play with a lot of guys on that team (on offseason travel teams)," Red Lion senior shortstop Cole Daugherty said. "We hate each other when we’re playing. We always want to beat them and we’re not friends when we’re on the field."

Added Dallastown senior catcher Julian Bailey: "While we don’t like losing to Red Lion, our goal is to win the state championship. Those games don’t end our season when we lose to them and don’t make our season when we beat them because we have bigger goals than just beating a team from a mile down the road.”

Pitching, roster changes

In addition to Burchett graduating, Dallastown said goodbye to its own ace, 2018 GameTimePA YAIAA Player of the Year and current Coastal Carolina freshman Nick Parker. However, this rivalry could once again be defined by a battle of pitchers. 

Dallastown brings back co-ace Alex Weakland while Red Lions returns Division I Charleston recruit C.J. Czerwinski. A Division II University of Indiana commit, Weakland has an ERA barely over 1.00 the past two seasons. As a sophomore, he gave a dominant performance in Dallastown's state title loss. 

Czerwinski finished the 2018 regular season with 0.90 ERA but saw it jump over 2.00 following a rough outing against La Salle in the state playoffs. He was solid in the District 3 final against Cumberland Valley (5.1 innings, three earned runs, four strikeouts). 

"It’s big shoes to fill," said Czerwinski of taking over for the 6-foot-6 Burchett as the team's No. 1 pitcher. "But I'm confident I have a team to back me up when I’m pitching."

As for the rest of its roster, Red Lion needs to replace its entire starting outfield and its best hitter, third baseman Connor Dewees. The Lions do have a solid core in place with Czerwinski, Daugherty and fellow seniors pitcher/first baseman Nate Hodgkinson and pitcher/infielder Sean Glatfelter. 

Meanwhile, Dallastown brings back its entire team from last year except for Parker and pitcher Ben Writer. It's a big difference from a year ago, when the Wildcats needed to replace 10 seniors from their state final squad. 

In addition to Weakland and Bailey, Dallastown standouts include junior shortstop Peter Capobianco and senior outfielder Chase Hoecke. Capobianco could be a Division I player and is looking at Penn State, VMI and Kansas State among other schools. 

In general, both Red Lion and Dallastown will look to improve offensively after being inconsistent in that area last season. 

"Part of getting better there is maturity," Kinneman said. "I don’t think there’s one thing last year we did poorly as a hitting group. The results just didn’t get there. Last year in general the weather played part of that since we had so much time indoors."

It remains to be seen if any other teams in Division I can challenge the Lions and Wildcats. New Oxford should be very strong again but dropped down to Division II. Central York (7-12 last season) is one team that brings a lot of starters back.

In District 3 Class 6A, Manheim Township and reigning champs Cumberland Valley should continue to be contenders. 

Regardless of the competition, the YAIAA's big-school rivals hope to be building toward a state title. 

"This year we have a lot of guys who know what it’s like to be in the playoffs and go on that run," Capobianco said. "We've all had that goal of going to the state championship again."

Other YAIAA baseball notes

Division II: Reigning champs Gettysburg (13-8) return seven starters and their entire pitching staff. The team's top player is shortstop/pitcher Zach Ketterman, who recently verbally committed to Division I Western Carolina. Senior ace Josh Topper is also back. Head coach Ryan Brady said his goal is to get a higher playoff seed so the Warriors can host a District 3 game after getting eliminated in the first round the last two years. With the divisions realigning, New Oxford should compete for the division title. The Colonials went 14-7 last year and bring back a ton of talent in sophomore outfielder Brevin Neveker, junior first baseman A.J. Baadte and junior catcher Peyton Megonnell. York Suburban (11-10) and Dover (11-8) are coming off winning seasons.

Division III: A lot of talented teams in this division. Littlestown (14-5 last season) is the defending champ but graduated some top players. One of their top hitters, Jacob Thomas, is back. Kennard-Dale (13-7) also needs to replace two stars in Joey Thomas (York College) and Adam Freese (Stonehill basketball) but returns shortstop and Millersville commit Garrett Lowe, who hit .439 and drove in 30 RBIs last season. His future college teammate, Bren Taylor, returns as the lynchpin of an Eastern York team that hopes to be much improved after a 6-14 season. The Knights bring back a strong offense, highlighted by Taylor, who put up an insane .609/640/1.072 batting line last season. Oh, and West York drops to Division III after a 12-8 season. Bermudian Springs (11-9) is also coming off a winning year while York High joins the division in its first varsity season.

Division IV: The preseason favorites are defending-champ Biglerville and usual contender York Catholic. The Canners went 16-6 last season and reached the District 3 Class 3A semifinals. Biglerville brings back a lot of talent including sophomore Connor Orner, who hit .484 last season. York Catholic brings back five starters from a team that finished 10-6.