Revamped County League underway
The Fayette County Baseball League began its 49th consecutive season on Tuesday, May 31 with two more teams and a bit more travel time than it had in 2021.
The now seven-team league includes two Maryland squads in the Cumberland Orioles and the Oakland Oaks.
Ryan Encapera, now in his sixth year as FCBL president, has stepped down as Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds manager to focus on running the league.
鈥淔or this year, as a provisional situation, the Pen Mar League only had two teams returning so those two teams, Oakland and Cumberland, wanted to play in our league,鈥� Encapera said.
Two teams returning intact are the Carmichaels Copperheads and Mill Run Millers. Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds and the Fayette Raiders have merged into one team under Mitch鈥檚 name.
New local teams are M&R Transit and ARH Industries.
Masontown, which won the league championship the past two years, will not field a team this season.
Anthony Dellapenna has taking over for Encapera as manager of Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds, while longtime league fixtures Dickie Krause and Ray Orndorff will again manage Carmichaels and Mill Run, respectively.
Other managers are Buddy Marra for M&R Transit, Seth Burgdolt for ARH Industries, Dave Rinehart for Cumberland and Craig Bosely for Oakland.
Mill Run will again play at Mill Run Park with the Copperheads playing their home games at the Carmichaels Area Senior High School field. Mitch鈥檚 home field will be Doug Dascenzo Field in Republic.
M&R Transit, a team made up mostly of Uniontown and Laurel Highlands current and former players, will play its home games at Hutchinson Field in Hopwood. ARH Industries鈥� home field will be DiVirgilio 缅北禁地 Complex in Belle Vernon.
Oakland鈥檚 home field will be at Garrett College in McHenry, Maryland. Cumberland will play its home games at the Hot Stove Complex in Cumberland, Maryland.
鈥淭he way the schedule is laid out this year each team plays 18 games,鈥� Encapera explained. 鈥淓verybody gets a three-game series against everybody else. We tried to limit the trips so that our Fayette County teams would more-or-less only have to make two trips down there. There are a couple doubleheaders mixed in to try to alleviate that. It鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e had doubleheaders in a while.
鈥淔or the most part the schedule is still pretty balanced. The Maryland teams will make two or three extra trips. They were flexible with it. They鈥檙e eager to play. From what I understand they鈥檙e pretty good. They want to be in a baseball league. They actually have games outside of the league, exhibition games against other teams, so play quite often.鈥�
Encapera, who also serves as head coach of the Penn State Fayette baseball team that he guided into the PSUAC playoffs this year, has a passion for baseball and wants to continue to see the sport thrive in the area.
鈥淲e鈥檙e glad to have baseball here,鈥� Encapera said. 鈥淭here definitely have been challenges over the last couple years, especially with COVID. This year we鈥檙e branched out to try to add some teams.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to see that baseball is still important in our local area and it gives people a chance to play. It鈥檚 important for me for our league to continue. I try to do everything I can to make sure everything is fair. It鈥檚 an opportunity for our local guys to play.鈥�
Encapera also released a list of awards from the 2021 season.
Joe Kurnot Top Pitcher Award: Zach Uhazie, Masontown; John Kupets Batting Champion Award: Joel Spishock, Carmichaels (20 for 43, .465 avg., 6 doubles, 11 RBIs, 15 walks, 14 runs); John 鈥淧reacher鈥� Collingwood RBI Leader Award: Chuck Gasti, Carmichaels, 12; Alex 鈥淧ickhandle鈥� Mercosky Home Run Leader Award: Drew Ripepi, Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds, 2; Brian Sankovich Regular Season MVP Award: Willie Palmer, Masontown; Paul Lancaster/Joe Volpe 缅北禁地manship Award: Noah Hansen, Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds; Vince Zapotosky Mr. Baseball Award: Bill Bendis, Mill Run; Arky Shaffer Comeback Player of the Year Award: Ron Nopwasky/Justin Schrader, Carmichaels; Nick Damico Rookie of the Year Award: Nate Zimcosky, Masontown; Dan Kupets Manager of the Year Award: Ray Orndorff, Mill Run/Ryan Encapera, Mitch鈥檚 Bail Bonds.