Baseball signs 7 recruits for 2010

YOUNGSTOWN — Three infielders, two outfielders and two pitchers have signed with Youngstown State.

Poland High’s Phil Lipari joins infielders Drew Dosch and Daniel Hurlimann while Hermitage, Pa., native David Saluga and Chris Mitko are the outfielders. The pitchers are Nicolas Manuppelli and Triantafyllos Krokos.

“I feel this class is strong from top to bottom,” Penguins coach Rich Pasquale said. “The future is bright for Penguin baseball not only on the field, but in the classroom and in society. These are some special people. I always say that good people make good programs, and this class certainly fits that quote.”

Lipari is a 5-foot-6 infielder who batted .424 and had a .990 fielding percentage as a junior. He helped the Bulldogs to the regional final in 2009 by knocking in the go-ahead run against Louisville. Poland eventually lost to the Division II state champion, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.

“Phil is a consistent, hard-nosed player who brings a high level of passion to the game,” Pasquale said. “He’ll fit in very well with our blue-collar mentality.”

Dosch is a 6-1 infielder who was named the Columbus All-Metro player of the year as a junior playing for Canal Winchester. He batted .500 with 47 RBIs as a junior and .514 with 42 RBIs as a sophomore, earning first-team all-league, all-district and Fairfield County player of the year honors both years. He holds school single season records in batting average, hits and RBIs. Last season he was named second team All-Ohio as a pitcher as he went 12-1 with a 1.48 ERA in leading Canal Winchester to the state semifinals.

Hurlimann is a 6-0 infielder from Hilton, N.Y. who batted .368, hit four homers and slugged .588 as a junior at Hilton High. He was named first-team all-county as a junior, and helped lead Hilton to the Section V championship as a sophomore. Hurlimann has a chance to break school records in career home runs and RBIs. Also a goalie on the hockey team, he was named first-team all-county.

Mitko is a 6-2 outfielder who has hit 14 home runs in his first three seasons at Northland High School near Columbus. He batted .621 with four home runs and 41 RBIs as a junior to earn first-team all-league and second-team all-district honors. Mitko earned second-team all-conference honors as a freshman and sophomore. He owns the school single-season triples record with nine, and he was named a top prospect at the Baseball Factory Cleveland Showcase. A quarterback on the Northland football team, he led the City League North in passing.

Saluga is a 6-1 outfielder who batted .455 with six home runs and 15 RBIs as a junior for Hickory High. He earned first-team all-region honors as a junior as he helped lead Hickory to a runner-up finish at districts. Hickory won back-to-back district titles his freshman and sophomore seasons. Saluga is also a two-time second-team all-region selection in golf.

Krokos is a 6-0 right-hander from Brecksville. He has helped Brecksville to two Southwest Conference titles and a district title.

Manuppelli is a 6-2 right-handed pitcher from Plum Senior High near Pittsburgh who went 3-2 with 38 strikeouts in 401⁄3 innings as a junior. He helped Plum to a second-place finish in the WPIAL as a sophomore.