2013 All-Area Baseball Team

By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter for Lansdale Reporter

Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515

This is the All-Area Baseball Team. The criteria I used in making my selections revolved around JRC-newspapers. Players had to play on a team in the coverage area for The Lansdale Reporter, The Pottstown Mercury, The Times Herald, and Montgomery Media.

I have chosen players from multiple leagues and multiple classifications. While I know some talented players may have been left off, this is solely based on opinion, from what I have witnessed and read about over the past three months.

Hooker

Player of the Year: Charlie Hooker (Upper Moreland) - As SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott use to say a decade ago, "cool as the other side of the pillow". Hooker did all for the Golden Bears this season. He was their ace on the bump and a big stick in the lineup. The junior hit well over .500 for the season and pitched in all of the big games, helping his team win a league title. 

Pitcher - Tyler Eckman (Spring-Ford)
Pitcher - John Aiello (Germantown Academy)
Pitcher - Randy Frankenfield (Wissahickon) - If coach Shannon Gunby had any concern about his Trojans, it never came from the mound when Frankenfield had the ball in his hands. He had more strikeouts than innings and an ERA right around 1.50 all year long. Frankenfield's fastball was the biggest reason he team found a way into district play.
Pitcher - Eddie Decker (Upper Moreland)
Pitcher - Evan Myers (Pennridge)
Pitcher - Dan O'Hara (Souderton)
Pitcher - Dom Cuoci (LaSalle)

Catcher - Mike Kacergis (Pennridge)
Catcher - Eddie Posavec (North Penn)
Catcher - John Santospago (Archbishop Wood) - The Vikings backstop was a leader in every sense of the word, accomplishing more with the action of one swing than others muster up all season. The Kent State commit was a staple in the heart of a very dangerous lineup and was nearly impossible for opposing pitchers to retire.

First Basemen - Chris Melillo (LaSalle)
First Basemen - Drew Hautzinger (Christopher Dock)

Pocrass

Second Basemen - David Tatoian (Pennridge) - There is not a situation that scares the sophomore away. As the Rams' closer and three-hole hitter, the second baseman is at his best with the game on the line. Clutch as they come and he lets his talent do most of the talking.
Second Basemen - Connor Murphy (Spring-Ford)

Third Basemen - Jordan Pocrass (Lower Moreland)
Third Basemen - Grant Opalisky (Hatboro-Horsham)

Shortstop - Rafael Fernandez (Cheltenham)
Shortstop - James Bleming (Pope John Paul II) - Let's start with the defense because that is just as important at shortstop, and it was as sound as they come. But Bleming was the hit king this season. It was shocker if he only recorded one hit on a given day. He knows how to get on base and he knows how to make things happen for his PAC-10 squad.

Santospago

Outfielder - Tyler Kirkpatrick (Methacton)
Outfielder - Brady West (North Penn)
Outfielder - Matt Hull (Lansdale Catholic)
Outfielder - Joe Santospago (Archbishop Wood)
Outfielder - Brandon Iorio (Norristown)