Mike Vukovcan OHIO TOWNSHIP– Two members of the Hopewell HS Baseball team had their first travel game of the 2026 season.
Freshmen Luke Vukovcan and Andrew Arzberger played their first games with the Beaver Valley Baseball Travel organization and are members of the 15u Red Team.
Hopewell softball and youth baseball is sponsored by Lisa McCoy, your neighborhood State Farm agent.
BV Red opened play this morning in the 15th Annual ACB Tournament in Ohio Township. The group of kids from Western Pennsylvania played in two games this morning, will have another one tomorrow evening before beginning elimination games on Memorial Day.
BV Red ended up splitting their games today, defeating Gladiators 15U, 10-2 (5 innings) and then lost a competitive contest against the Fieldhouse Pirates, 5-2.
It was a solid day for the two players from Hopewell as Vukovcan and Arzberger ended up as the starting pitchers in both games.
Hopewell’s Luke Vukovcan
Vukovcan started the opener and was very efficient as he pitched a complete game, going 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks and 6 Â strikeouts.
Vukovcan set down the first ten batters of the game before allowing his first hit with 1 out in the 4th inning. The key to his day was his ability to get ahead in the count by throwing strikes and also receiving tremendous support in the field by his defenders.
A big moment of the game came in the 4th inning as the Gladiators scored 2 runs and were threatening to get more. However, with 2 on and 2 outs, Vukovcan was able to pick off the runner at first base.
In the 2 games, Vukovcan collected a hit and hit the ball solidly in four other at-bats, hitting two balls to deep left field and also hitting hard groundballs up the third base line but credit the opposing third basemen for making nice defensive plays.
In game two, Arzberger also pitched well going 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.
The freshman left-hander shutout the Fieldhouse Pirates over the first three innings before allowing a run in the 4th and 2 in the 5th inning.
Arzberger looked sharp, especially with his curveball, which kept the hitters off balanced. Like in the first game, the BV defenders played an above average game defensively, especially shortstop Dylan Hamilton.
Another big-time play in the field came from BV left fielder Gavin Latchaw, who threw out a runner at the plate with a perfect throw to catcher Christian Meyer.
Hopewell’s Andrew Arzberger
At the plate, Arzberger had a strong day going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in Game 1 and then went 1-for-2 with a walk in Game 2.
These two players will be getting in plenty of valuable reps this summer playing both with BV Baseball along with the Hopewell Colt League team.
