Rich Donahue As the Hopewell Area Vikings head into the 2025 baseball season, there’s palpable excitement surrounding their pitching staff. Having established a reputation for strong pitching over the last several years, the Vikings are ready to build and learn from an uncharacteristic 2024 season.
Head coach Morgan Singletary is optimistic about the capabilities of his pitching roster, which features some of the best pitchers in the WPIAL led by junior Kingston Krotec and senior David Medich, who brings a family legacy to the mound being the grandson of former MLB pitcher Doc Medich. Singletary believes this dynamic pitching duo, along with Ben McDonald, will anchor the team’s performance this season.
Hopewell softball and youth baseball is sponsored by Lisa McCoy, your neighborhood State Farm agent.
“I think our pitching is gonna be really solid this year,” Singletary tells Vikings Sports Now. “We have a lot of arms, and we plan on using a lot of them as long as everyone stays healthy, which is always a big question at any level.”
The depth of this pitching staff gives Singletary flexibility, allowing him to maneuver strategically throughout the season with how the Vikings are performing.
The experience gained from 2024 is expected to pay dividends as Singletary noted that many of his younger players had their first real exposure to varsity baseball in 2024, facing challenges that will ultimately help the growth of this team.
“Experience mostly is what’s gonna help out,” Singletary stated, highlighting the importance of this hands-on learning process in an up-and-down 2024 that saw the Vikings eliminated in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. He anticipates that the lessons learned will translate into improved performance from his returning staff.
Singletary has high expectations for the young pitchers who gained valuable experience last season. He emphasizes that these players, though still having not reached their peak, are ready to shoulder more responsibility.
“We had some younger guys that got some experience last year, but I’m expecting them to take big strides and take some of the load off of the guys,” he remarked.
Behind every great pitching staff is a leader doing the catching, and the presence of junior catcher Charlie Smetana cannot be overstated. His breakout sophomore year has the coaches excited for this season and how he can help take this pitching staff to the next level, competing for WPIAL titles again.
Singletary pointed out that Smetana’s ability to communicate effectively with pitchers is crucial.
“Having a sturdy person back there is very important,” Singletary remarked. “A catcher with Smetana’s ability can be the difference between a solid outing and a challenging game for the pitchers.”
As the Vikings gear up for their first game of the season against Shenango this Friday, it’s clear that the success of the Hopewell pitching staff will be fundamental to their success for a deep playoff run and making a trip back to Washington Wild Things Park. With this strong combination of experience and talent on the mound, the Vikings’ pitchers are poised to play a pivotal role in getting them back to the top of the mountain.
HOPWELL 2025 PITCHERS
Kingston Krotec (junior)
David Medich (senior)
Ben McDonald (junior)
Jake Knobloch (sophomore)
Payton Korker (junior)
Brody McCullough (sophomore)
Drew Donovan (junior)
James Armstrong (freshman)
