Entering the final week of section play last season, Hopewell baseball was still alive and in search of securing its ninth consecutive postseason berth.
However, that run of playoff baseball – that included WPIAL titles in 2021 and 2023 – came to an end as the Vikings concluded 2025 with a 4-8 Section 1-Class 3A record and an overall 5-15 finish.
This year’s Hopewell team features one final go for a senior class that came in and helped claim the program’s fifth WPIAL title as freshmen. With Hopewell seeking a return to postseason baseball, sixth-year coach Morgan Singletary sees a resemblance from his 2026 squad to that Cinderella, 14th-seeded team three years ago.
“Our ‘23 team that won the WPIAL championship, they had talent, we just couldn’t figure it out until late in the season,” Singletary said. “We went in as a very low seed. I would probably compare this team to that team. We have the talent there; we just haven’t figured everything out yet. That team was able to continue to work as the season went on. We barely got into the playoffs, and they figured it out, and were able to ride that. I think this team can do better during the regular season. Again, they have the talent. It’s just a matter of figuring out the baseball and the winning part of it. If they can do that, then they can end up being a real solid team.”
After graduating two players last year, Hopewell boasts a senior class of seven in 2026. Three of those players have contributed since they were freshmen with Charlie Smetana as a four-year starter at catcher, Kingston Krotec pitching meaningful innings in that championship run and Logan Triscila at first base and in the outfield.
On top of that, seniors Ben McDonald will be a top arm in the rotation, Payton Korker provides a utility option and pitcher, James Gill will play infield, and Drew Donovan will start at shortstop.
“Drew Donovan, he’s our starting shortstop. He’s going to be pitching for us also. He’s made huge jumps. I’m really excited to see him break out this year. He started to show something last year, made some adjustments about halfway through the season. He looks really strong throughout this winter. He’s one that I’m really excited to see how it translates over when we start getting into games,” Singletary said.
Hopewell had its struggles at the plate a season ago and is an area Singletary is looking for improvement. With several seniors on the pitching staff, that department is expected to make up for any shortcomings at the plate and be a strength for Hopewell.
“Our hitting is going to be a big question mark,” Singletary said. “I’m hoping that we made some jumps there…Our pitching should be strong. Our defense should be stronger. We had a younger team last year. Obviously, we had the group of seniors, but they’re all a little bit older, a little bit more ready to go, so I’m hoping our pitching and our defense is strong and our offense comes around enough for us to put some runs across for them.”
Singletary looks toward Krotec and McDonald to be Hopewell’s pitching leaders, while a trio of others will be relied upon on the mound as well.
“Kingston has good stuff,” he said. “He’s been working on being a little less hittable this year than he has been in the past, so working on getting a little bit more swing and miss. He seems like he’s come with a little bit more velocity this year, so hopefully that keeps building up as we continue to stretch out the arms and it starts warming up.
“McDonald is going to be a big lefty. He pitched some for us last year. He was still a little shaky with command over the summer and fall. He looks like he’s really honed that in a lot. We’re expecting him to take big strides and be a real inning eater for us as a starter.
“We have a couple of guys that will be more off-speed guys that won’t overpower people with their velocity but being able to throw strikes and work different things. That would be Payton Korker, Logan Triscila, Jacob Knobloch. They’re all going to be arms for us that are going to be a little bit more finesse.”
Along with the upperclassmen, Hopewell is looking for contributions from sophomores James Armstrong and returning starter at second base, Collin Davis.
“Armstrong, he’s been a two-sport leader for football and basketball. He’ll be playing with us this year,” said Armstrong. “Transitioning in, it took him a couple weeks to really get in the flow. Once he did, he really started to come out. I’m hoping he transitions a little bit quicker this year and really starts to come out of his shell some. He’s just a big physical kid and can do a lot.”
Singletary added: “Davis started second base out of necessity for us last year. Had his ups and downs through the season. I’m hoping he’s a little bit more consistent this year. I think he can be. If he can do that, we saw some good flashes out of him, so he could be a breakout.”
With official practices commencing on March 2 and the regular-season opener set for March 10, Hopewell has a return to the playoffs in mind in what will be another tough section with Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Ambridge, North Catholic, Hopewell and Hampton.
“Based on what we’ve seen the past two years, we’re going to be battling for that probably fourth spot in the playoffs,” Singletary said. “There are a couple teams that kept a lot of guys that are really good, so we’ll see how they all pan out. Obviously, baseball, there’s a lot of ups and downs with everything, and as I said, if our guys can put it together, it might change very drastically.”
“You’ll have Ambridge and Beaver and Blackhawk will be all at the top. Central Valley is always good, so I think there’s going to be three teams, four teams possibly battling out for a couple of the lower playoff spots, and if any of the teams decide that they’re going to pull away sitting at the top. But it might be pretty tight. I see us in the mix if we can get stuff going.”
