Paul Carpenter, Martella's use pick-up players to boost rosters
Jul. 29—Paul Carpenter Capital Advisors and Martella's Pharmacy each added two pick-up players to their rosters for the 76th AAABA Tournament.
Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League champion Paul Carpenter added two players from third-place Smith Transport in shortstop Joe Olsavsky and right-handed pitcher Rodney Shultz.
League runner-up Martella's added a pair of pitchers, Garrett Starr of Smith Transport and Lance Westover of O.
The AAABA Tournament will begin on Monday, with Paul Carpenter (Johnstown-1) playing the night games at Sargent's Stadium at the Point and Martella's Pharmacy (Johnstown-2) hosting the day games at the Point.
"Olsavsky is the best bat available," said Paul Carpenter GM Tayler Sheriff. "He fills in a need that we really have. We are going to lose our starting shortstop to vacation next week. We had a big need to get an infielder. It just worked out that he happens to be the best bat, we felt."
Olsavsky ranked fourth in the JCBL with a .452 batting average (33-for-73) behind Sam Contacos (.474) of Paul Carpenter and Omar Ward (.462) and Jared Dowey (.453) of Martella's. Olsavsky's 12 doubles topped the local league, and he was second with 27 runs and tied for fourth with 18 RBIs.
"He had a big summer for Smith. He doesn't strike out much," Sheriff said. "He plays the game the right way.
"He's solid defensively."
Olsavsky's father, current Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Jerry Olsavsky, played linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh in the late 1980s when the Panthers held the team's training camp exhibition game at Point Stadium. The elder Olsavsky played in the NFL with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals.
Joe Olsavsky stood out at John Carroll University this spring, earning first-team All-Mideast Region and Rookie of the Year honors after leading his college team in runs, triples and doubles.
Shultz appeared in five games with Smith Transport, posting a 1-0 record with 15 strikeouts and 14 walks in 17 innings pitched.
"Shultz was the best arm available in terms of bringing something to the table that is a little bit different than what we have," Sheriff said. "He can bring it in the upper 80s. He's a hard-throwing kid. We feel late in the week he can get a good team out, or win against New Orleans or Philadelphia. We felt it makes a ton of sense, stuff-wise."
Shultz consistently throws his fastball 85 to 88 miles per hour and has a low-70s curve.
The Pitt-Johnstown recruit was a key part of Tyrone Area High School's run to the PIAA Class 3A championship in June.
Shultz was the winning pitcher in a 4-2 state semifinal victory over Tyrone's rival Central and helped his teammates beat Oley Valley 5-0 in the PIAA title game at Medlar Field in State College.
"He has the pedigree of pitching on the state championship team," Sheriff said. "We feel he can compete at that level in front of a big, packed stadium."
Martella's Pharmacy bolstered a deep pitching staff by adding Starr and Westover.
Right-hander Starr had a league-low 1.17 ERA in 23 innings pitched. The recent DuBois High School graduate tied for second with three wins and tied for seventh with 27 strikeouts for Smith Transport.
Starr is a Lock Haven University recruit.
Westover posted three of O's six wins this season. The right-hander was second in the league with 35 regular-season strikeouts and fanned nine more batters in a playoff start against Paul Carpenter.
His 2.08 ERA ranked eighth during the regular season.
"We felt like we needed to add depth to our pitching staff," Martella's manager Kerry Pfeil said. "We expect to play six days in the tournament. Over nine innings, you've got a lot of ground to cover. These guys both performed well long-term and short-term.
"We like their strikeout to walk ratio," Pfeil added. "They make you earn your way on base and earn your runs. They limit the free passes. We would feel comfortable putting 15 of our 20 guys on the mound."
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
