Baseball News

By: Jared Barton

North Allegheny baseball had seven players named to the Big 56 All-Conference Teams on Thursday morning, with three first-team selections.

Juniors Mason Dratfinsky and Jake Fritz were both named first-team outfielders, while senior Liam Cooper was named a first-team utility player. Junior Dominic Williamson (infield), sophomore Nate Fritz  (outfield), senior Nate Surman  (pitcher) and junior Gavin Ust (utility player) were all named to the second team. This is the second overall Big 56 All-Conference accolade for both Dratfinsky and Surman, as both were named second-team players in 2025.

Dratfinsky batted .358 in the regular season with 19 hits, including six doubles and a triple. He also had 11 RBI and 10 runs scored while stealing 15 bases. Dratfinsky had 28 total putouts in the field. In 4.1 innings of work on the mound, the junior also struck out six batters.

Jake Fritz has batted .348 so far this season with 23 hits, including four doubles, a triple, a home run and 15 RBI. He also scored 15 runs and stole six bases. Fritz has 17 putouts in the field. On the mound, Fritz has 14 innings of work so far with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA. He has struck out 19 batters.

Cooper started seven games for the Tigers, pitching 36.2 innings to date. He has accumulated a 5-2 record with 41 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.34.

Williamson is second on the team with a .385 batting average, logging 20 hits including two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI so far. He also has scored 17 runs and stolen five bases. Williamson has 20 putouts and 12 assists in the field.

Nate Fritz has a .380 average at the plate with 19 hits, including a double, triple and five RBI. He has also scored 11 runs and stolen eight bases. Fritz has 19 putouts in the field.

Surman has a 2-1 record on the mound in 14 innings of work. With an ERA of 3.00, Surman has struck out 19 batters. He also had four hits and two RBI in limited action at the plate.

Ust holds a .237 average with nine hits, including two doubles and four RBI. He has also scored 11 runs and stolen six bags. Ust is second on the team with 57 putouts and leads the team with 14 assists.

The Tigers head into the postseason with a 12-8 record and hold the third seed. NA plays #6 Hempfield on Monday, May 18th in a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Quarterfinals. That game from Boyce Mayview Park will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

By: Jared Barton

Another North Allegheny baseball player has decided where they will take their talents at the next level.

Junior outfielder JJ Mancuso announced his commitment to Seton Hall Thursday night via social media.

Commited! #HALLin@chaserowe23 @maruccispikes @gpapaccio2 @SHUBaseball pic.twitter.com/3XTNmX5DIH

— JJ Mancuso (@jj_mancuso) November 21, 2025

Mancuso was a first-team Big 56 All-Conference selection as an outfielder last spring. He hit .278 and was second on the team in RBIs with 11. He scored a team-leading 16 runs and was walked 10 times. Mancuso was a second-team all-section player two seasons ago.

The Seton Hall Pirates participate in Division I baseball as a member of the Big East Conference. The team has appeared in the College World Series four times, recorded 16 NCAA appearances, and won four Big East Championships.

Three North Allegheny baseball players signed their letters of intent on Wednesday afternoon to continue their careers at the next level. Nate Surman officially committed to Gannon, Ben Kowger signed the dotted line to continue his career at Saint Vincent College while Alexander Lopez signed on with the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Surman was an All-Big 56 second team selection a season ago. In 2025, he had a .250 batting average at the plate with four doubles and five RBIs. On the mound, Surman was North Allegheny’s closer posting a 2-0 record and going five for five in save opportunities. He had a 0.58 ERA with 15 strikeouts and one walk. Surman is joining a Gannon team that competes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in Division II. He will be majoring in physical therapy.

Kowger split time at catcher throughout the 2025 season posting a .986 fielding percentage and catching five runners stealing. He will join a Saint Vincent squad that competes in the Presidents Athletic Conference in Division III. Kowger will major in computer science/cyber security at Saint Vincent.

Lopez is joining an RIT squad that posted a 22-14 record in 2025. RIT has one Liberty League Tournament championship that came in 2017 along with a runner-up finish in 2015. Lopez will major in mechanical engineering.

By: Jared Barton 

North Allegheny baseball senior Nate Surman has decided where he will play at the next level.

The outfielder and pitcher committed to Gannon University on Saturday.

 

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A post shared by Nate Surman (@surmannate)

Surman collected 2nd Team Big 56 All-Conference laurels in 2025 as a designated hitter. He batted .250 and was tied for the team lead with four doubles. Surman was very impressive coming out of the bullpen, as he became the Tigers’ closer once section play started. Nate had a 2-0 record with a 0.58 ERA in 12 innings pitched. He also collected five saves.

Gannon University competes at the Division II level in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Golden Knights qualified for the NCAA DII Tournament in 2019 and 2022.

Click here for the North Allegheny Spring Recap E-Publication.