Baseball News

On National Signing Day, three members of the North Allegheny baseball team signed their letters of intent to play at the next level. Seniors Spencer Barnett (West Virginia University), Cam Ward (Gannon University) and Brett McSparran all inked their LOI’s to continue their academic and baseball career.

Barnett has patrolled the infield at second base over the last two seasons and boasts a .331 career batting average, with 10 home runs, 45 RBI and 45 runs scored. As a sophomore, Barnett was named Second Team All-Section by the Big 56 Conference and belted eight home runs, tying the North Allegheny single-season record, which was originally set by Andrew Henigan in 2000. Barnett’s 31 RBI in 2021 was the third best in a single season in program history.

As a junior, Ward made a splash in the North Allegheny starting rotation before an injury derailed his season. In four starts, the right-hander posted a 1-1 record with a 3.42 ERA. In 14.1 innings of work, he struck out 17 batters while walking only six. Ward’s most impressive outing came in the section opener against Seneca Valley as he blanked the Raiders over six innings in a 4-0 victory for the Tigers.

Brett McSparran will join his older brother, Conor, in playing baseball at the NCAA level. Conor is currently a junior at Division II Alderson Broaddus. Brett McSparran is headed to an Allegheny College program that has won 20 games or more in two of the last three seasons. Allegheny returns to the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season, after a long tenure in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

All three players, pictured above with head coach Andrew Heck, are expected to play instrumental roles for North Allegheny in the upcoming baseball season.

North Allegheny pitcher Cam Ward is continuing his academic and athletic career at Division II Gannon University in Erie, PA. Ward announced his verbal commitment via Twitter on Saturday.

I am super excited to announce that I will be furthering my academic and athletic career at the University of Gannon. I would like to thank god, family, friends, and coaches as they supported me throughout this process. @Spikes_Baseball @Josh_Sharpless @chaserowe23

— Cam Ward (@_camward5) July 16, 2022

As a junior, Ward made a splash in the North Allegheny starting rotation before an injury derailed his season. In four starts, the right-hander posted a 1-1 record with a 3.42 ERA. In 14.1 innings of work, he struck out 17 batters while walking only six. Ward’s most impressive outing came in the section opener against Seneca Valley as he blanked the Raiders over six innings in a 4-0 victory for the Tigers.

Ward will join a Gannon University program that went 29-17 in 2022 and earned the top seed out of the Western Division in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. The Golden Knights also earned an At-Large bid to the NCAA Tournament and Atlantic Regional.