Sun and clouds mixed. High 76F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds light and variable.
Members of the 1971 North Star High School baseball team are shown.
Conemaugh Township graduate Matt Bimeal
Scott Close, the Springfield Capitals' Bart Close and Randy Close are shown in this undated photo. Both Bart and Scott Close are being inducted Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022.
Scott Close is pictured before an undated game at Mount Aloysius College.
Justin "Dusty" Davis (left) is shown with his son.
Members of the 1971 North Star High School baseball team are shown.
Conemaugh Township graduate Matt Bimeal
Scott Close, the Springfield Capitals' Bart Close and Randy Close are shown in this undated photo. Both Bart and Scott Close are being inducted Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022.
Scott Close is pictured before an undated game at Mount Aloysius College.
Justin "Dusty" Davis (left) is shown with his son.
Eight individuals and the 1971 undefeated North Star High School baseball team will be inducted into this year’s Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers Hall of Fame ceremony from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Stoystown American Legion Post 257.
The induction ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.
Under the guidance of coach Jack Dickey, the 1971 squad boasted outstanding defense up the middle, corner skill players, timely hitting and top-tier pitching. The Cougars won the school’s fourth District 5 championship with a 12-3 victory over highly regarded Everett. All District 5 schools were in the same classification and there was no state playoffs at the time.
In 1969 and 1970, Jenner Boswell Jennerstown Joint High School (JBJ Bears) did not sponsor a baseball team, but merged with the Forbes High School (Jets). Over a three-year span, the participants from the Jets were a combined 22-3.
Members of the team were seniors Dave Bockm, Eli Conn, Allan Griffith, Tom Miller, Brad Stetler, Greg Stufft, Bob Wain, Vaughn Worsell and Randy Yoder, juniors Bill Boyer, Dave Cheek, Greg Miller, Joe Pelesky, Jeff Roberts and Joe Zabnoni, sophomores Kevin Coleman and John Deaner and freshmen Jack Boyer, Jeff Pyle, Jim Zimmerman, Sam Zimmerman and Tom Zimmerman. Deaner, Dickey, Stuft, Wain, Jim Zimmerman, Sam Zimmerman and Tom Zimmerman are already members of the hall of fame.
• Matt Bimeal was a four-year starter for Conemaugh Township Area High School from 1996-1999, earning Somerset County MVP honors in both 1998 and 1999. Following his high school days, Bimeal was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 35th round. He played in the Blue Jays’ organization from 1999 through 2002.
Bimeal then signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003. His time in the Pirates minor league system ran through 2005. During the 2003 season when pitching for Williamsport, Bimeal had a best season ERA of 1.91 as the Crosscutters won the New York-Penn League championship.
Bimeal was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a scouting supervisor in October of 2006, a position he still holds today. His currently supervises Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. He has signed over 20 players, including former Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer and current hurler Mitch Keller.
• Bart Close was named MVP in the 1991 Pennsylvania American Legion East-West All-Star Game. He played at Somerset Area High School from 1989-92, where he was a member of teams that won three Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference titles and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals twice. He finished his junior year with a .489 batting average, 13 home runs and 54 RBIs.
• Close accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Michigan. In his first four collegiate at-bats, he hit for the cycle against the University of Florida. He spent one year playing at Michigan and then transferred to James Madison University. While at James Madison, he was a member of the 1995 team that advanced to the Baton Rouge Regional held at Louisiana State University. During his summer college years, Bart also played two years in the Shenandoah Valley Collegiate Wooden Bat League for the New Market Rebels and Winchester Royals.
Upon finishing college, he accepted an offer to play minor league baseball in the Frontier League. Close played for the Springfield (Illinois) Capitals for two seasons and won two championships. He played one season with the Ohio Valley Redcoats and finished his professional career as a player/coach with the Johnstown Johnnies.
Close has led the Somerset Legion program since 2013. Bart Close has been an assistant coach for the Somerset Area High School team since 2015.
Scott Close, Bart’s older brother, played high school and Legion baseball for Somerset over the time span from 1983-86. He also played baseball in the Johnstown AAABA League for the Coca-Cola entry in 1987 and 1988. The 1988 team represented Johnstown in the AAABA Tournament. While attending Juniata College, Close also played baseball each spring from 1988-91.
Close has coached baseball at the Little League, high school and AAABA levels. From 1991-96, he coached the Coca-Cola/Sani-Dairy entry in the Johnstown AAABA League. The franchise made two appearances in the AAABA Tournament in 1993 and 1995. The 1995 team was the first Johnstown entry to reach the championship game since 1956.
• Close is the athletic director and boys basketball coach at Somerset High School. He is an assistant track and field coach.
Dustin “Dusty” Davis played Junior Legion for Rockwood, where he was named Somerset County MVP at the age of 15. He also played on the Southern Senior Legion and Stoystown Senior Legion squads.
Davis was a four-year starter and letterman at Rockwood High School, where he was a three-time selection on the all-county team. He played three years in the AAABA league for Hilltop Baseball and Ladbrokes. Davis was on the baseball team at Penn State and earned a degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree and Ph.D in mechanical engineering .
• Steve “Babe” Kutsmeda graduated from Shade Township High School in 1952.
In one famous incident, when Kutsmeda was on third base as a runner, the batter hit an infield fly ball. After it was caught, Kutsmeda decided to tag up and run home. The ball made it to the catcher long before Steve reached the plate, but as a standout football player, he decided to lower his shoulder and run through the catcher. The catcher went flying, the ball popped free and Steve scored, but only moments before both benches cleared.
Kutsmeda attended a minor league tryout for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was called back for a second workout. The next morning, an extended rain shower ensued. Without a ride to the second day of tryouts, Kutsmeda rolled up his glove in his uniform and headed for the bus stop. The bus never showed that morning. Since there was only one a day from Central City to Johnstown, Kutsmeda was unable to make it. Without a number to call and no other way out of town, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play pro ball ended at that rainy bus stop.
• Charles R. Pipta played and coached in the Somerset County Baseball League from the early 1950s through the late ’60s. His successful playing days were spent in the Jerome Cardinals uniform.
Following subsequent military service, Pipta suited up as a starting pitcher for the Cardinals while also contributing to the team’s endeavors with his bat .
Pipta managed the Jerome Little League team along with coach Orange Thomas. Pipta led the team to a 1969 league title and coached Jeff Hostetler, who was a two-time Super Bowl champion and 1994 Pro Bowl selection. Pipta, who passed away in 2007, was a member of the Conemaugh Township school board.
• Jason Stanton participated in baseball, basketball, football and wrestling at Meyersdale Area High School. He was a pitcher and catcher on the baseball team.
In 1990, the Red Raiders finished with a record of 18-3 and won the Somerset County League and Appalachian Conference championships. Meyersdale suffered an extra-inning, heartbreaking walk-off loss in the District 5 Class 2A title game. Stanton hit .425 in 1990 and finished second in Somerset County in RBIs. He went 8-0 on the mound and finished second in county MVP voting.
Stanton caught for the Bergman Toyota franchise in 1991 and 1992. He played collegiately at Pitt-Johnstown. He hit the first home run at George R. Walter Field on Oct. 3, 1993. As the lone senior in 1994, Stanton led the team with 42 RBIs in 30 games. Stanton set a record with 14 consecutive hits in back-to-back weekend doubleheaders, including six straight doubles. He was named to the North Atlantic Region first team as a designated hitter.
In the summers of 1994 and 1995 in Germany, Stanton played for the Cologne Dodgers in the Deutsch Bundesliga.
• Thomas “Turk” Zimmerman played for the Forbes Baseball Team in the newly formed Somerset County Minor League in 1971, where Forbes won the championship with a 10-1 record.
He was a member of the 1971 North Star team as a freshman. As a sophomore, he threw a no-hitter against Rockwood in his first high school game ever pitched. In 1973, Zimmerman played Legion ball for Boswell with the late Nathan Codispoti as coach, and batted close to .400 both years before moving on to the Johnstown Junior League with Monte Carlo.
While there, he pitched and played first base, batting .340 and was selected to play for the Hilltop Boys Club.
Zimmerman attended Frederick Community College in the 1974-76 seasons. While at Frederick, he played first base and pitched. In 1975, he led the team with a .400 average and drove in 25 runs. He also was named to the 1976 Region 20 all-tournament team. He finished his playing career at Pitt-Johnstown as a relief pitcher in the spring of 1977. Also in 1977, he helped Nathan Codispoti form the new Somerset County Junior Legion League and coached the Stoystown Jets to the District 24 sectional championship. In 1978, the Stoystown Jets were District 24 regional champs. He received the American League baseball citation for setting an example for boys through his “competing, coaching and continued athletic achievements,” signed by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and the Legion commander.
The Somerset County Baseball Old-Timers will host the 25th annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony and picnic on Aug. 13 at Stoystown American Legion Post 257.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.