Wednesday
May 8, 2024 
The Central Bucks West baseball team made history on Opening Day. It was the first time the Bucks ever took the field as reigning District One champions.
The debut didn’t go as West had planned: Central Bucks East, a favorite to win the SOL Colonial, got to the Bucks bullpen in a 12-4 win.
West entered Easter break at 1-2. Duke Psoras’ three RBI hits keyed a convincing 10-2 win over Upper Dublin while Sam Greer lost a 2-0 tough luck pitcher’s duel to a formidable North Penn team.
Head coach Brian Weaver knew that opening with East and North Penn was a tough draw. “But it does give us a nice sample size to say, ‘If you want to hang with the best, this is where the bar is set.’ Now we have a week,” Weaver noted, “to finish looking at film and do our Well-Better-How: what went well, what can we do better and how will we fix it.”
West was hit hard at graduation. Five Bucks are contributing to college programs across all three divisions as true freshmen. Julio Ermigiotti (Lehigh) was twice named Patriot Rookie Pitcher of the Week. Kevin Bukowski leads Widener in extra-base hits.
But Weaver can still hand the ball to St. Joseph’s signee Greer every fifth day. Last year, Greer blanked eventual state champion Father Judge for seven innings.
“Velocity wise, he is as good as anyone in the league. He has developed good off speed over the last year or two off of that,” Weaver shared. “It was good for Sam to understand that you can beat guys with your fastball, but only if you do it sequentially. Then it goes from being a really hard pitch to being an absolute weapon. Sam took a really big jump into his junior year and as the season went on, he got stronger. He was more efficient with his pitch count and in using his fastball not just to strike guys out, but to induce poor contact.”
“I’ve always been a pretty big kid so I only needed the fastball for a while. Obviously the division we’re in is really good and I soon realized that hitters knew my stuff and I’d have to fool them another way,” Greer recounted. “Over the offseasons, I’ve focused on throwing faster but also perfecting my off-speed pitches: my curve ball, my cutter and splitter. I’ve put emphasis on those pitches because those will be the ones that get me strikeouts and weak contact.”
“Sam’s work ethic is definitely a Jerry Rice thing of ‘Today I’ll do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.’ He is a kid who works but works deliberately,” Weaver continued. “The kind of maturity and deliberate method pays off. He is consistent. He doesn’t miss a workout. He is a better pitcher than hitter, but he is still a phenomenal hitter.”
“I was really grateful to have not just Julio but a catcher like (Army’s) Max McGlone. That was a luxury,” Greer shared. “Being alongside Julio and learning from them. Julio had a really good slider and changeup. I studied how he worked guys. He pitched to their weakness and that emphasized to me that I need to do the same.”
There is still plenty of bang left in the returning Bucks. Junior outfielder Alex Valdes hit nearly .500 in the 2023 playoffs. Third baseman Jack Hogenaur and pitcher Jacob Greer, Sam’s brother, got meaningful playing time on a district title champion as freshmen.
“Valdes is the linchpin and he has only gotten bigger, stronger and smarter. He is a phenomenal teammate,” Weaver praised. Speedster “Quinn Illig is back at second base. He might be the quietest threat in Suburban One. He plays strong defense and in his first three varsity games, he got hits off of D1 pitchers. He has become one of the fastest players in the program. He doesn’t get rattled.
“Jack Hogenauer last year got key hit after key hit,” Weaver continued. “Duke Psoras has always been a big, strong kid. This year, he has developed into a big, strong hitter. He is working at bats patiently and seeing breaking stuff better. And Sam in the middle of the lineup is someone circled on the scouting report, I’m sure.”
“I’ve always dreamed about playing with Jacob,” Sam Greer added. “He is so talented at such a young age that he is able to play varsity and pitch at a high level. This has truly been a blessing for me.”
After playing just three games in 15 days, the Bucks get busy in a hurry. They travel to Pennridge on Friday and Perkiomen Valley on Monday. West is home playing Souderton next Tuesday.
“We have a lot of new guys in new spots and we have a week in between games to take a breath,” Weaver noted. “And it will be nice to get back into the rhythm of game-practice-game-practice and finding that groove.”
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.