Leading the way was Class A semifinalist Youngsville with five total selections followed by Eisenhower with three and Warren with two.

On their way to a county-best 16-5 season, the Eagles finished with three players on the Region 3 First Team, including a senior, a junior and a freshman.

Senior outfielder Ethan Senz found his way to the First Team with a final season that included a .358 batting average, 13 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

“Ethan had a great year being only his second season of playing baseball,” said Youngsville coach Eddie Dorunda. “Between basketball and track practices, he found his way into the gym for offseason workouts and raised his average by over .100, getting on base all season long ahead of (James) Johnson and (Matt) DeSimone.”

Times Observer File Photo Three Youngsville Eagles, including junior Matt DeSimone, were named District 10 Region 3 First-Team all-stars Tuesday.

DeSimone, a junior, was also on the Region 3 First Team as an outfielder. He batted an incredible .559 in 2023 with 31 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. In 84 official at-bats during the year, DeSimone did not strike out a single time.

“Matt’s stats are off the chart,” said Dorunda. “I don’t care if you’re playing 1A or 6A going the entire season without striking out is impressive enough alone to go along with a .559 average. He’s an automatic double or triple every time he gets on base. You can’t teach speed.”

It only took freshman David Manning one season to find the region’s First Team as a pitcher. Manning finished with a 2.15 earned run average and a 5-0 record in 39 innings pitched for Youngsville. His 31 strikeouts were second on the team.

“David had a big freshman year,” said Dorunda. “We threw him in big games and he didn’t back down. He was always ready for the ball. It was unfortunate he went down with an injury at the end of the season as he played a huge part in getting us to the playoffs.”

Junior Nathan Lucks was a two-time selection on the Region 3 Second Team, earning the nod as a pitcher as well as a utility player. Lucks batted .351 with 17 RBIs and an on-base percentage of over .500 and also compiled a 6-4 record on the mound with a 2.71 ERA and team-best 66 strikeouts.

Times Observer File Photo Three Youngsville Eagles, including freshman David Manning, were named District 10 Region 3 First-Team all-stars Tuesday.

“He was our bulldog again this season and it was nice to see him get rewarded,” said Dorunda. “He’ll be the first to tell you that he wasn’t happy with his offensive numbers, but he held his own. He put in over 54 innings on the mound and caught just about every inning he wasn’t pitching. He also played a little first base and second base when I needed him to. That’s the definition of a utility player.”

In a Region 5 peppered with Cathedral Prep’s Division I college commits and more, Warren’s 9-13 overall baseball team did have two Dragons voted to the Second Team — junior two-sport star Eric Dippold at second base (he’s also Warren’s quarterback) and senior outfielder Ben Sowa.

“Very happy for Ben and Eric; both had really nice years, and it’s good to see them rewarded for that,” said Warren coach Andrew Morrison. “I think we had a couple other infielders and a pitcher that played at an all-region level, too, but it’s a tough list to crack, for sure.

“Ben was our leadoff guy every game and just consistently did his job and got on base,” Morrison added. “A .493 on-base percentage takes discipline at the plate and he had plenty of that. He was also our best leader and will be missed for sure next year.

“I was excited to see ‘Dip’ make it even though he played hurt most of the year and missed the last six games,” Morrison continued. “He has a ton of pop in his bat and could probably play above-average defense at every position on the field. He is definitely in position to have a big senior year next year.”

Times Observer File Photo Two Eisenhower Knights, including Cole Kellogg, were named District 10 Region 3 First-Team all-stars Tuesday.

Rounding out the county’s all-star selections for 2023 were the three Region 3 selections from the Eisenhower Knights. Making the First Team for Ike were a pair of juniors in outfielder Shawn Pascuzzi and designated hitter Cole Kellogg, while classmate Derek Childs was a Second-Team selection at third base.

Pascuzzi batted .196 in 2023 with four RBIs and committed just a single error all season long in the outfield. Kellogg led the team with a .370 batting average with three doubles and three RBIs.

Childs was close behind Kellogg, finishing with a .367 batting average as well as tying for the team lead in RBIs with 14.

Below are the Region 3 and Region 5 all-star selections for the recently completed 2023 season as voted on by the coaches:

REGION 3 ALL-STARS

Times Observer File Photo Two Eisenhower Knights, including Shawn Pascuzzi, were named District 10 Region 3 First-Team all-stars Tuesday.

FIRST TEAM

Tristen Mazzadra Jr. C Cambridge Springs

Blake Foulk Jr. C Cochranton

Trevin Capela Soph. C Union City

Jack Rynd Sr. 1B Cochranton

Times Observer file photo Warren’s Ben Sowa was named a Region 5 Second-Team all-star.

Eli Wilson Jr. 2B Rocky Grove

Joe Grundy Sr. 3B Saegertown

Ben Burkhardt Sr. SS Iroquois

Matthew DeSimone Jr. OF Youngsville

Gunnar Gage Sr. OF Cambridge Springs

Shawn Pascuzzi Jr. OF Eisenhower

Ethan Senz Sr. OF Youngsville

Cole Kellogg Jr. DH Eisenhower

Henry Shaffer Sr. UTL Saegertown

Ben Burkhardt Sr. P Iroquois

Henry Shaffer Sr. P Saegertown

David Manning Fresh. P Youngsville

SECOND TEAM

Ethan Peterson Sr. C Maplewood

Aaron Wetjen Soph. 1B Rocky Grove

Jacob Woge Jr. 2B Maplewood

Preston Gorton Jr. 2B Cambridge Springs

Derek Childs Jr. 3B Eisenhower

Bryce Kania Sr. SS Cambridge Springs

Joe Doverspike Sr. OF Iroquois

Walker Carroll Fresh. OF Cochranton

Logan Gavin Sr. OF Rocky Grove

Sully Zirkle Sr. OF Saegertown

Bradyn Field Sr. DH Cambridge Springs

Nathan Lucks Jr. UTL Youngsville

Andrew Proper Soph. UTL Maplewood

Walker Carroll Fresh. P Cochranton

Nathan Lucks Jr. P Youngsville

Bradyn Field Sr. P Cambridge Springs

Region champion – Saegertown

Region player of the year – Henry Shaffer, Saegertown

Region pitcher of the year – Ben Burkhardt, Iroquois

REGION 5 ALL-STARS

FIRST TEAM

Cole Constable Sr. C Cathedral Prep

Brayden Sprickman Sr. 1B Cathedral Prep

Joey Spano Jr. 2B Cathedral Prep

Jason Fultz Soph. 3B Cathedral Prep

Luke Costello Jr. SS Cathedral Prep

Nick Jackson Jr. OF Cathedral Prep

Tyler Banks Sr. OF General McLane

Chris Ramos Sr. OF Erie

Kyle Myers Sr. DH Fort LeBoeuf

Andrew Costello Fresh. UTL Cathedral Prep

Jose Quinones Sr. P Erie

Luke Costello Jr. P Cathedral Prep

SECOND TEAM

Charlie Swanson Soph. C General McLane

Connor Sell Sr. 1B Fort LeBoeuf

Eric Dippold Jr. 2B Warren

Dylan Sheeder Sr. 3B General McLane

Rocco Tartaglione Jr. SS Meadville

Ben Sowa Sr. OF Warren

Brighton Anderson Jr. OF Meadville

Jacob Hower Soph. OF McDowell

Nick Hamilton Jr. DH McDowell

Karson Chamberlin Soph. UTL Corry

Andrew Malec Sr. P Cathedral Prep

Nick Hamilton Jr. P McDowell

Region champion – Cathedral Prep

Region player of the year – Jason Fultz, Cathedral Prep

Region pitcher of the year – Jose Quinones, Erie

Times Observer file photo Warren’s Eric Dippold was named a Region 5 Second-Team all-star.