File photo Youngsville senior Matthew DeSimone was named the Region 3 Player of the Year.

The icing on the cake.

Youngsville’s Matt DeSimone and Nathan Lucks capped off their respective high school baseball careers with postseason honors handed out Monday.

DeSimone was named the Region 3 Player of the Year for the Eagles as well as a first-team selection in the outfield for not only Region 3, but all of District 10.

Lucks was his own battery in Region 3, collecting first-team selections at both pitcher and catcher as well as being named as the Region 3 Pitcher of the Year.

Joining the recent graduates was sophomore David Manning, who was honored as a Region 3 first-team first baseman, completing a strong season after knee surgery following his freshman year.

“It’s great to see our guys get recognized for being among the top players in northwestern Pennsylvania,” said Youngsville coach Eddie Dorunda. “These three all hold themselves to a higher standard in games and at practices and put in the work it takes to be selected.”

DeSimone finished his senior season with a batting average of .586 and an on-base percentage of .655. He scored 31 runs, drove in another 28, hit 10 doubles and clobbered two homers.

“Matt is going to go down as one of the best baseball players to come out of Youngsville,” said Dorunda. “He is very humble and lets his game do the talking so it’s easy to see why all of the other coaches would vote for him.”

Lucks, who will pitch for Alfred State in the fall, was 7-3 on the mound in 2024. He had an impressive 2.49 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched.

When he wasn’t on the mound, Lucks was a wall behind the plate and also a major threat swinging the bat. He batted .433 for the Eagles with 26 runs, 23 RBIs, five doubles and a team-best four homers.

“Nate earning pitcher of the year in our region is a huge honor and accomplishment,” said Dorunda. “Some people will say there isn’t a lot of competition playing in a 1A and 2A region but those people obviously haven’t seen our games. There are some big time arms that come out of our region every year and this year was no different.

“Although he would rather be out in the field than behind the plate, he was back there for a reason,” added Dorunda. “His ability to limit the run game helped save our pitchers several runs this year.”

Manning, who tore his ACL at the end of his freshman year, returned with a frenzy in 2024. He batted .356 with a .433 on-base percentage and drove in 19 runs for the Eagles.

“It’s awesome to see David get recognized this year at first base,” said Dorunda. “Coming off his surgery, he had to put in a lot of rehab and worked hard to get back to where he was. He was a tough out all season long and always put the ball in play, moving runners and driving them in. Our infielders know how lucky they are to have him at first picking balls out of the dirt and saving errors.”