The Parkland High School baseball team recently concluded a season in which it came within one win of earning two different championships. The Trojans played in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 title games, but fell just short, dropping both to Liberty.

Head coach Kurt Weber’s team surprised many in going 21-4 overall and he’s happy with how well the season turned out.

“Our schedule was really tough this year,” said Weber. “We lost a lot of offense from last year and we were really preaching an aggressive style of play to the players where you need everyone to do their job and not get selfish. Move runners, bunt when needed, aggressive baserunning, really stressing line drives and hard ground balls.

“The players bought in and executed. We started with concerns about qualifying for districts and ended up 21-4. A 20-win season is rare. We won the division championship. We were regular season champs, and league and district runners-up. We beat three different state playoff qualifiers. We had seven wins against teams that played in their district final. We just ran into one of the hottest teams in the state in our own league.”

With the successful season Parkland had, there were plenty of top moments that Weber could choose from when looking back with a smile.

“Highlights of the season include beating Hazleton,” Weber said. “The game was suspended in the middle of the fourth inning due to lightning and we had to finish it weeks later. In essence, we won two minigames against them. Both were fun. Beating Wilson, who had Division 1 colleges there to see their pitcher throw, was another one.

“Anytime you beat Liberty it is fun, and we did that during the regular season. We had a memorable comeback in the seventh against Emmaus at Coca-Cola Park that many will never forget. I just enjoyed the style of play we had this year and that the kids represented the school well on and off the field.”

The Trojans are graduating eight seniors, which have a special place in program history and to Weber. Bo Barthol, Owen DeLong, Jaiden Wanamaker, Dylan Duborg, Matt Razzis, Mike Oliver, Michael Cole and Dominic Medlar played their final season with Parkland. Barthol, DeLong and Wanamaker will continue playing in college next season.

“We are losing a great group of seniors,” said Weber. “They lost their ninth-grade season due to the pandemic and their sophomore year was not traditional in that we did not even have a locker room. I give them a lot of credit for resetting the standard that was previously set. They put the program on the right course as far as establishing the effort and attitude we need and re-establishing the family culture we have been known for. They are competitive, humble players who always played hard.”

Coming just shy of a pair of championships, Weber knows he has the group to get it done next season.

“We return a strong group of players that now know what it takes to win,” Weber said. “Our JV team had an outstanding season and we had four sophomores up with the varsity all year. There is a lot of talent there that if they continue to work like they did this year will push the strong nucleus that we have returning. Competition brings out the best of players so that is really exciting.”