Parkland High School Baseball

The Parkland Trojans have been chosen as the Morning Call's 2015 Team of the Year.  

Please follow the link above to read a further recap of the Trojans' historic season.

Chris Rabasco, Parkland’s senior shortstop and relief pitcher, is the 2015 high school Player of the Year as named by The Morning Call and the Express-Times.  The dual Player of the Year honors caps off a terrific year for Rabasco, as well as a very successful high school career at Parkland.  This is the second year in a row that a Parkland ball player has been named player of the year by the Morning Call, and Rabasco is the first player to be named Player of the Year by both news organizations since 2008.  The Player of the Year awards adds to an impressive list of accolades for Rabasco this year, as he was also named the Most Valuable Player by the coaches of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC), the 2015 EPC scholar-athlete for baseball, and selected to the 2015 All-Area 1^st Team by both the Morning Call and the Express-Times/lehighvalleylive.com

As captain of the 2015 squad, Rabasco led the Trojans at the plate and on the field to a record breaking year for the team.  With a 27-2 record, the 2015 Trojans not only broke the record for most single season wins by a Parkland club, but they also won their second conference title in a row by winning the inaugural Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship and won their third consecutive District XI championship.  For their record-breaking season, the 2015 Parkland baseball team is the Morning Call Team of the Year.

Batting out of the number three spot in the Trojan batting order all season, Rabasco led the team in several offensive categories this year.  His 43 base hits is a Parkland all-time single season record, and his .512 batting average not only was a team high for the season, but it is also the second highest batting average all-time behind Parkland’s all-time leader MJ Miorelli who batted .583 in the 2007 season.  Rabasco also led the team this year with 26 RBI’s, 11 doubles, a .581 on-base percentage, and a .702 slugging percentage.  With one triple and one homerun on the year, Rabasco’s 13 extra base hits was also a team high.

Rabasco had 12 multi-hit games and collected at least one base hit in 26 of Parkland’s 29 games this year, and more impressively, he reached base safely in all 29 games as he also led the team with 16 walks.  He hit a walk-off double to drive in the winning run in an extra inning game against Whitehall at Coca-Cola Park.  He was even better in clutch situations and remained hot during Parkland' post-season run.  He batted .562 with runners in scoring position during the season and in the postseason, Rabasco was 13-25 at the plate for a .520 batting average along with a .586 on-base percentage. 

Chris also contributed to the team’s success with his glove and arm.  He made several key defensive plays at shortstop, including several web gems that saved precious runs from scoring in tight post-season games.  On the mound, he earned the win in relief in the opening round of the EPC playoffs against Pocono Mountain East.  In the EPC championship game against Stroudsburg, Rabasco earned a 6-out save pitching two scoreless innings with five strikeouts to clinch the 2015 EPC championship for Parkland.

Rabasco ends a very successful 4-year varsity career on the Parkland diamond.  As the Trojan shortstop for the past four seasons, Rabasco earned honorable mention from the Morning Call as a freshman with a .391 batting average.  As a junior he batted .468 and was named to the Morning Call’s All-Area 1^st team and to the Pennsylvania All-State Second Team.  He is Parkland’s all-time career leader in hits with 124 base hits, doubles (32), and runs scored (78).  He is also second on the Trojan all-time career leader board with 76 RBI’s and 43 walks.  Chris will continue his baseball career at the University of Pennsylvania where he will be a freshman this fall. 

Connor Higgins is the 2015 Morning Call Pitcher of the Year.  Higgins had an outstanding year on the mound for the Trojans earning a record of 10-0.  The ace of the Trojan pitching staff, Higgins led the team to their record breaking season of 27 wins that included two championships, the 2015 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Champions and District XI Champions, as well as a semifinalist in the PIAA state playoffs.  His ten wins is the all-time single season record for most wins by a Parkland pitcher.  The Pitcher of the Year award caps off a tremendously successful season for Higgins that adds to his list of honors for his dominant 2015 performance.  In addition to also being named to the Morning Call’s All-Area 1^st Team, he was selected to the Express Times/Lehighvallylive.com All-Area 1^st team, and he was named to the 2015 EPC All-Conference Team by the EPC coaches. 

With his 0.71 ERA and 72 strikeouts, both third on the Trojan all-time single season leader board, Higgins was nearly untouchable all season.  He pitched 4 complete games along with two shutouts.  He tossed 59.1 innings during the season and faced 237 batters, yet only allowed two hits for extra bases.  He started 20 of those 59.1 innings with a lead off strikeout and had 25 innings where he retired hitters in order in 1-2-3 fashion.  If that wasn’t impressive enough, opponents batted a mere .148 when Higgins was on the hill this season. 

Higgins had several notable performances on the mound this season and he wasted no time leading the team to victories when the season finally got underway in April after weeks of inclement weather in March.  In the season opener against Dieruff, Higgins was part of a no-hitter with his teammates Evan McAndrew and Alec Bartholomew.  Higgins struck out the first six batters of that game and went on to toss five no-hit innings with 12 strikeouts.  He was essentially perfect through his first five innings of work on the season as the only hitter to reach base was due to a Parkland fielding error.  Against Pleasant Valley, he pitched four scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts, and Higgins pitched a four-hit complete game shutout against Easton with 11 strikeouts.

Higgins continued pitching in dominant fashion into the Parkland postseason.  He was 3-0 during the postseason and was on the mound for key playoff games.  He pitched a complete game with six strikeouts for the win in the District XI championship game against Easton for Parkland’s third consecutive District XI championship.  Not only did Parkland win three District titles in a row for the first time in school history, but Higgins had the unique experience of playing a pivotal role in winning two of those championship games.  In addition to his complete game victory in this year’s game, he pitched 2 and 2/3 innings of shutout relief with four strikeouts to earn the save in the 2013 District XI championship win over Whitehall.  In the PIAA State quarterfinal this season, Higgins pitched a complete game with six strikeouts for the win against Council Rock North, holding a powerful lineup to only one run on three hits. 

For his varsity career, Higgins is the Parkland all-time leader in strikeouts and ERA with 152 K’s and an impressively low 0.66 ERA in 117.1 career innings pitched.  His 16 career wins on the mound is second best all-time for Parkland.  Connor will continue his baseball career at Arizona State University. 

Parkland’s junior second baseman Tyler Bruno has been named to the 2015 Morning Call All-Area Second Team.  Bruno also received EPC All-Conference honorable mention this season.  The left-handed hitter was terrific out of the cleanup spot in the Trojans’ lineup this year, batting .414 with 36 base hits.  He also flashed some power, lacing six doubles and five triples.  His five triples are a single-season record for Parkland.  Bruno shined on the big stage, as he belted a single, double, and triple off first-round MLB draft pick Mike Nikorak in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title game.  

In addition to his performance in the EPC championship game against Stroudsburg, Bruno had numerous games this year where he played a key role in leading the Trojan offense to victories.  He had a three-hit game against Wilson West Lawn that included two triples.  He hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 7^th inning for the walk-off win over Governor Mifflin.  Defensively, Bruno was also solid this year, making just four errors at second base, with a fielding percentage of .949. 

Bruno continued to swing the bat well with a .423 batting average during the Parkland postseason where the Trojans played nine additional games beyond the standard 20-game regular season schedule.  After going 3-3 at the plate against Nikorak, Bruno was 2-3 in the District XI semifinal matchup against Northampton.  He collected three base hits in the opening round of the PIAA state playoff game against Owen J. Roberts, helping the Trojans win their first PIAA state playoff game since 2009.

In addition to his .414 season average, Bruno had a .457 on-base percentage, 18 RBI’s, and 14 runs scored, and he batted .467 with runners in scoring position.  He also posted 11 multi-hit games and recorded a hit in 21 of 29 games.  Bruno returns to the team next season for his senior year.

Senior pitcher and first baseman Evan McAndrew has been named to the 2015 Morning Call All-Area Second Team.  McAndrew also received EPC All-Conference honorable mention this season.  McAndrew had an outstanding season for the Trojans both on the mound, at the plate, and on the field.  He finished the season with a .329 batting average with three 3 doubles and two triples.  He scored 15 runs and had eight walks and a .379 on-base percentage.  His 23 RBI’s were second most on the team this season and 5^th most on the Parkland all-time single season leader board. 

McAndrew was an outstanding two-way player making significant contributions to the team’s success with his bat and his arm.  Along with his performance at the plate, he only had one error at first base for a .989 fielding percentage.  He was also impressive on the mound earning a record of 5-0 on the season with an outstanding 0.94 ERA and 28 strikeouts.  Opponents only managed a .163 batting average against McAndrew and he was part of some notable wins for the team this year.

McAndrew was part of two no-hitters this season by the Parkland pitching staff.  In the season opener against Dieruff, he was part of a combined no hitter with his teammates Connor Higgins and Alec Bartholomew, where he struck out the side in one inning of relief work.  Against Central Catholic, he pitched four no-hit innings with three strikeouts combining with teammate Ryan Giovenco for the no-hitter.  McAndrew pitched a complete game one-hitter for the win against East Stroudsburg South, striking out six.    McAndrew pitched 2 and 2/3 inning of perfect relief, retiring all seven batters he faced in order along with three strikeouts, for the extra inning win over Nazareth.  He pitched six scoreless innings at Coca-Cola Park in a regular season game against Whitehall that Parkland went on to win in extra innings.

His most impressive win on the season came in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship game against Stroudsburg.  McAndrew outpitched Mike Nikorak, a 2015 MLB first round draft choice, pitching five innings allowing one run on five hits along with four strikeouts.

Evan finishes his Parkland career with a .317 batting average and he will continue his baseball career at Mansfield University.