Encapera tabbed as Fayette's next Head Baseball Coach
Lemont Furnace. PA - Penn State Fayette has hired its new head Baseball coach, and it did not have to look far to fill the void left when Mike Sikorski stepped down after the 2021 season. Ryan Encapera, who has been on the Fayette Baseball staff since 2019, was named the new head coach of the Penn State University Athletic Conference team.
"I have always respected and been a fan of Penn State and it brings great pride to lead the baseball program at Penn State Fayette," said Encapera, who has quite the coaching resume. "Getting the opportunity to lead the baseball program here at Fayette is important to me and wouldn't be possible without the direction of some great coaches I have been blessed to play for and work with over the years. I am most thankful for learning from my high school coaches Budd Grebb and Don Hartman, my college coach Mike Conte, Dan Ninemire (owner of Team All American), and basketball coaches Bill Wiltz, Don Martin, and Chris Maxon for being impactful mentors and colleagues. Their instruction, guidance, and modeling have helped shape who I am as a coach."
Encapera was a pitcher and first baseman at California Area High School before pitching at California University of Pennsylvania. He also played in the Fayette County Baseball League from 1995 through this past season.
His coaching career has covered both baseball and basketball. After working as a student assistant at Cal U in 2002 and as a graduate assistant in 2005 and 2006, he took over as manager of Mitch's Bail Bonds and still serves in the position as well as being the president of the Fayette County Baseball League since 2017. From 2009 through 2013, he was both the baseball and boys basketball coach at East Allegheny and served as the Uniontown JV baseball coach from 2015-17. Before coming to Fayette, Encapera was an assistant coach with Penn State Greater Allegheny's baseball team in 2018. On the hard court, he was also an assistant with the Charleroi boys basketball team the last six years.
His passion for baseball and working with players has carried over to him being a coach and instructor with Team All-America Baseball since 2014 and he is also the owner and director of Coach Ryan Encapera Baseball Camps, which he started in 2016.
Encapera's love for sports and coaching came from home.
"Above all, I have been blessed in my baseball career to have had a great home team led by my late mother Jean Encapera (2012) and late grandfather Frank (1996)," he said. "They taught me the value of being a good person first and the importance of working hard and getting an education. They provided every opportunity for me to advance in school and baseball and devoted their time and money to see me succeed."
Being an assistant at Fayette the last few years, Encapera has a jump on knowing what he has returning.
"Over the past 4 years, I have connected with our players and the PSF Athletic department and when Coach Sikorski decided to step away, it was an opportunity to step up and continue what we started and advance the program," he said. "I'm thankful for Coach Sikorski giving me the opportunity to come to Fayette to coach and his friendship. Being a college baseball coach is something I have aspired to be since I finished playing at Cal U. My career path in education and coaching has taken me in many directions and this opportunity to be the head coach at Fayette was one that I looked up to and wanted to be a part of."
Encapera is excited about the players returning from last year's young team that went 11-14 and just missed out on the PSUAC postseason.
"We have a strong group of returning players that will have to rise to the challenge of leading our team," he said. "Catcher Matt Morgan was an All-PSUAC selection and has been a starter his whole career at Fayette. Nate Zimcosky, Kaleb Scott, Cade Warrick, Andrew Despot and Kade Musgrove were all newcomers to the program last year and were among the team leaders in hitting. They will be counted on to get on base and drive in runs. Nik Gibson and Chris Rendulic also had solid seasons at the plate and lead the team in pitching appearances along with Jorge Palmas."
Morgan (Eighty-Four, PA/Ringgold HS) will be a senior and has hit .262 for his career. Warrick (Mill Run, PA/Connellsville HS) will be a junior while Zimcosky (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands HS), Scott (Uniontown, PA/Laurel Highlands HS), Despot (Moon, PA/Moon Area HS) and Musgrove (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville HS) were all freshmen last season. Zimcosky hit .414, recorded 36 hits and scored 31 runs while driving in 23 and had 57 total bases. Scott hit .425 and drove in 13 runs, Warrick hit .387, had 29 hits and drove in 26 runs, Despot hit .364 with 16 hits and 16 RBIs while Musgrove hit .386 with 22 hits. Gibson (Uniontown, PA/Uniontown HS) hit .297 and scored 22 runs while Rendulic (Port Vue, PA/South Allegheny HS) hit .289. Palmas (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair HS) also provides returning experience, and he will be counted on to deliver on the mound.
What kind of expectations does Encapera have for the team, which competes under the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) umbrella?
"Over the last few years, we have worked hard to make Fayette Baseball into a respectable program in the PSUAC," he said. "Moving forward, the expectations are to work hard every day in the classroom and on the field. "For a college baseball player, academics and baseball have to be a priority and their time and effort need to be directed at learning and improving in both settings. My goal is to create a team first culture that pushes all of our players to compete in the classroom and on the field."
Encapera said his mission at Penn State Fayette is to:
1. Direct our players on their career path with a Penn State education,
2. Give our athletes an impactful positive college experience in baseball, and
3. Make the PSUAC playoffs and improving on our win total from last year are the short-term goals then competing for the PSUAC title and a USCAA World Series appearance and title.
Encapera, who will marry his fiancé Gina Rendina in November, has come up with what he hopes is the blueprint for the team to make the next jump.
"Our baseball coaching staff will develop a team-first culture that pushes our players to excel in the classroom, play fundamentally sound baseball, and make Fayette a place local and regional players want to come to play and get a Penn State education," he said. "Our target is to compete for and win Championships, but we must first take care of the little things to create the opportunities for the big things. We also have to consistently recruit and add talented student athletes locally and beyond."
For more on the Penn State Fayette baseball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/bsb/index.
Written by Bill Hughes