Point Park picks a Plum of a baseball recruit

Stephen J. Nesbitt, on Plum's Anthony Garofalo. Garofalo is being recruited to play baseball for Point Park.

"Point Park coach Loren Torres says to compete nationally, you have to recruit nationally, but he'll agree that it's easier when you can pluck a recruit out of your own backyard.

Anthony Garofalo, a 6-foot-3 left-hander from Plum High School, signed with Point Park University late last month and will join the Pioneers' pitching staff in the fall. Garofalo was named the WPIAL Class AAAA pitcher of the year by the WPIAL Baseball Coaches Association after posting a 6-0 record with a 1.86 earned-run average during his senior campaign.

Torres expects Garofalo to compete for a spot in next season's starting rotation left open by graduating senior Derek Peluso.

"As it is, coming out of high school, Anthony does have the ability to impact the program right away," Torres said. "The capacity in which he impacts the program will depend on how quickly he makes the transition to college.""