Clairton's Mike McCarthy applies the tag too late to get Allegheny Valley's Steve Long at third base during a Fed League game last week.

Kevin Giza hesitated before answering, but his response was measured and not lacking in confidence or certainty.

He wasn't so much annoyed with the assumption of the interviewer as he was determined to express his lofty ambitions.

Giza is the manager of the Allegheny Valley franchise in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation League. His team was 8-9 heading into this week. But when asked if qualifying for the playoffs was the foremost goal of his squad heading into the home stretch of the regular season, he said:

"No, it's to win the championship. Anything short of that is a disappointment."

Giza has built this fourth-year franchise from the ground up. Last season's 18-12-1 squad was the first that advanced to the postseason, where Allegheny Valley lost in the first round.

Allegheny Valley plays its home games at Etna Veterans Field and a number of its players are from the north suburbs. But the team conducts open tryouts each season and strives to take the best players possible.

"We work hard in recruiting to find the right guys," Giza said. "I think we have them. It's just a matter of time. I think we're one of the most dangerous teams as we get into the playoffs.

"This is a tough stretch. There are a lot of games the next couple weeks, but we'll be right in the thick of it."

Part of that jelling process is due to the fact the team is so young and, because of the tryout process, it experiences greater roster turnover than some franchises.

But a primary reason Giza is so confident success will come is a deep and talented pitching staff that can go 10 deep or more.

"I'm not happy with what our record is right now because I feel like we have one of the best pitching staffs in the league," Giza said. "We have three guys who could all be our No. 1. I think each has an opportunity to be one of the best pitchers in the league."

The three aces average better than 6 feet, 4 inches in height and throw a fastball that averages close to 90 mph.

North Hills High School graduate Nate Buttenfield (6 feet 7), Hampton graduate Mike Dukovich (6-3) and Riverview alumnus Brandon Federici (6-3) each average better than a strikeout per inning.

Buttenfield, one of the team's elder statesmen, had led the team in innings pitched and starts heading into July. Dukovich recently finished his senior year at Harvard and Federici did at Clarion. The latter two are left-handers.

St. Vincent College's Ben Smith -- a Freeport High School graduate -- and North Hills High School alum Steve Long, who was all-conference at Seton Hill University, round out the heart of the rotation.

But Giza said he also is confident in the pitching arms of Anthony Panza (Hampton High School, Seton Hill University); Dan Yokitis (North Hills, Washington & Jefferson); Greg Hoover (Robert Morris University); and Jake Booth (Malone College in Ohio).

Mike Dukovich's brother, outfielder Ryan Dukovich, has been among the team's offensive stars.

"He's the only real deep threat in terms of hitting the ball out of the ballpark," Giza said of that Cleveland State player.

Long, an outfielder when he's not pitching; shortstop and outfielder Russel Conners; and first baseman/third baseman Rob Ferraro have been the team's leaders in terms of batting average.

"We try to run a program [rather than] just a regular baseball team," Giza said. "We work with special training, for example, for velocity.

"We only have a short window -- three, four or five months to work with them [due to the collegiate seasons most players still have]. So we do our best training -- physical conditioning training, skill training -- and try to promote them with the Web site [www.AVBPA.com] and give them the highest level of competition."