A couple of days after throwing a no-hitter against Highlands High School, Blackhawk senior Derek DiRuscia decided to attend and play baseball at Slippery Rock University.

His position at The Rock will probably be -- ready for this? -- catcher.

Shouldn't he be going there as a pitcher? Not according to Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia.

Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Blackhawk's Derek DiRuscia, playing third base, tags out Knoch's Zach Mayes during a game last week Click photo for larger image.

"Derek has played a number of spots for us, and this year he's pitching and playing shortstop," Amalia said. "As a sophomore, he caught for us and I think I said at the time he's one of the top catchers we've ever had.

"He can obviously do a lot of other things, but I think catcher is his best position."

OK, but what about the no-hitter?

"Well, he's not a bad pitcher," Amalia said. "He's 2-1 for us [as of the start of the week] with 14 strikeouts in 17 innings."

DiRuscia, who is 6 feet and 185 pounds and has also played third base for Blackhawk this season, said the no-hitter was his first at any level. He also said his teammates' defense, and not his pitching, was the primary reason for the "no-no."

"Our shortstop, Tim Lipp, had a great game in the field," he said. "I threw a lot of changeups and got a lot of ground balls. Our defense just did a great job of backing me up."

DiRuscia didn't realize he had a no-hitter going in the 5-0 victory until the fifth inning. He admitted to being a little nervous in the seventh. Lipp made a nice play on a ball that bounced off DiRuscia's glove to get the final out.

It was the fourth no-hitter by a Blackhawk pitcher and the first since 1998. DiRuscia struck out four and walked seven.

He has attracted interest from Division I baseball programs at Tennessee Tech and the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and had also considered Mercyhurst, Seton Hill, IUP and Clarion. DiRuscia decided on Slippery Rock because he wanted to stay close to home. The Rock is about 45 minutes away for him.

"I could have gone to a middle or smaller Division I school or to a Division II school," he said. "It just made more sense to go to Slippery Rock. It has a good program and just seemed like the best place."

Slippery Rock is 20-10 overall this season, 6-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Former La Roche College coach Rich Pasquale, who has ties to Beaver County, is a Slippery Rock assistant.

There are three catchers -- Matt Adams, Jim Eimiller from Center High School and Josh Smith -- on the roster. Adams is a freshman and plays a great deal; Smith also plays third base.

"Their starting catcher is a freshman, but their No. 2 catcher plays a lot," DiRuscia said. "The opportunity to play as a freshman was another reason [he decided on Slippery Rock]."

A left-handed hitter, DiRuscia had a .458 average last season for Blackhawk with 4 doubles, 6 triples, a home run and 21 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .556.

He was 9 for 19 this season with nine RBIs going into last Thursday's 7-6 win against Knoch. In that game, he had three RBIs as Blackhawk came back from a 6-1 deficit.

"He's just a solid hitter who doesn't strike out very much," Amalia said.

"I've been doing alright hitting," DiRuscia said. "I'll hit an occasional home run, but I'm mostly a gap hitter ... I had six triples last year."

Baseball has always been his favorite sport. He played Colt League when he was 14 and decided to concentrate on baseball in ninth grade. That's when he stopped playing organized basketball.

DiRuscia plans to play American Legion ball for Blackhawk this summer. He was a catcher for the Allegheny Pirates in the fall.

"I'm real happy with my [college] decision," he said. "It's nice to have that taken care of so I can just worry about the season."

As for Blackhawk, the Cougars were 4-3 overall, but 3-0 in Section 1-AAA before yesterday's scheduled section game against Hampton and, like most WPIAL teams, have struggled to get games in with the poor weather. But Amalia has liked what he has seen recently.

"We've got a lot of young kids," he said. "But I think we're starting to figure things out."