Like almost all sets of brothers, Hampton High School graduates Mike and Ryan Dukovich competed against each other.

It hasn't always been easy, keeping up. After stellar high school careers with the Talbots, each went on to play at a Division I school and each plays at the semipro level now.

"We still have a competitive edge with each other," Ryan said. "But it's all in good fun. We always wanted Harvard and Cleveland State to play each other when we were going there so we could play against each other, but it never worked out."

Luckily for the Dukoviches -- who also boast brother Tim, who plays football at Denison University -- this supremely talented sibling rivalry doesn't have much more of a chance to flourish, what with each on the same Allegheny Valley team in the Greater Pittsburgh Federation League and with Mike being a pitcher and Ryan a first baseman and outfielder.

"We always had that brotherly rivalry growing up," said Mike, who pitched at Harvard and helped lead the Crimson to three Ivy League titles. "And as we got older, we just started rooting for each other more and talking each other up."

Mike Dukovich was 2-1 with a save, a 3.17 ERA, averaging just about a strikeout per inning (30 in 31²/₃ innings) during the regular season. Ryan hit .420 with 19 RBIs (tying for a team high) and 16 runs scored.

"They're such a big part of our team," Allegheny Valley manager Kevin Giza said. "Both the Dukoviches have been here three years, and when they came to our team, they helped us take our game and our team to another level. We were a good ballclub, but when Ryan and Mike came, they were just two great quality additions. They can do a lot of things."

Allegheny Valley was eliminated by Bethel Park in the playoffs last week, ending its season.

Mike went 2-2 with a 3.06 ERA in his final year of eligibility as a graduate student at Duquesne this spring. His ERA led the team among pitchers who threw at least 12 innings. And opponents hit just .221 off him, best on the team.

The left-hander can throw a hard fastball, 12-to-6 curveball, slider and circle changeup. He was scouted by Major League organizations last year -- Giza said he was convinced Dukovich was going to be drafted -- and was offered contracts by the Washington Wild Things and Slippery Rock Sliders for this season.

But armed with a Harvard degree, on track to earn a masters degree and holding a job with a sports marketing firm, Dukovich has elected to concentrate on a career outside of baseball.

That has been Allegheny Valley's gain.

"For us, he's just been a great pitcher," Giza said of Mike Dukovich, who is 6 feet 3, 205 pounds and also was a football standout as a lineman and linebacker at Hampton. "He's a great kid and a leader."

Despite playing with recent shoulde pain, Dukovich impressed Giza by remaining available for the playoffs. He closed out the team's win in Game 2 of the best-of-three series against Bethel Park.

"Mike is probably one of the hardest workers I have ever witnessed," Ryan said. "He works 110 percent. When he's pitching, it definitely motivates you to play harder because you see him out there working so hard."

Ryan, also a football player (tight end/ defensive end) and pitcher (and basketball player) in high school, was a three-year starter at Cleveland State and is planning to walk on to the Pitt team next season.

"This is probably the best year I have ever seen him hit," Mike, 23, said of Ryan, 22. "He's swinging the bat with more confidence, using more of the plate."

Ryan is listed at 6 feet 3, 235 pounds, and hits for power.

Now as two full-grown men of that size, it's a good thing the Dukovich brothers don't still carry on a sibling rivalry.

"It's exciting to watch him succeed," Mike said of Ryan. "I actually get more thrilled when he does well than when I do something."