Patrick Bauer Sr. enters his fourth season as West View Ross American Legion coach with high hopes of qualifying for the postseason.

"It may be early in the season for predictions, but I have a group of kids who are talented enough to qualify for the Allegheny County playoffs," Bauer said. "They get along very well and enjoy playing together. That's a very important factor in being a successful team."

West View Ross is off to a 5-2 start, which includes Sunday's loss to Moon.

"It's senior vacation week and we were missing three starters for Sunday's game," Bauer said. "That's one thing that's tough about coaching in the summer. It's rare to have everybody available for every game. The key is to have enough talent to replace starters when they can't make a game or two."

He has an 18-man roster that is dominated by players who have ties to North Hills High School.

"We have two kids from North Catholic," Bauer said. "The rest are from North Hills."

Bauer has built his team around four players he has followed since they were five years old.

"I've been president of the West View Ross Athletic Association for 14 years, so I've watched these four kids since they began playing," he said. "These four kids provided a good nucleus to build the team around."

The four players Bauer is referring to are: Patrick Bauer Jr., Kris Sweeney, T.J. Zarewicz and Travis Cooney.

"Patrick and Kris graduated last year," Patrick Bauer said. "T.J. and Travis just graduated. All four should be playing in college next year. All four have provided great leadership."

Patrick Bauer Jr., the manager's son, is attending Slippery Rock University and splits time as a pitcher, shortstop, and center fielder. He pitched a no-hitter against Sto-Rox June 8. Sweeney, who is now playing at CCAC-North, has played all four infield positions. He is also the team's No. 3 hitter.

Zarewicz is a catcher who will attend Bethany College. Cooney is a first baseman and pitcher who has chosen California University of Pa. Zarewicz has a .480 batting average, while Cooney is hitting .458.

Ronnie Hughes and Jeff Wilkinson are also 2007 graduates. Hughes, a North Catholic grad who is playing at La Roche College, splits time at shortstop, pitcher, and center fielder. He leads the team with a .600 average. Wilkinson plays third base and catcher.

"Jeff is a character of the game. He's the wild one of our bunch. He has a big hairdo, so I call him Mongo. He's our inspirational leader," the manager said.

The other five players who see significant playing time are Jared Assisi, Brennan Prokopec, Jeremy Lankes, Ben Blakeley and Billy Wagner.

Prokopec, a left fielder, is hitting .522. Assisi plays center and is the team's leadoff hitter. Blakeley is also an outfielder. Lankes plays second base. Wagner splits time as an outfielder, infielder and relief pitcher.

"We're fortunate to have seven games in thus far," the manager said. "We're moving into crunch time. We will be playing four or five games a week for the next four weeks. The key is pitching. The teams with the best pitching will make it to the playoffs."