By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, June 29, 2025 | 11:01 AM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Eden was led offensively this spring by junior Brady Hull, whose final numbers went through the roof.
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Eden Christian pitcher Noah Emswiler delivers against Monessen on April 22.
Next
Wait ‘til next year.
The Eden Christian Academy baseball team pounded the cover off the ball this season, finishing with a .333 composite batting average.
But watch out for next season.
All but two players on the 2025 playoff squad — seniors CF/P Jacob Janicki (CF/P) and Chan Kim (OF) — were underclassmen.
And five of the returning players batted at least .300, or close to it, this spring, sparking the Warriors to WPIAL semifinal round and PIAA championship game appearances.
There were seven juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen on this year’s club, which finished 19-6 overall.
The architect behind this wealth of talent in the Eden baseball program?
Most recently, it’s been coach Mark Feldman and assistants John Fowler and Timothy Lipp.
“We lost four starters (from 2024), so we obviously had big holes to fill,” Feldman said. “Our players worked hard, learned a lot, filled in the gaps and had an impressive season and run in the state playoffs.
“My expectations for next year are that our players will work extremely hard during the offseason and be ready to compete in 2026.”
Eden was led offensively this spring by junior Brady Hull, whose final numbers went through the roof.
Hull posted a .539 batting average, .575 on-base percentage, .882 slugging percentage and 1.456 OPS with 41 hits in 76 at-bats including 15 doubles, three home runs and 44 RBIs. He hit .533 with runners in scoring position, had 12 two-out RBIs, 19 extra base hits and 67 total bases.
“I feel great about my season,” said Hull, who was plagued by a nagging stress fracture injury in 2025. “I played good baseball on both sides. I swung it well and played good defense to help my team win.”
Hull had an outstanding season and was particularly effective in the state playoffs.
“I think my best defensive game was against DuBois Central and my best offensive game was against Clarion,” Hull said. “Just stepping up in huge spots for my team.”
The senior-to-be said he plans to work on his speed in the offseason so he will be faster and quicker on the basepaths.
“Just getting faster,” Hull said, “especially after the injury I had this season. It set me back on my speed.”
Two other juniors for Eden, P/IF Noah Emswiler and shortstop Brett Feldman, batted .458 and .415, respectively, while Janicki — the only player in the starting lineup who won’t be back next year — had a .382 batting average.
Emswiler’s .576 on-base percentage led the squad. He also had a .778 slugging percentage and 1.354 OPS with 33 hits, including four triples, and drove in 34 runs.
“We didn’t win a championship,” he said, “but we competed in every game and each player left it all on the field. Although we fell short, we have a lot of players returning, which allows us to have the confidence of making another run.
“The younger guys really stepped up, filling a role for the group of seniors that left, and that really showed during the season.”
Feldman, who had 82 official at-bats in 100 plate appearances, logged a .510 on-base percentage, .524 slugging percentage and 1.034 OPS to go along with 34 hits, including 27 singles, 47 runs scored and a team-leading 24 stolen bases. Feldman struck out only twice all season.
“I am celebrating our team’s performance this season,” Feldman said. “No one game sticks out; every game that our team won was great. I already can’t wait to get back out on the field next season with my teammates.”
Feldman spends a lot of time training at Battleground Baseball Group, a 20,000-square-foot facility located in Callery, Butler County. It has a full-size high school turf infield, seven retractable hitting cages, a pitching lab with four mounds and a “strength and movement” center.
“We work on every aspect of the game,” Feldman said.
Junior 3B/P Christian Watkins hit .333 for the Warriors and freshman OF Levi DeFazio wasn’t far behind with a .292 average.
Emswiler was the workhorse of the pitching staff, starting 14 games and tossing 62 2/3 innings while compiling an 11-2 record and 1.68 ERA. Emswiler fanned 93 batters while allowing 42 hits and 15 earned runs.
The talented left-handed hurler recently was one of five pitchers named PSBCA first team all-state in Class A. Hull and Feldman also were lauded as first team all-state infielder selections.
Hull was 3-1 on the mound with 38 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings this season, and Janicki ended up 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA with three saves.
Feldman chipped in with a 1-0 pitching record while Watkins was 0-2 with one save.
The Warriors’ pitching corps racked up 195 strikeouts in 145 innings and achieved a 3.09 team ERA.
More starters expected back in 2026 are C Josh Tilden, 2B Levi Parrott and OF Luke Burford along with freshman OF Kyle Fowler, who saw spot duty this spring.
Tilden, Parrott and Burford will be seniors in 2026.
“I thought we did really well this season,” Tilden said. “Obviously, we had some big expectations on us because of the results of last year’s team, and of course I wanted to take home gold.
“I thought we managed everything really well, and I’m proud of everyone on the team for sticking with it. We had a lot of seniors graduate, and I’m proud of everyone for stepping up. I thought our coaches did a really good job keeping us competitive all year.”
Naturally, Tilden has high hopes for 2026.
“I expect us to be back in the mix,” he said. “We have a young group of guys that I’m excited to see develop, and we only graduated one senior. We have some roles to fill and figure out, but I think everyone on this team is very capable. It’s all about the next step for us.”
The 5-10, 155-pound catcher, who is only 16, plans to work on building up his overall strength in the offseason.
“I had my ups and downs this year, but I thought I performed pretty well overall,” he said. “I grew a lot as a defender. My batting average wasn’t what I was expecting, but I was much happier with my bat in the playoffs. I found ways to help my team, and I think I grew a lot as a player and person this season.
“I have a lot to work on this offseason. I really want to get better in terms of my swing mechanics and just getting stronger and more athletic. I’m going to be doing a lot of work with my pitchers, as well, and making sure we’re on the same page. I want to be more efficient with pitch selection and do everything I can to make them better on the mound.”
One of the more memorable games for Tilden was Eden’s 4-0 victory against DuBois Central Catholic in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
“That’s one that sticks out to me,” he said. “I had two hits, but I also caught Noah in his best start of the season, and that was a fun one to be a part of.”
Emswiler, Hull and Feldman will be fourth-year starters in 2026; Tilden will be a third-year starter.
“While Noah, Brett, Brady, Jacob and Josh were huge contributors, I was impressed with the performance of all of our players this season,” said Feldman, the Warriors’ affable field boss.
Others looking to make an impact in next year’s star-studded lineup at Eden include sophomores Noah Wicks (OF) and Luca Natale (IF) and freshmen Carson Beck (P/OF), Miles Bailey (OF), Andy Ray (OF) and Zachary Bonner (OF).
Eden has been on an impressive postseason run so far in this decade.
The Warriors reached the PIAA finals for the third time in five seasons in 2025.
“I feel there is no team better than us,” Emswiler said, “because we are a family and we push to work harder every day by helping each other be better players and people. That’s why I think we will come back next year with two gold.”
Tags: Eden Christian