When it comes to varsity experience, the Central Catholic baseball team has a lot of it.

When it comes to winning WPIAL titles, the Vikings have experience with that, too -- although not necessarily on the baseball diamond. Five three-year starters with more than 40 games varsity experience headline the lineup and contributors from both the Vikings football and basketball WPIAL championship teams are also on the baseball team roster.

Central (15-2, 11-0) was atop Section 4-AAAA heading into its final section game yesterday against Plum.

The Vikings are one of three teams that won both WPIAL basketball and football titles this school year and are going for a "three-peat" of sorts by adding a baseball championship along with Serra Catholic. Jeannette, the other school to win football and basketball crowns this school year, won't qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

"They are an experienced and focused group," Vikings coach Rich Krivanek said. "They have been through big games and playoff games.

"If we have been down, they haven't panicked. If we have been up, they haven't let down their guards. They are an experienced group that has been through a lot together. They are a close group of kids who play for each other."

Quentin Williams, a standout on the football team, is a three-year starter and was named to the all-section team the past two years. He is a senior captain this year and has been contributing with his arm and bat.

On the mound he has pitched 17 innings only allowing one earned run to give him an ERA of 0.41. Offensively he leads the team in batting average (.569), runs (25), hits (29), triples (5) and walks (11).

"I would say our success has a lot to do with our seniors," Williams said. "Our seniors have had a lot of big and timely hits. We have come together as a team and it just seems we are knocking in a lot of runs when there are two outs.

"Playing together with these guys since we were sophomores has helped us jell. We have a little more maturity than previous years. We have kids who are a lot more serious and a lot more motivated to do something with this team. We know we have the talent and right now we are playing our best ball."

The other three-year starters who have made up the nucleus for this Central team the past few years are shortstop Jeff Jones, pitcher/outfielder Jim Devine, pitcher/catcher Dan DeCaria and third basemen Mike Hyland. Jones, Devine and DeCaria are also senior captains on the team.

Going into this week's action, the group of senior leaders had been hitting the ball well all season. DeCaria was second on the team in batting average, hitting .420, just ahead of Hyland (.412) and Jones (.407).

DeCaria leads the team in RBIs with 24 and Jones has knocked in 22 runs and has hit three home runs. Hyland was a starter for the WPIAL basketball champions. Liam Halferty, a junior pitcher/outfielder, also played on the basketball squad. He has come out of the bullpen to record two saves, striking out nine batters with an ERA of 1.05 in six innings pitched.

Senior Dan Vaughan, a standout at fullback and linebacker for the football team, has filled in at catcher when needed.

The Vikings have had some young players step up, too.

Sophomore John Rende starts at second base and had been hitting .394 with 11 runs and has walked a team best seven times to give him an on-base percentage of .512.

Another sophomore, Ryan Davis, has emerged as the workhorse of the pitching staff, logging 31 innings already with two complete games. He has an ERA of 2.94 and a 5-0 record. He leads the team in strikeouts with 35 and has surrendered 17 walks.

DeCaria has the second most innings pitched on the team with 20. He is 4-0 with an ERA of 4.48.

Jim Burrows is a returning starter in center field and he has hit .400 this year with 22 runs and a team high seven stolen bases. Senior first baseman Shane Brunner is hitting .250 with three doubles and five RBIs.

Justin D'Alessandro, a senior pitcher, is 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched. Dave Durso, the top left-handed reliever for Central, is awaiting word on his shoulder after injuring it sliding into second base. A junior, he has pitched 10 innings and has an ERA of 2.10. Durso and Davis are the lone southpaws for the Vikings.

As experienced as this Central team is, it is still without a playoff win. In the last six WPIAL playoff trips for the Vikings, they they can claim but one playoff victory. This group of players has been involved in first-round losses to Norwin and Franklin Regional the past two seasons.

"In order for us to make a playoff run, we need to get out of the first round," Krivanek joked.

"We've been there six years and have won one playoff game. This team has the capability to get that monkey off its back. We just have to keep up with our pitching and defense."