Andrew Wilmoth rarely misses an opportunity to start a rally for the Seneca Valley baseball team.

He rarely misses the baseball, too.

The Raiders' senior right fielder and leadoff batter hasn't struck out all season - covering nearly 60 plate appearances - while igniting an offense that scores early and often.

"If I don't get on base to start the game, I feel like I've let the team down," Wilmoth said. "The very least I want to do is force the pitcher to throw me a lot of pitches so the No. 2 and No. 3 hitter can get a good look at him.

"If I don't find a way to get on base, they will."

Wilmoth's on-base percentage is nearly .500. He is batting .427 and is among Seneca Valley's team leaders with 21 runs scored, 13 RBI, five doubles, three triples and nine stolen bases.

The Raiders won the section title outright for the first time in the 20-year history of Seneca Valley baseball.

"That doesn't happen without Andrew," Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega said. "He's an unsung leader on this team.

"A lot of what he does gets overlooked because he's so consistent with everything."

No one else in Seneca Valley baseball history ever completed a regular season without striking out.

But such consistency did not come easily to Wilmoth.

A two-year starter for the Raiders, he struggled to hit .300 last season.

"I started wearing contact lenses about halfway through last year," Wilmoth said. "I knew I needed them but kept putting it off. Once I started wearing them, it took me a while to adjust."

Wilmoth's defense has needed no adjustments, however. He has committed only one error all year - a throwing error when he tried to throw a runner out at first base from right field.

"I take my defense very seriously," Wilmoth said. "That's what kept me in the lineup last year.

"I threw three guys out from right field in summer ball last year. I wanted to take a shot at it this season. The ball slipped out of my hand."

"Andrew does all of the little things well," Semega said. "He's a well-rounded player."

Wilmoth said he struck out "a minimal amount" of times last season, but credits a new batting practice technique for his steady contact this year.

"During indoor practice, the coaches had us stand at the plate and not swing," he said. "We had to track the ball out of the pitcher's hand and just watch it all the way to the catcher's glove.

"If you can get into the habit of seeing the ball hit the catcher's glove, you're going to see the ball as it hits your bat. Even if I take a pitch in a game, I follow the pitch into the catcher's glove," he added.

Wilmoth is weighing a couple of college baseball offers. One is from West Liberty State College, a Division II school in West Virginia. The other is from Division III Mercyhurst-North East.

He plans to make his decision this summer. In the meantime, he plans to keep putting the baseball in play.

"If I don't make the defense work to get me out, I've let myself down," Wilmoth said. "Worse than that, I've let my teammates down. I have to set the tone."