Growing up the son of a former major league pitcher, Preston Jones knew he was destined to toe the rubber.

The rising senior at Franklin Regional throws a variety of effective pitches and has the pitching knowledge passed down from a former Pirate -- his father Barry Jones, who was 33-33 on the mound with appearances in 348 games during his eight-year career from 1986 to 1993, which included three seasons with the Buccos.

Preston has worked the past three high school and summer seasons to hone his craft, and this year his team is reaping the benefits of his hard work.

"He's been a welcome addition to Kiski Legion," said coach Dave Montgomery, who also coached Preston two years ago on the Murrysville Junior Legion team that advanced to the state tournament.

"He's doing very well. He's been a huge pick up. The kids love him in the dugout."

Preston elected to play for Kiski Valley so he could be reunited with his former Junior Legion coach.

"These coaches are some of the best I've had," Preston said. "They know a lot about baseball, and they know what they are doing. I thought it would be a good experience to play for them again.

"We're looking really strong. This is one of the best teams I've ever played on talent-wise. I think we're playing real well now."

After being granted a release from the Murrysville Legion officials, he began his contributions immediately, both on the mound and at the plate.

"He's been part of the regular rotation. He knows how to pitch. There's no doubt about that. Obviously, his dad taught him that," Montgomery said of the 4-0 starter.

"He also works very hard to keep the ball down. When he gets in trouble is when he hangs up. He's not overpowering. He's got a pretty decent curveball. His change up has improved, which has helped."

Jones also has been a key part of the Kiski Valley offense. He's hitting in the clean-up spot during the playoffs, and his .420 average is one of the best on the team. He also has three home runs on the season.

"I've been hitting the ball well this summer," he said. "I've hit for power, drove in runs with runners in scoring position."

When not on the mound, Preston has been a fixture at the hot corner, which has brought stability to the Kiski Valley infield, Montgomery said.

"For a big boy, he can flat play down there. He throws darts right there across the diamond. Preston's been a calming influence on our infield."

Preston has worked on his velocity and breaking pitches all season with hopes of performing well enough during the next year to garner some college scouting attention.

"This summer, I've been throwing a lot in the rotation. I've found my groove. I'm throwing strikes and doing pretty well," Preston said.

"I think my best attribute is control. My breaking ball has come along well this summer. My fastball is alright, low to mid 80s. Hopefully what coach Montgomery is teaching me will carry over to the school team next year and into next summer."

Kiski Valley (17-0), which lost to Hempfield East in last year's District 31 finals, reached the Northern Division finals after defeating Murrysville (6-10) this weekend in a best-of-three series, 2-0. The team was scheduled to take on Irwin (10-8) beginning on Tuesday.

The winner will advance to the District 31 finals against the winner from the South Division for a best-of-three series set to begin on Saturday.