Yough reaches semis; Latrobe, Young Township eliminated

By: Paul Schofield
Monday, July 19, 2021 | 9:36 PM

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SIDMAN – Yough put itself in good position by winning its first two games of the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 tournament.

And even though Yough dropped a 5-2 decision to Phillipsburg-Osceola on Monday at Forest Hills High School, it finds itself in Tuesday’s semifinals against Beech Creek at 2:30 p.m.

Beech Creek was the winner of Pool A, knocking out Latrobe.

Claysburg was the second team from Pool A to qualify when it rallied to defeat Young Township, 4-3.

Phillipsburg-Osceola earned the top seed with the win and will play Claysburg begin the day at 11:30 p.m.

The winners of the semifinals will meet at 5:30 p.m.

Yough, Phillipsburg-Osceola and Bedford, which edged host St. Michael, 4-3, each finished with 2-1 records.

The first tiebreaker was head-to-head, and the teams were 1-1. The next tiebreaker least runs allowed. Yough allowed 7 runs, Phillipsburg-Osceola 15 and Bedford 21. That tiebreaker eliminated Bedford, and seeding then reverted back to head-to-head, where Phillipsburg-Osceola won.

Yough was leading Phillipsburg-Osceola, 2-1, into the sixth inning when Phillipsburg-Osceola scored four unearned runs.

Jeremy Whitehead started the inning with a double. With two outs, T.J. Wildman lifted a short fly ball to center field that bounced off Mike Bell’s glove for an error.

A bases-loaded walk gave Phillipsburg-Osceola a 3-2 lead, and Nick Coudriet’s two-run single iced the game.

Yough had the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh inning but could not get a timely hit.

“We were in a position where we were able to start two young pitchers, and James Shoman pitched a great game,” Yough coach Craig Spisak said. “He pitched six innings and allowed one earned run. I was proud how he pitched.

“Then I pitched (Jack Sampson) … and I was able to put the young kids in a high-leverage game and get some great experience for them, and they did well.”

Phillipsburg-Osceola took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Parker White walked, moved to second on a throwing error by Shoman and scored on Whitehead’s single.

Yough bounced back to tie the score 1-1 in the third inning when Logan Cosharek walked, moved to second on an error by starting pitcher Gavin Emigh and scored on Bell’s single.

“We didn’t get the timely hits,” Spisak said. “Early on we were a little off on our timing and didn’t get our first hit until the third inning. Then we started getting better contact.”

Yough took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when Kam Pritts reach second on a throwing error and scored on Sampson’s single.

It’s the second consecutive year Yough has done well in the Region 7 tournament. Spisak hopes his team can take the next step.

“The experience from last year really helped us,” Spisak said. “The players were definitely relaxed and were not nervous.

“They’re all good teams to this point. If you make it to the semifinals of the tournament, you’re playing good teams. We have to play our best if we want to advance.”

Beech Creek 4, Latrobe 2 — Latrobe was one strike away from the semifinals. The Jethawks led 2-1 in the top of the seventh inning when disaster struck.

Latrobe was unable to complete a double play, and an error earlier in the game forced starting pitcher Peyton Henry to throw 12 more pitches than he needed. Pitchers are allowed to throw 105 pitches in one day, and Henry left the game with 103 and the bases-loaded.

Beech Creek’s Peyton Johnson greeted relief pitcher Jake Bleehash’s pitch with a shot just over the glove of center fielder Jake Bradish for a bases-clearing triple.

Latrobe got a runner on base in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Beech Creek secured the win.

Beech Creek took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a double by Rocco Stack and a single by Cy Probst.

Latrobe grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Clay Petrosky doubled, and Eric Batista was hit with a pitch. Both advanced on a wild pitch.

Petrosky scored on a sacrifice fly by Logan Short, and Batista scored on Ben Anderson’s ground out.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.