Latrobe, Young Township, Bushy Run open Region 7 tournament Saturday

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, July 15, 2022 | 8:18 PM

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After the District 31 American Legion Championship game on Wednesday, Latrobe coach Jason Bush and Young Township coach Ryan Staats both agreed that the title game was a tune-up for what they will face Saturday in the start of the Region 7 tournament.

Latrobe edged Young Township, 3-0, in a pitchers’ duel.

Both teams got outstanding pitching performances: Latrobe got a combined two-hit shutout from Jake Albaugh and Adam Moreland, and Young Township got an outstanding effort from Dustin Coleman.

“He was the best pitcher we faced all season,” Bush said of Coleman. “That’s the type of performance we have to expect this weekend at Bedford. There will be some quality teams in the tournament.”

Bedford Legion will serve as the host of the tournament and the majority of the games will be played at Bedford High School. Three games will be played at Everett High School, one each day on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

There will be three games each day at Bedford beginning at 11 a.m.

Young Township will kick off the tournament by playing Phillipsburg. Latrobe will follow at 2 p.m. against Hollidaysburg, and Bedford will conclude the day at 5 p.m. playing Beech Creek.

Bushy Run, which defeated Unity for third place, will face Saint Michael at 12:30 p.m.

The eight teams in the tournament are divided into two pods. In Pod A are Bedford, Latrobe, Beech Creek and Hollidaysburg. In Pod B are Bushy Run, Hollidaysburg, Phillipsburg and Saint Michael.

The teams in each pod will play a round-robin tournament. The top two teams in each pod will cross brackets in the semifinals Tuesday, and the winners will then play for the title to see what team represents Region 7 in the state tournament beginning July 23 at Boyertown.

“I know one thing. We have to hit better than we did in the championship game,” Staats said. “We picked the wrong time to lay an egg. I’m confident the players will bounce back. They have all season.”

Latrobe and Young Township were in the 2021 tournament at Forest Hills near Johnstown. The other District 31 team there was Yough.

Bushy Run was also in the postseason in 2021. It was invited to participate in the Region 6 tournament in Uniontown.

Bushy Run is a young squad that has numerous players from the Junior Legion team that won the state title in 2021.

The Region 6 tournament gets underway also Saturday at Hardy Field in Brighton Township near Beaver.

Uniontown and host Beaver will play two games Saturday.

Uniontown, the returning Region 6 champion, will face North Allegheny at 9:30 a.m. and Hopewell at 12:10 p.m. Beaver faces Charleroi at 3:10 and then Blackhawk at 5:35.

There are six teams in the Region 6 tournament. The championship best-of-three series begins Monday and could conclude, if necessary, on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball

Region 6 tournament

Hardy Field, Brighton Township, Beaver

Saturday’s schedule

9:30 a.m.: Uniontown vs. North Allegheny

12:20 p.m.: Uniontown vs. Hopewell

3:10 p.m.: Beaver vs. Charleroi

5:35 p.m.: Beaver vs. Blackhawk

Sunday’s schedule

9:30 a.m.; Hopewell vs. North Allegheny

12:20 p.m.: Charleroi vs. Blackhawk

3:10 p.m.: Group 1 first place vs. Group 2 second place

5:25 p.m.: Group 2 first place vs. Group 1 second place

Monday’s schedule

2:05 p.m.: Sunday’s winners (Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-three series)

Tuesday’s schedule

4:30 p.m.: Game 3 (if necessary)

Region 7 Tournament

Bedford

Saturday’s schedule

11 a.m.: Young Township vs. Phillipsburg

2 p.m.: Latrobe vs. Hollidaysburg

5 p.m.: Bedford vs. Beech Creek

Everett High School

12:30 p.m.: Bushy Run vs. St. Michael

Sunday’s schedule

Bedford High School

11 a.m.: Bushy Run vs. Young Township

2 p.m. Hollidaysburg vs. Beech Creek

5 p.m.: Bedford vs. Latrobe

Everett High School

12:30 p.m.: St. Michael vs. Phillipsburg

Monday’s schedule

Bedford High School

11 a.m.: St. Michael vs. Young Township

2 p.m.: Latrobe vs. Beech Creek

5 p.m.: Hollidaysburg vs. Bedford

Everett High School

12:30 p.m.: Bushy Run vs. Phillipsburg

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.