NARROW LOSSES FOR AREA SENIOR LEGION TEAMS AS YOUTH LEGION ROLLS ON

SENIOR LEGION DISTRICT 31

Homer City Post 493 and Murrysville slugged it out last night in the deciding game of the first round of the District 31 playoffs, with Murrysville eking out a 15-14 win.  The game turned in the fourth inning when Murrysville scored nine runs to take the lead after trailing 7-4.    Down 2-0 in the second, Post 493 took the lead on an RBI single by Andrew Ruddock, a two-run single by Andrew McGee, and an RBI triple by Kadin Homer.  Tied at 4 in the third, Ruddock knocked in another run with a single.  Ruddock had three hits for Homer City and McGee, Adam Cowburn, and Michael Krejocic each had two, with Krejocic driving in three runs.

Homer City banged out 12 hits and collected 10 walks in the game, which lasted over three hours.

Hempfield East eliminated Young Township, 7-5 in the other District 31 deciding game.  The winners worked their way out of a bases loaded one-out jam in the sixth to preserve their 6-5 lead and added an insurance run to get the win.

YT had taken a 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Dustin Coleman, but fell behind, 6-2 as Hempfield scored two in the second and four in the third. Young Township fought back with a run in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth, but couldn’t make it all the way back.

YOUTH LEGION TOURNAMENT

In Pool A, after a 17-1 win over Marion Center on Wednesday, S.W. Jack scored 17 runs again last night, shutting out Young Township 17-0.  Ethan Shank, Jamison Miller, and Elijah Thomas all had two hits for S.W. Jack, and Miller, Thomas, Caden Force, and Luke Rowe all drove in three runs.  Miller, Force, Thomas, Lewis, and Charlie Manzi all doubled.  Sully VanHoose got the win, striking out three in two innings on the mound.

Also in Pool A, Armstrong topped Marion Center 18-8, setting up a showdown between the two 2-0 teams when S.W. Jack hosts Armstrong on Monday for the Pool A championship.

In Pool B, Brookville moved to 2-0 with a 13-7 win over Mahoning Valley, which dropped to 1-1.  Homer City Post 493 is 1-1 after routing Kovacik Insurance, 14-4.

Brookville will play at Homer City on Monday and Kovacik Insurance will visit Mahoning Valley.

LITTLE LEAGUE

In the Section Four 14u softball championship series, West Suburban stopped Indiana to set up a deciding game tonight.  Jake Slebodnick has the story.