More milestones: Belle Vernon holds off Connellsville to continue season of firsts with American Legion Region 6 title
BEAVER FALLS – Belle Vernon had already recorded its most victories and its first Fayette County American Legion Baseball League regular season title last week.
It added two more milestones on Monday at Chippewa Park.
JB Crovak pitched 6 ⅔ strong innings and Charlie Nigut and Cole Matusik each had a key hit to spark a big inning as Belle Vernon held off a furious late rally by Connellsville for a 9-8 win to claim its first American Legion Region 6 championship.
The victory also propelled Belle Vernon into the state tournament – which will begin this weekend at North Allegheny – for the first time.
Belle Vernon manager Tom Jackson said in highlighting his team’s resume, “18-2, first time we won the regular season, region champs for the first time ever … It goes out to the boys.
“You can’t ask for anything more. They come out and they play hard every single time. Hell of a year. I’m proud of them.”
Belle Vernon entered Monday’s game with a 2-0 record in the tournament after receiving a first-round bye ahead of Connellsville, which won the Fayette league playoff title. Connellsville was playing its fifth game of the tournament and, at 3-1, needed to beat Belle Vernon twice to win the regional.
“We knew our backs were against the wall today,” Connellsville manager Brian Sankovich said.
Connellsville, playing as the home team, struck first with three runs in the bottom of the fourth after starting pitcher Matthew Miller threw four scoreless innings.
Matthew Firestone and Jake Lee drew one-out walks and Kace Shearer, who had two hits and two RBIs, followed with a run-scoring single to left field. Lee and Shearer both moved up a base on Anthony Piasecki’s ground out and both scored when Miller reached on an infield error.
Belle Vernon answered quickly with a three-run rally of its own in the top of the fifth.
“That was huge,” Jackson said. “That’s how it’s been all year. We don’t bury our heads.”
Matusik started the rally with a one-out walk, Mitchell Vuick singled and Nigut followed with a line drive to right that Shearer just missed on a diving attempt, but the ball skipped past him and Nigut would up at third with a two-run triple. Jake Wessel’s sacrifice fly then tied it.
Belle Vernon broke the game open with five runs in the sixth against Miller and reliever Grayden Gillott.
Austin Hoffman singled with one out, as did Crovak and Jaxson Bozek to load the bases. Matusik gave Belle Vernon the lead for good with a two-run double to left and it added three more runs on Nigut’s bases-loaded walk, Wessel’s RBI single and Kaden Faychak’s sacrifice fly.
“Patience,” Jackson said of what keyed Belle Vernon’s comeback. “They just had to be patient.”
Belle Vernon scored what turned out to be a huge insurance run in the top of the seventh when Colton Lee walked, went to second on Hoffman’s single, took third on Crovak’s single and came home on his team’s third sacrifice fly of the game, this one by Bozek to make it 9-3.
Crovak topped the 105 pitch limit after allowing a single to Miller and hitting Aiden Newmeyer while recording two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Connellsville kept the rally going against reliever AJ Wardropper, however.
Chase Sankovich was hit by a pitch to load the bases, a balk call made it 9-4 and two more runs scored when Firestone’s grounder was misplayed for an error. Jake Lee hit a run-scoring single to right and Shearer followed with an RBI double to deep center to pull Connellsville within one run. Wardropper stranded the potential tying run at second by inducing a ground out to second baseman Bozek to end the game.
Crovak allowed five hits and four walks with one hit batter and five strikeouts to earn the win.
Miller, who suffered the loss, gave up seven runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings.
Belle Vernon racked up 11 hits, including three by Hoffman, including a double, and two each by Nigut and Crovak. Night also had three RBIs while Matusik and Wessel had two apiece.
Connellsville was limited to one hit until adding three more during its seventh-inning uprising.
“Hat’s off to Connellsville, hell of a team, they never stop,” Jackson said.
Connellsville left fielder Lee had one hit, a walk, one RBI, two runs and made two stellar plays in left field, tracking down a potential double off the bat of Bozek to end the second and doing the same on Vuick’s drive down the left field line with a sliding catch in the third.
Brian Sankovich also lauded his players’ never-say-die effort.
“One thing about these kids, they will not quit,” Sankovich said. “There is a fight in those kids and, till the bitter end they battled right up to the final pitch. We were in a position to win the game. We knew we were never out of the game with these kids.
“I’ve never been more proud of those guys. It just wasn’t meant to be. I feel bad for the guys that won’t be back. They’ve been together for a while. We have a strong contingent coming back and this is something we’ll have to build on.”
Sankovich felt his team got off to a great start in the tournament with wins over Charleroi, 7-4, and Blackhawk, 5-0, before falling in its first meeting with Belle Vernon, 6-2.
“Baseball is a funny game,” Sankovich said. “We probably beat, the first two games, the two best pitchers that were in this tournament.”
Connellsville bounced back from its first loss to Belle Vernon with a 9-8 win over host Blackhawk in the losers’ bracket to reach Monday’s final.
Belle Vernon, whose roster also includes players from Elizabeth Forward and one from Ringgold, according to Jackson, defeated Ambridge, 6-2, before its win over Belle Vernon to get to the final.
In looking ahead, Jackson said, “We’re going to go into states with 11 kids but all 11, they’re all ballplayers. We play the East Regional 5 team first. I know Greater Pittston, they’re usually out of that region, they’re always strong.”
Ron Popovich, longtime Director of Region 6, announced after the game that Belle Vernon will be the host of next year’s American Legion Region 6 tournament.