Crosstown rivalry
Jared Early pitches Uniontown to win over Laurel Highlands FARMINGTON – It was one of the best days of the spring for baseball Tuesday afternoon in Farmington.
The Uniontown-Laurel Highlands rivalry took to the diamond, with a great crowd enjoying the weather, and the Uniontown faithful enjoying a 12-2 win over the Mustangs, with the game ending in the fifth inning because of the 10-run rule.
The Red Raiders pounded out 12 hits on the day, as they were led by Jason Hamborsky with three hits, and a pair of runs batted in. Plus a couple of standout defensive plays behind winning pitcher Jarrod Early.
“Jared pitched a great game and really settled down after the first inning,” Uniontown head coach Mark Edenfield said. “He did a great job keeping hitters off-balance, with his off-speed stuff. He gave the defense a chance to make some plays behind him.”
Two plays that stood out for the Red Raiders defense. One came in the second, when rightfielder Nate Lewis made a fine running catch and alertly threw to second to double off a runner. In the third, Kyle Klay ran down a fly ball deep to left, that would have went for extra bases and scored a run for the Mustangs. However LH came away empty in the inning.
The Mustangs showed some glovework of their own, despite several errors. The highlight was a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth.
“Early pitched a great game for them today, ” Mustangs coach Tom Landman said. “We didn’t do a lot of things well today. We’re a lot better team than what we showed .”
The Mustangs took the early lead in the first. David Landman, singled, to center, and advanced to second on an error on the play. Santino Sloboda, who would take the loss for LH, singled to drive in Landman.
Uniontown took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. Greg Billy walked and was forced at second on a ground ball by Brandon Mallick. Mike George got aboard on an error, which allowed Mallick to score. George scored later in the inning on a single by Hamborsky.
“We hit the ball well today, ” Edenfield said. “The kids did a great jobs of going with the pitch , and moving runners along at the right time.”
Uniontown came to life with a four run third inning. Howie King, and Nate Lewis led off with singles. Billy was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A single by Mallick drove in King. Lewis scored on a ground ball by George which forced Mallick at second. Hamborsky’s base hit drove in Billy, and George scored on an error.
The Mustangs picked up their second run in the fourth. Aaron Lowden doubled and scored on a base hit from Paul Bricinski.
“We’ve got to comeback from today, ” Landman said. “We can’t worry about the playoffs at this point. We’ve just got to try and improve as a team through the rest of the season.”
Uniontown put the game away in the fifth, plating six runs. Billy started off the inning with a line drive to second. Mallick followed with a base-hit off reliever Mike Allison who replaced Sloboda in the fourth.. With two out Klay got aboard on an error.
Then things fell apart for the Mustangs. Hamorsky picked up his third hit of the day to drive in Mallick. Early followed with a single to drive in Klay, making the score 8-2.
Gary King followed with a base-hit to left driving in Hamborsky and Matt Green, the courtesy runner for Early.
Howie King followed with a base hit to right and advanced to second on throw back to the infield. Lewis followed with a base-hit to right scoring both Kings to end the game.
“My pitching coaches Tony Rose and Joe LaPresta did a great job calling the game today, ” Edenfield said. “This win keeps us in the playoff hunt. It’s a dog fight every year in this Section.”
Uniontown returns to action Saturday for a big road game at Albert Gallatin. Laurel Highlands will try to get back on track today at home against Hempfield. It’s the completion of an earlier game with Hempfield leading 3-2 and batting in the top of the fourth.