Apr 26, 2002 By Jim Kriek For The 4 min read

Andy Beucher couldn’t have picked a better time to make his first pitching appearance of the season, and because he did, Connellsville can order a 19th square for that baseball championship banner hanging in the school gymnasium. The Falcons clinched the 19th section championship in the school’s baseball history by coming from behind Thursday to nip Laurel Highlands, 3-1, in an excellently played Section 2-AAA contest at the chilly Hutchinson Field.

Beucher relieved starter Matt Rupp in the fourth and shut the Mustangs down on two singles the rest of the way, then picked up the win when the Falcons scored three runs in the sixth. Against Beucher, only three Mustangs got past first base, and all three stayed at second.

Coach Bob Renzi said, “Andy hasn’t pitched all year because he injured his ankle before the season started and he couldn’t put a lot of pressure on it. But today he told me he was ready if he was needed. He’s a gamer, and he likes the kind of situations he faced today. He was very strong in relief.”

The section win was the third in as many days for the Falcons (13-1, 8-0), but it didn’t come easily. Loser Brad Yohman pitched well enough to win any number of games.

He held the usually hard-hitting Falcons to just six hits, including a double and single by Anthony Smith, a double by Eric Luckey and Jon Stutzman’s triple. Both of the latter key hits came in the sixth.

Renzi added, “Yohman did an excellent job, he moved his pitches around, and he kept us off balance. The big thing was that the middle and lower part of our batting order got some key hits.”

Renzi called the clincher “a very big win for us. Matt pitched an inning yesterday, and I was hoping he could give us three or four good innings today, and he did. Not many teams like to play three section games in as many days, and you have to have a lot of confidence in your players to do that. Our team showed a lot of heart today; they were determined not to lose.”

Mustang coach Tom Landman called the action “a very good high school game played by both sides, and we congratulate Connellsville for winning the championship. Brad threw a fine game for us and kept them in check until the sixth. Beucher was great in relief for them.

“Defensively, we made some fine plays, but we couldn’t get going offensively.

“We got runners on, but then we couldn’t get the big hits to get them around.”

LH (9-4, 3-4) had only three singles off the two pitchers – a second inning leadoff by Kevin Martin, a run-producer by Ryan Gondek and a one-out shot by Dave Landman in the fifth.

Connellsville had a big threat going right away.

Tony Marciante led off the game with a single, Chris Marsinko walked and Smith bunted for a single to load the bases with nobody out.

Then Beucher hit a liner that looked to be headed for left, but LH third baseman Eric Darr speared it then doubled Marciante off third.

Landman said later, “That was a very big defensive play because if that ball had got through, they would have had at least two runs and two on with nobody out.”

Laurel Highlands made its move in the fourth. Santino Sloboda walked to lead off, and Martin bunted him ahead. Aaron Lowden walked, and Beucher relieved Rupp. He got a strikeout then gave up a single to Gondek, scoring Sloboda, but shut the door after that, allowing one hit the rest of the way.

Then came the clincher in the sixth. Smith led off with a double along the left-field line and went to third on a wild pitch. Darr made another big defensive move when he backhanded Beucher’s grasscutter about a foot inside the line and threw him out at first with Smith holding.

With the infield up, Bryner hit back to short. The throw was home to get Smith, but the ball got away and Smith scored with Bryner reaching second. Stutzman hit a fly ball deep to right with Gondek going back and trying for the gloved-hand catch, but the ball was off his fingertips, and Stutzman was safe at third as Bryner scored.

With two down, Luckey hit for two to right, driving in pinch runner Dave Show with an insurance run.

In the LH sixth, Lowden and Gondek walked around two outs but were left stranded, and then Beucher set the side down in order in the seventh.

Connellsville will compete in a tournament at Indiana on Saturday. LH is at Ringgold today and home to Woodland Hills at 11 a.m. Saturday.