Masontown upsets Uniontown
How’s this for the unexpected? Shawn O’Neil quotes Ty Cobb as his team parades off the field celebrating one of the best hitting performances in Fayette County American Legion this season.
That’s exactly what happened as Masontown-Point Marion bounced second-seeded Uniontown out of the playoffs. A 17-hit attack led Masontown to a 13-7 win in the deciding third game of the first-round series Monday at Hutchinson field.
O’Neil alluded the great Cobb by saying, “Do the unexpected when the unexpected is expected, and do the expected when the expected is unexpected.”
Masontown (11-14), known around the league as a bunting team, put together a flurry of hits, which predominantly came from the bottom of its lineup.
And what was Uniontown expecting?
“We came in expecting to win; that’s the way a team has got to feel,” said Uniontown manager Ron Popovich. “I was not surprised. I know Masontown can hit, but that was the best hitting performance of any team all year. The best team won today.”
Uniontown finishes the season with a 16-8 record, as its defense and sluggish bats in the late innings can attribute to the loss.
Masontown notched three-consecutive three-run innings in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Uniontown committed three errors in the sixth, while starting pitcher Mike Allison left the bases loaded for reliever Paul Briczinski, who could not stop the bleeding.
“No one has done that to us all year,” Popovich said. “They had back-to-back-to-back big innings. Momentum had a lot to do with it.”
The onslaught started when Masontown’s No. 6-hitter Mike Budinsky led off the sixth with a double to right field. Brian O’Neil then stepped up to the plate with a bloop single to shallow right, and Josh Franks followed by reaching base on an error.
Masontown scored on two infield errors to go ahead 7-5. The first on Chris Buncic’s grounder to third base, and the second when Uniontown shortstop Santino Sloboda overthrew home plate on a bases-loaded grounder.
“(Masontown) played fundamental baseball and they scored every run they could,” Popovich said. “I knew our team was done at that point; we ran out of gas.”
“We’ve eliminated the mental errors,” O’Neil said. “It is just concentrating on not pulling the ball. We were also a little more focused on defense.”
Brian O’Neil really stuck it Uniontown in the bottom of inning with an acrobatic catch in right field to end the inning.
“That was a real big play,” Shawn O’Neil said. “It could have been an inside-the-park home run. That defused them and picked us up.”
Masontown’s bats were relentless in the seventh and eighth.
“We play every inning like we are down five in the top of the seventh,” O’Neil said. “That’s the way we were swinging the bats.”
Actually Masontown was up by two (7-5), but after the eighth, the team slugged its way to a 13-6 lead.
The key hits came from Bob Epley in the seventh, and Franks in the eighth.
Epley smacked a two-run single to left field to score Buncic, who reached base on a double, and Franks, who walked.
Franks, the team’s No. 9 hitter, stroked a two-run double in the eighth to score Ryan Jenkins and Jerome Manchas.
Budinsky led Masontown with two singles and a double, while Brian O’Neil and Franks made up six hits from the bottom three batters in the lineup.
“The whole lineup is contributing,” Shawn O’Neil said. “Budinsky really hit the ball well, and we are just getting production all the way through.”
Buncic also came up big for Masontown with two hits, while scoring four runs.
Other two-hit outings for the winners included Epley, Craig Hriblan, Mike Kisko and Jenkins, in the team’s respective order.
“Masontown definitely brought the bats,” Popovich said. “They were hitting the ball everywhere.”
Wes Kisner and Alan Smodic pitched Masontown to victory. Kisner surrendered seven hits and no walks, while striking out two. Smodic closed the game in relief with two strikeouts, two hits and one run in 2 1/3 innings.
Justin Luckey and Dan Fuller led the Uniontown hitters with three and two hits, respectively.
Masontown now moves on to play defending-champion Colonial 3, as it travels to Rowe’s Run on Wednesday for the first game of the series at 5:30 p.m.