May 2, 2003 By Mike Ciarochi 4 min read

Fittingly, the Mustangs went to their workhorse in a must-win situation. Suffice to say, Laurel Highlands senior right-hander Paul Briczinski lived up to the billing. Briczinski threw 129 pitches in a complete-game 7-5 victory over cross-town rival Uniontown Thursday in the final Section 2-AAA game for teams. The win propels the Mustangs, 7-6-1 overall and 5-3 in section games) into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs, along with section champion Connellsville. Uniontown fell to 2-10, 1-7.

“It was a hot and humid day and we had used Paul mostly in relief this season,” Laurel Highlands manager Tom Landman said. “But it was a game we had to win and we wanted our best pitcher out there. We wanted to win or lose with him.”

When the season started, Landman wasn’t sure exactly what he had in this Mustangs team, except Briczinski.

“He was our only letterman coming back and we knew he was good, but the rest of the team really worked hard and came together as the season progressed,” Landman said. “Paul’s been playing well for us all season and he was strong again for us today.”

Kenny Riddell was the offensive star for Laurel Highlands. He doubled among two hits and his two-run single keyed a six-run first inning for the Mustangs.

“Kenny has been swinging the bat well lately,” Landman said. “He had tow key hits against Albert Gallatin the other day and he had two more today. That was a clutch he had in the first and his double in the fifth led to him scoring our seventh run.”

Riddell scored LH’s last run on a throwing error, which pretty much summed up Uniontown’s game and season. The Red Raiders dug themselves into holes all season and struggled to get out of them, according to manager Mark Edenfield.

“We made a few costly errors that ended up costing us the game,” Edenfield said. “It’s hard to do certain things, like running and bunting, when you get down early like that.”

The Red Raiders got a glimpse of their future against the Mustangs and it looks pretty solid, based on the effort of freshman pitcher Ryan Robowski. He, too, worked a complete game, yielding seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 107 pitches. Two of his walks came in the first inning.

“Mark and his staff do an excellent job with that team,” Landman said of Edenfield. “Their freshman pitched extremely well for them. He’s going to be very good.”

“Briczinski pitched solid for Laurel Highlands and our pitcher was excellent, too,” Edenfield said. “If we catch the ball in the first inning, it’s a different ball game.”

Instead, it looked like a rout was on. Laurel Highlands sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored six runs on two walks, two hit batsmen, an error and singles by Riddell and D.J. Yonash. But after throwing 33 pitches in the first inning, Robowski needed only 74 more the rest of the way.

“I was pleased with how he hung in there,” Edenfield said. “We just got down too many too early and we ran out of time at the end.”

“Two of the toughest innings are the first and the last,” Landman said. “Our goal always is to win the first and last innings. Today, we won the first on offense and the last on defense.”

After LH added a run in the third, Uniontown came back and made a game of it with two runs – the fourth and three more in the fifth. Gary King doubled and scored on an error and designated hitter Neil Kelly walked and scored on Randy Fisher’s single.

Howie King singled leading off the fifth, Gary King walked and Nate Lewis reached on a fielder’s choice before Kelly’s double scored Howie King and Lewis. Pinch-runner Jeremiah Ditmore scored on Mike George’s single.

But Briczinski got out of the jam with a strikeout and a fly-ball out. He set down five in a row, allowed a single, then got the last out on a groundout for the win.

“I wish Laurel Highlands lots of luck in the playoffs,” Edenfield said.

“This is a great accomplishment for our team,” Landman said. “These kids worked hard to make it happen and they deserve a lot of credit.”

Laurel Highlands will play Brownsville at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hutchinson when the Mustangs will honor their seniors.