Mustangs rally past Uniontown, 4-2
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
With two outs, Uniontown’s Christian Forsythe (5) slides to safely steal third ahead of the tag by Laurel Highlands third baseman Dom Peroni (14) in the top of the fourth inning during Section 4-AAA baseball action Saturday at Laurel Highlands High School.
Laurel Highlands Dom Kumor (16) started for the Mustangs from the mound in Saturday's Section 4-AAA game against Uniontown at Laurel Highlands High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Uniontown left-hander Aaron Skinner (6) fires a pitch during a Section 4-AAA game at Laurel Highlands High School last year. Seniors Mark Fike and Colby Simmons and junior Skinner will be counted on to provide solid innings for the Red Raiders this season.
The throw gets past Laurel Highlands second baseman Derek Gaisbauer (23), allowing Uniontown's Zach Helisek (2) to steal second during the third inning of Saturday's Section 4-AAA game at Laurel Highlands High School.
Laurel Highlands' Troy Kifer (5) steals second ahead of the throw to Uniontown shortstop Tyler Frazee (16) in the bottom of the third inning during Saturday's Section 4-AAA contest at Laurel Highlands High School. Kifer then moved to third before scoring on an RBI single by teammate Dom Peroni.
Uniontown tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, but Laurel Highlands responded with a pair in the bottom of the inning for a 4-2 Section 4-AAA home victory.
The game was originally scheduled to be played Friday at Hutchinson with the Red Raiders as the home team, but was moved because of field conditions.
The game-winning rally in the bottom of the sixth inning started with Mitch Gauden’s lead-off single. He moved to second on a sacrifice, and then a hit-batsman and walk loaded the bases. Gauden scored on an infield error and the second run came home on an infield ground out.
Uniontown tied the game at 2-all in the top of the sixth inning.
The Red Raiders opened the inning with a single and added another single with one out to place runners at the corners. After a stolen base, a walk loaded the bases.
Uniontown attempted and failed on a suicide squeeze, leading to a rundown and the lead runner getting tagged out. With runners at second and third with two outs, Colby Simmons smacked a single to bring home both runners.
The Mustangs’ Troy Kifer kickstarted both run-scoring innings.
He was safe on an error in the bottom of the first inning. He moved to second on Lucas Boyle’s fly out and stole third. Kifer then scored on a balk.
In the bottom of the third, Kifer opened the inning with a single, stole second base and eventually scored on Dom Peroni’s single.
Luke Paull came on in relief for his first victory, picking up the final five outs. He allowed one hit and walked one.
Dom Kumor started for the Mustangs, pitching the first four innings with no runs allowed on one hit. He struck out three and walked five.
Gauden came on in the fifth, lasting 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits with one strike out and two walks.
Josiah Davis took the loss for Uniontown (1-6, 1-9) allowing the two runs in the sixth inning. He gave up two hits with two walks and a strikeout.
The Mustangs pulled over .500 in the section at 3-2, improving to 3-6 overall. They have a big week of scheduled home games with Thomas Jefferson (Monday) and South Park (Wednesday) and on the road at Ringgold on Friday.
“I would have to say it’s a pretty defining week to get to the top (of the section),” said Laurel Highlands coach Scott DeBerry. “We beat Thomas Jefferson and South Park the first time, but the first Ringgold game was rained out.”
The win against the Red Raiders came at the right time.
“We really did (need to win), especially after losing 1-0 (to Elizabeth-Forward on Wednesday),” said DeBerry. “There wasn’t a lot of hitting. I guess you’ll have games like this.
“It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. That’s what I told the team. We lost a pretty one at the beginning of the week at West Mifflin.”