Uniontown, Connellsville head to Shaler
Uniontown takes on host Shaler and Connellsville meets Plum Saturday when the American Legion Region 6 Tournament gets underway at Shaler High School’s Matulevic Field.
Connellsville gets the tournament rolling with a 9:30 a.m. start against Plum. Connellsville posted a 17-6 record, but five of Connellsville’s losses came against Uniontown.
Uniontown wraps up the first day’s action with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch scheduled against Shaler. Uniontown carries a 22-1 record into the tournament and is one of the favorites to emerge.
Uniontown manager Brad Yohman didn’t mince words when asked to identify his starting pitcher.
“It’s really no secret,” he said. “Zach Uhazie is going to get the ball Saturday. I’ve always felt that, perhaps besides the championship game, Day 1 is the most important day of the tournament.
“If you win, you’re still in good shape, but if you lose on the first day, it’s pretty tough to climb all the way through the loser’s bracket.”
Sandwiched between those two games is a 1 p.m. first pitch between Hopewell and Moon, the Allegheny South regular-season champion. Hopewell is the second team from Beaver County.
A third game will be held at 3 p.m. at the CCAC Boyce Park field. It features Blackhawk, Beaver County’s No. 1 team, taking on Elizabeth-Forward, Allegheny South’s No. 2 team.
Yohman noted that his team had a good workout Wednesday and will get a final tune-up Friday. Based on coin tosses, Uniontown will be the visiting team and Connellsville will be the home team in their first games.
“We want to live in the winner’s bracket as long as we possible can,” Yohman said. “If you can get through the weekend in the winner’s bracket, we’ll be in pretty good shape. It’s no guarantee that we’ll win it all, but we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
Sunday’s winner’s bracket games take place at Shaler at 1 and 4:30 p.m., while two loser’s bracket games will also be played, one at 9:30 a.m. at Shaler and the other at 10 a.m. at Boyce Park.
The winning team will represent Region 6 in the state American Legion tournament, which begins Tuesday, July 28, at West Lawn, Pa.