Apr 13, 2016 By Jonathan Guth jguth@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read

Laurel Highlands made a statement in Tuesday’s Section 4-AAA baseball showdown against Belle Vernon with an 11-1 victory in five innings at Laurel Highlands High School.

The game was called after the Mustangs put up their 11th run in the fifth due to the 10-run Mercy Rule.

“I will enjoy it tonight but we have to come back ready to go again tomorrow,” Laurel Highlands coach Scott DeBerry said. “I think our guys, top to bottom in the lineup, showed that they can hit today.”

LH (4-0, 6-1) entered the bottom of the fifth up 10-1, and needing one run to enact the Mercy Rule. Lucas Boyle led off with a walk against Belle Vernon’s third pitcher, Deven Judy, and moved to second when Troy Kifer reached on a fielder’s choice.

Hudson Novak’s RBI double to left center scored Boyle and put the finishing touches on the game, and the Mustangs remain the only team in the section without a loss. Novak, who drove in another run run and had two singles, has 13 RBIs this season.

“I am not taking anything away from Laurel Highlands, but we didn’t play baseball like we can today,” Belle Vernon coach Daryl Hixenbaugh said. “Our hitting approach was terrible today and we were horrendous in the field.”

DeBerry sent out his ace, Zach Uhazie, who improved to 4-0 this season with the win, while Hixenbaugh countered with Matt Benicky.

Uhazie didn’t have a great opening inning but settled down to finish strong. The senior allowed one run on four hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked three.

“Once I get settled down, I’m usually pretty good,” Uhazie said. “We come in every game thinking that everyone can be beat. We want to keep pushing and not let up on any team. We want to do something big here for the program and the school.”

Belle Vernon (2-1, 5-1) scored its lone run in the first with two outs when Justin Ivill walked and Jordan Zilka doubled for a 1-0 lead. After Uhazie walked Evan Hannan, he got the next batter looking to end the threat.

“I thought Zach threw the ball really well,” DeBerry said. “He might have tightened up a little in the second inning after that long first, and he even admitted that, but he bounced right back.”

The Mustangs responded for five runs in the first on five hits, and chased Benicky after 1/3 of an inning for Joel Engstrom.

Boyle led off the inning with a singled and scored on Kifer’s RBI triple to tie the game at 1-1. Novak’s single up the middle scored Kifer for a 2-1 LH lead.

Novak was forced out on Dom Peroni’s ground ball to the shortstop but the Leopards weren’t able to turn two.

Uhazie helped his own cause with an RBI double to right center that scored Peroni and Rich Pish’s RBI single scored courtesy runner Jimmy Pierce, and the Mustangs led 4-1.

Hixenbaugh pulled Benicky after Pish’s at-bat and Engstrom came on in relief.

“We didn’t pitch well today,” Hixenbaugh said. “We put the ball in the middle of the plate all game long.”

Engstrom hit the first batter he faced, Garrett Kopich, with a pitch and Pish scored on Chad Pillar’s sacrifice fly to right for a 5-1 lead for the Mustangs. Pish and courtesy runner Austin Dorogi moved up to second and third on a wild pitch with Pillar at the plate.

“That first inning for us was huge because they score a run in the top of the first, and from what I had seen, they scored a lot of runs early in games, and I thought the answer was great,” DeBerry said.

Neither team scored in the second but LH tacked on three more runs in the third with two outs.

Kopich singled, and with Dorogi running for him, Pillar hit a two-run home run to center field on a 3-2 count to provide LH with a 7-1 cushion.

Pillar, who hit his first career homer, had three RBIs and also walked, but was just glad to help his team in a key section game.

“I knew I had to protect the plate with two strikes and I gave it my all on the swing,” Pillar said. “We just have a goal of being section champs and we are out here to do whatever we can to accomplish that goal. We want to start small and work our way up.”

The Mustangs added another run when Daniel Zuchelkowski reached on an error, moved to second when Boyle walked and scored on Kifer’s RBI single for an 8-1 LH lead.

Belle Vernon had a chance to cut into the deficit in the fourth when Hannan led off with a double and Eric Harkins laid down a bunt single but Uhazie was able to get Judy to ground out to end the inning.

DeBerry’s star pitcher was able to keep the Leopards off the board in the fourth when he fanned two after Hannan’s double and before Harkins’ bunt single.

“Zach really started to settle into the game nicely,” DeBerry said. “When we needed an out, he got it for us.”

LH added two more runs in the fourth when Peroni led off with a double and scored on Kopich’s two-out double for a 9-1 lead.

After Pillar walked, courtesy runner Dorogi scored on Zuchelkowski’s RBI single for a 10-1 lead.

The Mustangs get back to action today when they host West Mifflin (1-2, 2-3) at 4 p.m. LH has played a majority of its games at home in the early part of the season, which may cause concern for some, but DeBerry is not worried about it at all.

”It really doesn’t matter to me that we will be playing more away games later in the season,” DeBerry said. “I really think away games are fun.”

Belle Vernon looks to get back on track today when it hosts Thomas Jefferson (0-2, 2-6) at John DiVirgilio Complex in Rostraver Township, with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.

”No team in the WPIAL will go through the season undefeated, so we have to come back tomorrow ready to play,” Hixenbaugh said. “It is still early in the season.”