Uniontown Legion opens up against Souderton
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Uniontown’s Tanny Erminio (left) congratulates teammate Ian Edenfield as he approaches home plate after Edenfield belted a three-run home run in the top of the first inning of Tuesday’s Region 6 American Legion Baseball title game at Hutchinson Field. Umpire Toby McKnight looks on in the foreground. Uniontown opens the state Legion playoffs Saturday afternoon against Souderton.
Uniontown's Tanny Erminio squares around to bunt in front of Smithfield-Fairchance catcher Jace Cappellini during Tuesday's Region 6 American Legion Baseball title game at Hutchinson Field. Uniontown opens the state Legion playoffs Saturday afternoon against Souderton.
Uniontown is looking to bring a state championship back home for the first time in 88 years when it heads to Boyertown this morning for the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball State Tournament.
Uniontown (27-4) plays Souderton (25-3), the Region 2 Champion, on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Boyertown’s Bear Stadium. Manager Brad Yohman’s team qualified for its second state tournament in four years with an 11-0 victory over Smithfield-Fairchance on Tuesday at Hutchinson Field to win the Region 6 Tournament. Uniontown won back-to-back state titles in 1929-30, but haven’t been able to get back on top of the mountain since then.
“I had someone jokingly tell me that we are on a Cubs-Red Sox type of streak being that it has been 88 years since we won a state championship,” Yohman said. “Our first goal is to stay alive and advance to the Mid-Atlantic Regional as one of the top two teams in Pennsylvania, and the second and ultimate goal is to win the state championship.
“We know it isn’t going to be easy, but our kids don’t want it to end in Boyertown. We know it starts with winning the first day, and we have a huge test against a team from a region that is normally strong in Legion baseball.”
Souderton, who is managed by Paul Meara, defeated Muhlenberg, 3-1, in eight innings on Wednesday in the Region 2 Championship game.
Dan Knechel earned the win on the mound and Nolan Bolton picked up the save against Muhlenberg. Moses Clemens, Luke Taylor and Knechel each had an RBI for Souderton.
David Gulibon and Kyle Lennon contributed with back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth for Souderton.
“It can be tough to find out information on teams you don’t normally see, but we are using the internet and looking at newspaper articles from that area to find some things out,” Yohman said. “My coaches and I will look more into it when we have practice tonight (Thursday). We will make sure our kids are ready and know what to expect.”
The pitch-count rules will still be in effect in the state tournament, but Yohman is unsure if the counts carry over from the Region Tournaments as teams in the eastern part of the state are dealing with flooding, and as of Thursday, Region 4 is still completing its tournament. The tournament runs through Wednesday and is double elimination.
“I’m not sure if the pitch counts will carry over or not, but if they do, we hope to use that to our advantage,” Yohman said. “I know that Region 2 just finished its tournament yesterday and we were done on Tuesday, and will have all of our arms available.”
Uniontown’s ace lefty Andino Vecchiolla will most likely get the nod in Game 1, but Yohman has other arms that can go, which is essential in winning a five-day double elimination tournament where pitch counts come into play.
“Right now, I fully anticipate we will throw Andino,” Yohman said. “He is our best guy and we need to find a way to beat Souderton and move on. We will have Greg Lancaster, who is attending classes at Penn State, available for the tournament, which is big for us. We have plenty of pitching options.”
Uniontown scored 50 runs in five games in the Region 6 Tournament, and will need the same output from its offense in Boyertown for a chance to be one of two teams out of Pennsylvania to qualify for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Leesburg, Virginia.
“Our offense has been there, one through nine in the lineup,” Yohman said. “We stress to our guys patience at the plate and getting deep in the count. We have guys like Travis Sankovich and Ian Edenfield that are known commodities, but there are plenty of other guys in this lineup that can hit, and I’m not talking about putting the ball in play or sneaking a flare in there for a single, they can hit a gap shot.”
Edenfield and Sankovich are the two remaining players that competed for Uniontown in 2015 when it won one game and lost two. Assistant coach Max Beatty was on Yohman’s staff, and Luke Wallace, who is currently an assistant, played for Yohman in ’15.
Uniontown’s defense has been strong all year long, and Yohman doesn’t expect a change in Boyertown.
“It all starts with Tanny Erminio in centerfield,” Yohman said. “He made some unbelievable catches in the region tournament, and Richie Mehall and Dylan Bohna are strong in the corner outfield positions.
“Travis (Sankovich) and Josh Burns are as good as it gets in the middle infield, and they can turn double plays with Ian (Edenfield) at first base making unbelievable plays.
“Nate Zimcosky is a young guy playing ahead of his years at third base, and Chad Petrush has grown so much as a catcher. We also can bring in Nick Kumor, and when he is not pitching, Andino (Vecchiolla) is a great first baseman, who made a tremendous play in our game against Connellsville in the region tournament.”
Uniontown will attend a banquet for all players and coaches tonight in Boyertown.
“I have been fortunate to attend two of these banquets,” Yohman said. “I went with Pop (Ron Popovich) when he took Uniontown to the state tournament in 2005, and I was with the team as manager in 2015. They induct a new Hall of Fame class, talk a little bit about Legion baseball and introduce all the teams that are competing. It is a first-class event.”
The hosts Boyertown have won the most state titles with 23.
“Boyertown is the golden standard when it comes to Legion baseball in Pennsylvania,” Yohman said.