In the driver’s seat

Jul 20, 2026 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

BEAVER FALLS — Belle Vernon Post 484 is on the cusp of its second Region 6 championship in three years after earning a 4-2 victory over Blackhawk Post 261 on Sunday in the Region 6 American Legion Baseball Tournament at Chippewa Park.

JB Crovak earned the win on the mound after yielding one earned run on three hits in six innings. The PennWest California commit had 10 strikeouts and walked three in throwing 85 pitches (52 strikes).

Maddox Ceccarelli pitched the seventh inning to earn the save. He allowed one earned run on two hits with a strikeout and walk. Ceccarelli threw 23 pitches (15 strikes).

Belle Vernon (19-2-1) played Baden (9-5-1) for the championship on Monday afternoon. Baden, who earned a 20-18 victory over Blackhawk on Sunday evening, needed to win two straight games to earn the championship and a berth in the state tournament at Bowman Field in Williamsport. The event is scheduled to run from July 25-29.

“We have a cushion, but we want to win that first one so we don’t have to worry about it,” Belle Vernon coach Tom Jackson said. “We only had Cole Matusik and JB (Crovak) when we qualified for the state tournament in 2024.”

Crovak has exhausted his availability to pitch, but Jackson is confident in his remaining hurlers. Jackson plans on starting Brendon Geho in what he hopes will be the only game his team will have to play today.

“JB (Crovak) gets excited and he plays with emotion,” Jackson said. “He pitched a good game, then Ceccarelli came in and closed it out for the save.”

Geho had a strong showing on Sunday, as he hit an RBI double to center field in the bottom of the second inning for a 2-0 lead.

Vito Francia led off the second frame for Belle Vernon with a double to left field before courtesy runner Jesse Sobczak advanced to third when Jacob Peterson grounded into a force out. Blackhawk attempted to gun down Sobczak at third but he was able to beat the tag to put runners at the corners with nobody out.

Sobczak scored when Matusik grounded out to first base, and with two outs, Geho delivered his two-bagger.

Blackhawk cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the third inning, which began with a four-pitch walk to Santino Vanucci.

Vanucci advanced to second on Trey Book’s base hit to right field. Vanucci and Book raced to second and third on a wild pitch, and the host team cracked the scoreboard when Vanucci scored on Grady Liller’s groundout to third base.

Peterson restored his team’s two-run lead in the fourth inning when he lifted a fastball over the fence in left field for a lead-off home run.

“Holy cow, he cleared that one,” said Jackson in reference to Peterson’s blast. “He finally got a hold of one.”

Belle Vernon added an insurance run in the sixth when Vincenzo Francia drove in Sobczak on an infield single.

Crovak and Vito Francia recorded back-to-back singles, and after Matusik walked to set the stage for Vincenzo Francia.

Blackhawk loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Ceccarelli closed the game out with a lineout to center field and a strikeout.

Jackson Cekovich, who had singled to left field to lead off the frame, scored on Liller’s lineout. Cekovich had two hits.

Blackhawk starting pitcher Logan Elich yielded four earned runs on nine hits over six innings. He struck out and walked one batter apiece in throwing 89 pitches (55 strikes).

Both Crovaks had two hits, including a double from Jack, and Vito Francia had two hits.

Book had two singles for Blackhawk.

Belle Vernon held off Baden, 8-7, to win its opener on Saturday.

Jack Crovak led Belle Vernon’s offensive output, as he was 4 for 5 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI.

“The baseball must be looking like a beach ball to Jack right now,” Jackson said.

Although he didn’t receive credit for a run batted in, Crovak’s double to left field in the top of the seventh inning scored Dom Pireaux from first base as the result of an error. Crovak had a run-scoring double to left field in the sixth inning.

Despite Crovak’s hot bat and a quality start from Ian Porter, Belle Vernon couldn’t pull away from Baden, who rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5, and pulled even again in the bottom of the sixth inning at 7-7.

Porter allowed five runs, but only two were earned over five innings. He had two strikeouts and walked one. Aiden Shaffer pitched ⅔ of an inning before JB Crovak earned the win after throwing 1 ⅓ scoreless innings. Crovak didn’t allow a hit with three strikeouts and one walk.