Bushy Run Legion tops Hempfield East for District 31 title

Bushy Run didn’t win the District 31 American Legion regular-season title, but it heads into the Region 7 tournament on a roll.

The region tournament opens Friday at Latrobe, and Bushy Run is playing like a team that wants to be playing a few more weeks, maybe even a month.

Bushy Run won the District 31 championship game by defeating regular-season champion Hempfield East, 4-0, on Tuesday at Pitt-Greensburg.

Left-hander Max Pisi, a 2018 Penn-Trafford graduate who is the oldest player on the team, threw a five-hit shutout, walking none and striking out eight.

Bushy Run, which consists mainly of Penn-Trafford players from the WPIAL Class 6A runner-up team this spring, hasn’t allowed a run in five playoff games. Maclean Maund, who will be playing at Seton Hill in the fall, drove in two runs with a pair of sacrifice flies.

“I tried to do whatever I could,” Pisi said. “I tried to make things easy for my defense. We had everything going, and we came to play. This is definitely one of my best games that I’ve pitched.”

Pisi was in command, mixing his fastball and curveball. He said throwing the curveball for strikes was the key.

Hempfield East pitcher Andrew Rosenberg was the only player Pisi couldn’t get out. Rosenberg, a 2018 Greensburg Salem graduate who suffered the loss, went 3 for 3.

“We just didn’t play a good game,” Hempfield East coach Scott Smith said. “We made too many mistakes and were beaten by the better team.”

Bushy Run wasted scoring opportunities in the first two innings. It had a runner thrown out at home trying to score on a wild pitch, and Bushy Run loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning.

It broke through in the third when Mario Disso singled and moved to third on a sacrifice and passed ball. He scored on Maund’s fly ball.

“All I was trying to do was get the ball into the outfield,” said Maund, who also pitches. “It’s been pitching and defense in the playoffs for us. We work together, and we try to throw a lot of strikes.”

Bushy Run made it 2-0 in the sixth inning when Luke Fabec singled, and pinch runner Tyler Horvat scored on Connor Bannais’ single.

In the sixth inning, Rosenberg singled with one out. An errant pickoff throw by Pisi allowed Rosenberg to move to second, but he tried to stretch it to third and was thrown out by Horvat.

A Maund sacrifice fly and a Disso RBI single capped the scoring in the seventh.

“I told them keep not giving up run, and we won’t lose,” Bushy Run coach Scott Peyman said. “It’s not just the pitching. It’s the defense. When you play that type of defense and not give up any walks, it’s tough for teams to capitalize on.”

Bushy Run will play Mifflin County at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Derry Area Middle School to open the Region 7 tournament.

Peyman hopes the same the formula continues.

“I think we’re built for the regionals,” Peyman said. “We seem to have more pitching depth than anyone else that I’ve seen. We’re seven, eight guys deep. Last year, we were playing well and ran out of pitching. This year, I’m hoping that’s not the case.”

Hempfield East, the returning Region 7 champion, will face Punxsutawney at 11 a.m. Friday at Latrobe. Punxsutawney was the only team to defeat Hempfield East in the 2018 tournament.