Bushy Run rallies past Hempfield East, Latrobe tops Murrysville in American Legion semifinal openers

Bushy Run baseball coaches said they requested a morning start time for Saturday’s semifinal opener because several players were going to a wedding in the afternoon.

With a late rally in its first extra-inning game of the season, Bushy Run left visiting Hempfield East at the altar.

Brody Hoffman homered and drove in three runs, and Chuck Fontana jogged home with the winning run in the eighth inning on a walk-off walk as the top-seeded Beavers clipped No. 4 Hempfield East, 4-3, in Game 1 of a best-of-three American Legion District 31 semifinal series at Penn-Trafford.

Game 2 is set for 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Pitt-Greensburg.

Bushy Run (19-3-1), the regular-season champion, has won 12 games in a row. Post 260 did all of its scoring in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

The early risers were late finishers.

“We came out in (batting practice), and we were loose and confident,” Bushy Run coach Jay Miller said. “The earlier start didn’t seem to bother us. Getting Game 1 is massive.”

Hempfield East (16-8) started the way it wanted to but could not finish as it was tripped up by some late errors and left befuddled.

Pitcher Connor Burkey took a no-hitter into the fifth before Bushy Run finally struck a match against the Mud Dogs’ ace.

With his team down 3-0, Beavers designated hitter Gavin Good singled to break up the no-hit bid. Two batters later, Hoffman sent a 3-1 pitch over the fence in left center to trim the deficit to 3-2.

“Getting that first hit gave us momentum,” said Hoffman, whose home run was his first of the season and first since his winner in last year’s Region 7 playoffs. “Once we get started, we get rolling. We play loose. There is a lot of fight in us.”

Burkey departed after six innings and 103 pitches, still clinging to a 3-2 edge.

Grayson Willis came on in relief, and Bushy Run tied it in the seventh.

A leadoff error in right, a walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out.

Hoffman came up and delivered a sacrifice fly to tie it 3-3 and bring on an extra inning.

In the eighth, Carmen Metcalfe made a pair of diving catches in left as Hempfield East went down in order.

The wheels came off for the Mud Dogs from there, and the game slipped away. Back-to-back errors to start the inning were followed by a walk to load the bases.

Despite getting a pair of flyouts, Willis walked pinch-hitter Eric Biroscak, and Fontana, who doubled earlier but was left stranded, scored to win it.

“I felt like we had enough to get us past the finish line,” Hempfield East coach Jason Willis said. “In low-scoring games like this, when things are so tight, runs are so critical. It’s not like a 14-13 game. We can’t make errors like that and give them more chances.”

Bushy Run, which has a league-leading 207 runs, has a number of blowout wins. This was just its third one-run finish of the year.

It beat Murrysville, 4-3 and 5-4. It tied Young Township, 1-1.

“Any way we can make it happen,” Miller said of the tight win. “One-thousand percent, we got started when we got a hit (against Burkey). The tipping point was Hoff’s hit in the fourth inning. You could feel our confidence rise.”

Nolan Marasti gave the Beavers 6²⁄₃ solid innings, allowing six hits before giving way to eventual winner John Lovre.

Hempfield East went ahead 2-0 in the first when Anthony Demarco knocked in a run on a fielder’s choice, and Liam Randolph added an RBI single.

It was 3-0 in the third after Demarco’s two-out, run-scoring single.

The Mud Dogs had the bases loaded in the fourth but could not add to their lead.

The teams split two regular-season matchups. Now, Hempfield East will look to even their playoff series.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Jason Willis said.

Latrobe 14, Murrysville 4 — Latrobe jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning, blew the game open with a seven-run second and cruised to a victory in the opener of a best-of-three District 31 American Legion semifinal series.

Vinny Amatucci went 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBIs, including a run-scoring single in the first inning that gave the Jethawks the lead for good. Leo Bazala went 2 for 3 with a walk, driving in two runs and scoring twice. Erick Batista went 1 for 3 with three RBIs, and Louie Amatucci went 1 for 4 with an RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored.

Adam Moreland was the winning pitcher, allowing four runs in four innings. Nate Lemmon pitched two scoreless innings of relief.

Blake Bertucci and Roman Sarnic had two hits apiece for Murrysville.

Latrobe will look to close out the series in Game 2 at 2 p.m. Sunday at Legion Keener Park.