Plum tops Monroeville for Allegheny South Legion title and trip to regionals

The Plum and Monroeville Senior American Legion baseball teams met for the third time this season Monday evening at Gateway High School, and the rubber match between the squads was for the Allegheny South playoff championship and a spot in the Region 6 tournament.

Plum scored twice in the top of the first, and it turned out to be all the visitors would need as the defense, which didn’t commit an error, and the pitching of starter Logan Schlegel and reliever Devin Ranegar combined to limit Monroeville to four hits in a 3-1 victory.

“I feel really good for the boys because these moments are what they work so hard for,” Plum manager Greg Foster said. “I am excited for them and excited to see what they can do in the regional tournament.”

Plum, now 13-2, will begin Region 6 play Friday at Blackhawk High School. Bethel Park, the Allegheny South regular-season champion, also has qualified and will join six other teams from Beaver and Fayette counties in the double-elimination bracket.

The top two teams from Region 6 advance to states.

Monroeville, which defeated Highlands and Elizabeth Forward in the first two rounds of the playoffs, caps its league season at 13-3.

“It was a great season with these guys,” Monroeville head coach Mark Wardzinski said. “We wanted to keep these guys together from the spring season as much as possible. They were a pleasure to be around. They were fun to coach.”

Two Plum starters –Tanner Conklin and Max Oliveri – were pulled from the lineup in consecutive innings early in the game.

After Oliveri led off the game with a double, Conklin tripled to give Plum a 1-0 lead. On the play, however, Conklin slid into third and suffered an ankle injury.

Oliveri came up in the second inning and was hit in the arm by a pitch from Monroeville starter Anthony Cammuso.

“It’s definitely not the way you want to start a game, but the guys rallied around each other,” coach Foster said. “That’s the way it’s been all season with this team. Guys like Kenny Rose and Niko O’Toole tonight come in and step it up. That’s a tribute to these players.”

Plum’s other run in the first came on an RBI double from Logan Foster.

Plum finished the game with eight hits. Three of them came off the bat of Jared Hoener.

He singled home his team’s third and final run in the third, and he added singles in fifth and seventh innings.

“We just try to string as many hits together as we can with good at bats and do the best we can every pitch,” Hoener said. “We got enough good at bats tonight, and it was a great outcome.”

Monroeville threatened in the final three innings.

Joe Schulte led off the fifth with a walk and came around to score on a single from Ryan Greggerson. But Monroeville left the bases loaded in the frame.

Monroeville stranded two runners in the sixth, and after Grady Otterman doubled to lead off the seventh, Ranegar struck out the next three batters to close out Plum’s victory.

“We just didn’t get enough key hits,” Wardzinski said. “Plum kept us on our toes, for sure. But we had our chances.”

Schlegel didn’t allow a hit through three innings and exited after five having given up three hits and two walks while striking out five.

“Logan and Devin pitched the way they have all season long,” coach Foster said. “They kept throwing strikes, and our fielders made some solid plays.”

Cammuso struck out eight and walked two in five innings for Monroeville, and Otterman finished with two hits.