Summer baseball notebook: Latrobe locks up top seed for playoffs

Who knew a fluctuating and uncertain summer on the baseball diamond would turn out to be such a sure thing for Latrobe?

The Jethawks not only jelled early in the new-look Westmoreland County American League but they kept the momentum on full blast and rolled to a regular-season title.

Latrobe (15-9 overall, 12-2 league) clinched the title Monday night when second-place Murrysville (10-3) lost to third-place Hempfield East (7-5).

The Jethawks’ lead is two games over Murrysville.

“We knew this had a chance to be a good summer,” Latrobe manager Jason Bush said. “Then of course, there was doubt we would even play. But when we got on the field, it clicked very quickly. There are good teams in our league. We are thrilled to have the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs.”

The playoffs are set to begin July 27. Eight of the nine teams will qualify and best-of-3 series will be played leading up to a one-game championship (Aug. 4).

A region tournament will follow against teams from two neighboring leagues — Cambria/Bedford and Central Penn.

Bush said Latrobe’s strength lies in attention to detail and playing mostly mistake-free baseball. That combination helped to produce a recent 12-game winning streak.

A couple of Ligonier Valley players have boosted the team in multiple ways. Outfielder Ben Anderson leads with a .328 batting average to go with 15 RBIs, 15 runs scored and three triples, and Ethan Boring is 6-0 on the mound with a 1.06 ERA.

The Latrobe boys have shined, too. Infielder Clay Petrosky is hitting .324 with 15 RBIs, and infielder Vinny Amatucci has a .319 average with 13 RBIs, Ben Rafferty has 14 RBIs and Jake Bradish is batting .311 with 16 runs.

Other top pitchers are Cameron Dominick (4-0, 1.03 ERA) and Jake Bradish (4-1).

“A lot of teams didn’t get much practice time, so I believed the teams who played the cleanest, especially early, would be successful,” Bush said. “Our pitching, especially our top four, have been outstanding. And our lineup has been super balanced.”

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Showcase set

The WCALB was put together to simulate a normal American Legion season and organizers are taking it a step farther by adding a college showcase, a typical staple on the schedule.

The event will be 5 p.m. Aug. 5 at Legion Keener Park in Latrobe.

Coaches are working on a way to get highlights of players participating in drills to Division I and II coaches virtually since they cannot attend.

Junior college and Division III coaches can attend, and organizers have had interest from schools at both levels.

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Into the win column

Mt. Pleasant was on the outside of the playoff picture but that didn’t stop it from ending a losing streak.

By downing Derry, 6-3, on Friday, Mt. Pleasant snapped an 11-game skid. And when West Hempfield had to suspend its season due to health concerns, Mt. Pleasant moved up a spot for the playoffs.

It will play West Hempfield in a wild card-game Sunday. The winner opens a best-of-3 quarterfinal series Monday at No. 1 Latrobe.

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Checking in

A look at the standings through Monday’s action:

Latrobe 12-2; Murrysville 10-3; Hempfield East 7-5; Yough 6-7; Bushy Run 5-6; Derry 4-7; Young Township 5-9; Mt. Pleasant 1-11; (West Hempfield is 0-0).

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League break

Latrobe will play in the Slugger Wood Bat World Series, an Atlantic Coast-sanctioned event, later this week at Legion-Keener Park. The Jethawks, the only Legion team competing in a field of AAU programs, will play two games Thursday, at 9 a.m. vs. the Pittsburgh Spikes, and at 11 a.m. against the TCT Kings.

On Friday, they take on U.S. Elite (2021) at 9 a.m.