Brownsville baseball team takes advantage of Yough’s ‘wildness’

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, April 6, 2021 | 9:16 PM

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Yough baseball coach Craig Spisak emphasized one thing after Tuesday’s WPIAL Section 4-3A loss to Brownsville: “We need to be better.”

Four Cougars pitchers issued 12 walks and hit two batters in a 13-8 loss. The two teams will meet 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday at Republic.

“I don’t care who you are. The best team in the world is going to lose when you give that many free passes,” Spisak said. “We’re better than we pitched, and we are better than that. We just need to show it.”

Spisak hopes senior Vinny Martin will give him better innings in the rematch.

Yough (0-1, 0-3) grabbed a 2-0 lead on a two-run double by Sean Royer in the first inning. But Royer’s wildness led to a five-run second inning for Brownsville (1-0, 2-2).

Senior catcher Cole Rankin’s two-run double was the key hit in the inning. Rankin’s fly ball to right field was lost in the sun. Royer also hit two batters and walked two in the inning.

“We took advantage of their wildness,” Brownsville coach Scott Roebuck said.

Brownsville’s starter, sophomore Dave Timko, walked three as he worked into the sixth inning. He was victimized by a few a few throwing errors that kept Yough in the game.

Yough tied the score 5-5 in the third inning when Jack Sampson singled home Ryan Lubovinsky, who doubled, and two runs scored on a throwing error.

“We really didn’t have Dave penciled in as our starter to open the section,” Roebuck said. “But I like his effort and grit.”

Brownsville responded with four runs in the fourth inning, three coming on a home run by senior first baseman Zach Kutek, to stretch the lead to 9-5. Kutek finished with four RBIs. Rankin went 4 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs.

“That home run gave them a cushion,” Spisak said. “I liked how we kept battling. We had opportunities to get back into it.”

Yough rallied again with two runs in the fifth inning when a hustling Carson Pasinski forced a throwing error that made it 9-7.

“I liked our approach at the plate,” Spisak said. “Our only error did lead to four unearned runs in the sixth inning.”

Yough outhit Brownsville, 11-9. Royer, Lubovinsky and Sampson each had a double and single, and Christian Park had two singles.

“I’m not a fan of the new schedule,” Roebuck said. “We’ll see how it goes. We’ll be OK for pitching on Wednesday.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Brownsville, Yough