Bushy Run wins Westmoreland County summer baseball championship

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | 9:02 PM

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Throughout the Westmoreland County American Baseball League playoffs, Bushy Run relied on pitching and solid defense.

In Wednesday’s championship game at Latrobe, Bushy Run’s hitting joined the party.

Bushy Run pounded out 14 hits, including three each by Luca Baccari, Anthony Sherwin and Gavin Berardi, and defeated regular season champion Latrobe, 10-6, at Legion-Keener Field.

It is Bushy Run’s second consecutive playoff championship. In 2019, it won the District 31 title.

Bushy Run used four pitchers to keep Latrobe’s bats quiet. It outhit the Jethawks, 14-7.

“We got some timely hits, for sure,” Bushy Run coach Scott Peyman said. “The whole lineup contributed. It was something we were lacking. We’ve relied on the top of the order. That was important to key the pressure on.”

Bushy Run grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run double by Gio Scott and RBI single by Berardi. Baccari added a two-run hit in the second inning to push the lead to 5-0.

“They did a great job,” Latrobe coach Jason Bush said. “They squared up a couple balls early, and they did a real good job with two strikes. We just didn’t make a pitch.”

In its three previous playoffs games, one against Mt. Pleasant and two against Yough, Latrobe was able to come back and pull out the win. Bushy Run put a stop to that.

“It was a full pitching effort,” Peyman said. “Pitching, defense was the key. We did a good job tacking on runs. Getting the early lead took pressure off us and put it on them.”

Bushy Run added a run in the third inning and three more in the fourth inning to build a 9-2 lead.

Scott had three RBIs while Baccari and Berardi had two each.

Latrobe was able to get a run in the sixth and three in the seventh, but Logan Short lined into a double play to end the game.

“As far as freebees are concerned, I don’t remember too many walks or errors,” Bush said. “They also made some outstanding defensive plays. They were above-average plays.

“We put ourselves behind the 8 ball and dug ourselves too big of a hole.”

Bushy Run and Latrobe will join Yough in the Region 7 tournament Friday at Hollidaysburg.

Latrobe faces Claysburg at 9:30 a.m. and Bushy Run meets Bedford at 2:30 p.m. Yough plays at noon against Mifflin County.

“We like our chances to go up there and have some fun,” Bush said. “It’s bonus ball. It’s been a wonderful summer.”

Westmoreland County American Baseball League

Championship

Bushy Run 10, Latrobe 6

Bushy Run 321-301-0—10-14-0

Latrobe 020-001-3—6- 7-2

WP: Gavin Berardi. LP: Cam Dominick. S: Gio Scott.

2B: BR: Scott. L: Ben Anderson.

2 or more hits: BR: Luca Baccari 3 for 4, Anthony Sherwin 3 for 5, Berardi 3 for 4, Scott 2 for 5, Cole DeFillippo 2 for 4. L: Anderson 2 for 4.

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: Latrobe, Penn-Trafford