Bushy Run tops Murrysville in American Legion playoffs behind Peyton Bigler’s arm, bat
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Bushy Run American Legion baseball became the final team to reach the District 31 semifinals with a solid 6-1 victory against Murrysville on Thursday to complete a two-game sweep of a best-of-three opening round series.
Winning pitcher Peyton Bigler helped his own cause by driving in three runs and limiting Murrysville to one run on six hits.
Bigler had a two-run single in a three-run third inning for Bushy Run, which will play Young Township beginning Saturday. He added an RBI triple in the three-run fifth inning.
He struck out six and walked only one.
The game began Wednesday, but after three players batted in the top of the first inning, heavy rain made the field unplayable and forced the game to Thursday.
The delay also cost Murrysville starting pitcher Josh Hudak, who became ill before the game and did not play.
Both teams missed scoring opportunities in the first inning. Bushy Run missed on a safety squeeze, and Murrysville stranded Jeff Downs at third after the Saint Vincent student began the inning with a triple.
“Stranding him at third was huge because we missed out in the top of the inning,” Bushy Run coach Jay Miller said. “That gave us back the momentum.”
Murrysville coach Bob Bozzuto agreed that was a missed opportunity for his team.
“That’s baseball,” Bozzuto said. “We had our opportunities and didn’t cash in on them. They were the better team.”
Bushy Run took a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Jason Sabol singled and swiped second base. After Tyler Freas reached on an error, Gavin Good doubled home Sabol. Bigler followed with a two-run single.
Bushy Run pushed the lead to 6-0 in the fifth inning when Good doubled, Bigler tripled, and Anthony Monroe had a RBI hit. The sixth run scored on a wild pitch.
“Peyton did a great zone filling zone with strikes,” Miller said. “Gavin also had a great day at the plate.”
Murrysville scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Brody Reese doubled and scored on a groundout.
Downs had three hits for Murrysville, while Sabol, Good and Bigler had two hits apiece for Bushy Run.
Latrobe 4, Mt. Pleasant 0 — Adam Moreland tossed a five-hit shutout, and Jake Albaugh drove in two runs with two hits as Latrobe swept its best-of-three series against Mt. Pleasant in the District 31 American Legion playoffs.
Mt. Pleasant didn’t score a run in the two-game series.
Lou Amatucci had a double and single for Latrobe while Vinny Amatucci doubled.
Jerry Kitz doubled for Mt. Pleasant.
Latrobe scored in the first and third innings and added two more runs the fifth.
The game was called in the middle of the seventh inning because of rain. The score reverted back to the sixth inning.
Latrobe will play host to Unity in the semifinals.