District 31 American Legion semifinals set to begin

Seeding for the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 tournament and the District 31 playoff title will be on the line over the next five days for four teams.

The top four finishers in District 31 reached the semifinals that begin Saturday.

Regular-season champion Bushy Run will host No. 4 Hempfield East in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series 10 a.m. at Penn-Trafford High School.

Game 2 of the series will take place at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Pitt-Greensburg, and Game 3, if necessary, will return to Penn-Trafford at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Bushy Run and Hempfield East split their two games this season. Bushy Run reached the semifinals by defeating Blairsville, 14-3 and 7-0.

“Our goal all season has been to win the regular season and then the District 31 playoff title,” Bushy Run coach Scott Peyman said. “I’m pleased with how the team has responded.”

Hempfield East was pushed to the limit by Young Township. The East Side squad needed to win Game 3 on Thursday, holding on for a 7-5 win. Hempfield East won Game 1, 10-1, but Young Township grabbed Game 2, 7-4.

Hempfield East coach Jason Willis said he was pleased with the way the team has turned the season around after winning only five games last year.

The other series begins 5:30 p.m. Saturday when No. 2 Murrysville hosts No. 3 and two-time playoff champion Latrobe. The teams split their games during the regular season.

Game 2 of the series will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Latrobe’s Legion Keener Park and will return to Haymaker Park at 5:30 p.m. Monday for Game 3, if necessary.

Murrysville survived a scare in the opening-round series. After Murrysville won Game 1 of the series 11-3, Homer City came back to force a Game 3 with a 5-4 win in Game 2.

The deciding game of the series was a battle of survival as no lead was safe. Both pitching staffs were tapped, but Murrysville hung on for a 15-14 victory.

Murrysville used a nine-run fourth inning to take a 13-6 lead, but Homer City wouldn’t quit.

“I was pleased how we responded after getting down early,” Murrysville coach Bob Bozzuto said. “But I was disappointed because I felt we took Homer City lightly.”

Murrysville hopes the return of Josh Hudak, out with an injury, will help the pitching staff in the series with Latrobe, a team the Eagles won’t take lightly.

Latrobe swept its series against Somerset, winning 10-0 in Game 1 and rallying for a 7-4 win in Game 2.

The championship game and consolation-round game for third place will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the highest-seeded teams.

All four teams in the semifinals qualified for the Region 7 tournament at Bald Eagle Area beginning July 15.

Latrobe coach, District 31 president and Region 7 director Jason Bush said the games Wednesday will be for seeding for the Region 7 tournament.

It’s a busy week for District 31, which will be holding a showcase at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Pitt-Greensburg.