Latrobe, Young Township set to tangle for Legion title

With the Pennsylvania American Legion Region 7 tournament scheduled to begin Saturday at Bedford, one could wonder how Latrobe coach Jason Bush and Young Township coach Ryan Staats will approach Wednesday’s District 31 championship game.

“We’re playing to win,” Bush said. “We go out to win any time we play a game. It doesn’t matter if it’s a league game, exhibition game or a scrimmage, we go out to win.”

And Latrobe, the regular-season champion, has done that a lot, especially this season. The Jethawks are 23-2-2, losing two one-run games.

“Our pitching is in good shape,” Bush said. “We’re going to throw someone that has proper rest. We have multiple pitching choices. We have 11 guys that have thrown this season.”

Latrobe will host Young Township at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Legion-Keener Field. Both teams qualified for the Region 7 tournament.

The winner of the third-place game between Bushy Run and Unity will join the two finalists in Bedford. The consolation game is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Penn-Trafford.

“We’re ready to go,” Staats said. “We haven’t won a District 31 championship, and we’re looking forward to the challenge on Wednesday.”

Staats said he’s eager to see how Haden Brink (Armstrong), who didn’t face Latrobe this season, fares. The Jethawks won both meeting this season, 8-0 at West Lebanon and 8-7 at Legion-Keener Field.

Both teams have solid pitching and play excellent defense.

Staats said his pitchers must control Latrobe’s offense.

“They are solid throughout the lineup,” Staats said. “Haden will face a tough challenge.”

Bush said the Jethawks offense has been solid.

Vinny Amatucci had a big series against Unity in the semifinals. He hit a two-run homer Saturday and drove in four runs and had four hits Sunday. Lou Amatucci, Logan Short and Jake Albaugh have been hitting well.

“We have a super-balanced offense,” Bush said. “We have eight to 10 guys hitting between .270 and .370. Vinny is getting hot at the right time. He’s a team leader, and the players follow him.”

Braden Staats (River Valley), the coach’s son, Bradley Felix (United), Dustin Coleman (Armstrong), Brink, Mason Ross (Kiski Area) and Nicholas Reeping (Derry) have been swinging hot bats for Young Township.

“These guys have bought in to what we are doing,” Coach Staats said. “We have kids playing well at positions they didn’t play in high school.”

Staats’ son was a shortstop last year, and he’s catching this season. Ross was an infielder, and now he’s playing well in center field. Joe Marino has moved over the diamond to first base and is excelling.

“We just want to keep playing,” Coach Staats said. “The team is having a lot of fun.”

Bush said that’s the goal of the Jethawks.

“We want to continue to play and see how far we can get,” Bush said. “This is a special group, and this is a special season.”