In back-to-back elimination games at the PA Youth Legion Western Regional at Homer City, Plum Post 980 faced early five-run deficits.

But the Junior Mustangs rallied to win both times. The second rally came against Westmoreland County rival Uniontown, and the 7-5 victory Tuesday clinched their spot in the state tournament.

“I think the biggest thing for them is that they know they have talent and that they play together,” Plum manager Bill Rumcik said. “Until that final out is made, even if there’s one out left, they’re still telling each other, ‘Guys, we can still do this.’ It’s old-school intestinal fortitude. They never give up on themselves.”

Plum takes a 22-5-1 record into this weekend’s PA Youth Legion State Championship double-elimination tournament. The event also is at Homer City.

The Junior Mustangs kick off tournament play against the Boyertown Grizzlies at 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

“The first time we got this team together, the coaches felt that the group of players had the talent to make the state tournament,” Rumcik said. “The kids understood that, and that was their goal from Day 1.”

A win against Boyertown puts Post 980 in a winners’ bracket game at 4 p.m. Sunday. A loss sends them to a losers’ bracket game at 10 a.m. Sunday.

“We know it’s going to be a tough tournament,” Plum pitcher, outfielder and first baseman Nick Chirumbolo said. “We don’t know much about these teams, except Uniontown, but if we just play our game, pitch well, limit the errors, hit the ball and get early leads, I think we’ll be OK.”

Plum played six regional games in five days culminating in a pair of contests Wednesday to determine seeding for states. The top three teams from the regional earned state berths. Uniontown secured the top seed, Plum is No. 2, and Corry Post 365 is No. 3.

After a lot of pitches, innings and swings of the bat, the team took a break Thursday.

“I told them to just rest their bodies and minds and get ready for states,” Rumcik said.

A light Friday evening practice of hitting in the cage and working on bunt coverage prepped the team for their first-round game with Boyertown.

“My experience with Boyertown is that they love to bunt in all kinds of situations, even if it’s with their three, four or five hitters,” Rumcik said. “We have to be ready for that.”

Rumcik said he likes his team’s chances at states.

“I don’t know what the other side of the state has, but we have four or five pitchers that can go with anybody,” Rumcik said, referencing Christian Brown, Brady Dojonovic, Jimmy Rumcik, Hayden Shelatz and Chirumbolo.

Plum entered the regional tournament with momentum. It defeated Bethel Park and Monroeville in a pair of best-of-3 Westmoreland County playoff series.

The title game against Uniontown ended in a tie as darkness prevented the continuation after eight innings. Plum won a coin flip to determine the top seed from the league to the regional tournament.

The Junior Mustangs’ backs were against the wall after losing their regional opener to Corry, 5-3.

“They didn’t expect to lose that game,” Rumcik said. “We were the more talented team, but we just didn’t execute enough on offense and had four errors that gave them a couple of runs.

“Our one coach, Dan Macioce, talked to the players about a Plum Legion team he coached 10 years ago that lost the first game at states but battled back to win six straight to get to the finals. They really pepped up after they heard that.”

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