Young Township Legion prepares for postseason

Young Township entered this week’s games third out of nine teams in District 31 in the Westmoreland American Legion Baseball League.

Team manager and coach Ryan Staats helped put the team together, along with Jason Sowers from Apollo-Ridge, Mike Coleman, who pulled most of the players from Armstrong County, and Joseph Lasser, who helped bring along two players from Derry.

“It was a lot of just trying to reach people and get people to play baseball,” Staats said.

“It’s tougher in the summer at this age for kids to get them committed, especially with basketball and football and things like that.”

With a lot of new players, there was a need to build team chemistry.

Nonetheless, Young Township’s players adjusted to each other quickly, winning their first three games of the season.

“We have a group of kids that are from a lot of different schools and a lot have jobs, so we don’t get to practice as much as we probably would like, but I have a roster full of great ballplayers and we just have fun,” Staats said of players from Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Derry, Kiski Area, River Valley, United and West Shamokin.

“Everyone on my team knows how to play baseball.”

In Legion baseball, pitching and hitting skills are at their best as players are still in game shape after the high school spring season.

This means that small ball, getting runners in scoring position and manufacturing runs, is more essential than ever for the Renegades.

Staats believes playing small ball against the caliber of the pitchers in Legion baseball is the key to success.

It’s a wooden bat league filled with talented pitchers so the games have been lower-scoring.

Young Township continues to use the small ball strategy down the stretch heading into the playoffs.

“We won some games on a lot of successful small ball,” Staats said.

“As long as they show up ready to play, that’s how we’re preparing for the playoffs is basically just playing game by game.”

The Renegades entered the week 9-5, trailing Latrobe (11-0-1) and Bushy Run (10-2-1).

Armstrong rising senior Dustin Coleman has helped lead the charge, batting .512. He also has put in a lot of innings on the mound.

Before the team lost to Latrobe, 8-7, on Sunday, the Renegades had posted two consecutive shutouts, winning 4-0 over Yough and Homer City.

Coleman said building momentum late in the season can help in the playoffs.

“It gets everyone’s attitude up, and everyone’s on the fence,” Coleman said.

“We’re all cheering each other on, and the excitement’s up. It really puts a lot of momentum going forward. It helps everyone hitting and in the field.”

Coleman enjoys playing Legion baseball as he believes the pitching and hitting are at their peak in the summer. He and the team continue to practice and prepare for the playoffs.

“We try and make every rep count, so even if we’re out on the field, taking ground balls, taking fly balls, everything is a good rep,” Coleman said. “Even in the cage, every swing is good.”

Recent River Valley graduate Braden Staats also has been a huge part of the team’s success.

The Renegades catcher is batting .473 with two home runs.

Similar to Coleman, he believes getting more reps in the field has helped them become more consistent late in the season. Nevertheless, he and the team want to continue to clean up their hitting and fielding.

“We’re just trying to get our bats to come around, fix up some small mistakes we’re making in the field,” Braden Staats said.

“Scoring runs is the main part we’re trying to get better at right now and then limit the mistakes we’ve been making in the field, which has been hurting us against the better teams.”

He said the team gained chemistry rather quickly, which led to the successful start.

Although he and the team continue to work on their craft, he sees the improvement that has happened throughout the season.

“We’ve been just getting more reps at that position,” Braden Staats said.

“A lot of kids we have are playing positions they haven’t played before, so as the season progresses, they’re getting more and more comfortable in that position.”

Coach Staats also highlighted the leadership from a pair of Derry grads: Niko Buffone and Anthony Lasser from Pitt-Johnstown.

Coleman, Braden Staats, Hayden Brink, who also plays shortstop, and Bradley Felix have bolstered the rotation. Felix, Joe Marino and Caden McCully from United also have added to the team’s success and depth.

Apollo-Ridge’s Jacob Fairbanks has helped keep up the team’s momentum as he recently pitched five shutout innings against Hempfield East.

The league gives players extra reps and an opportunity to win some gold in the postseason.

However, Young Township players are having fun as well. They put together a team with players from all over the area, developed bonds and now will chase a championship together.

“We’re here to win, but most of all we’re here to have the times of our lives,” Ryan Staats said.