Bedford, St. Michael set for American Legion Region 7 tournament

Jul. 16—Bedford and St. Michael enter this weekend's American Legion Region 7 baseball tournament looking to conclude unfinished business from the 2021 event.

Bedford went 2-1 in pool play, but did not advance. St. Michael finished 0-3 and was outscored 14-8 in three competitive games.

Both squads will be looking for improvement to get out of pool play and compete in Tuesday's semifinals and title game, which will take place at Bedford High School's field as part of the two-site event.

"I think that's going to give us a big boost," St. Michael coach Matt Gramling said of his team's 4-3 victory over Hollidaysburg in Monday's Cambria County American Legion League championship contest.

"These kids are very proud being league champs after beating a good team like Hollidaysburg. They've always been a confident bunch win or lose. I'm hoping going 3-0 in playoffs really keeps pushing that into regionals."

The champion will advance to next weekend's state tournament. Claysburg won the 2021 title, and Beech Creek finished as runner-up.

Bedford did not participate in the postseason due to the franchise hosting the Region 7 tournament, clinching an automatic bid. Bedford (18-5-1) dropped a 13-2 decision in six innings to Berkeley, West Virginia, on Tuesday. It was the Hurricanes' first game since July 5.

"It was very important on Tuesday (to play) since we opted out of playoffs," Bedford manager Jordan Mills said. "I believe that the score of that game didn't represent how we played with all the work our kids got. Each of our pitchers got a few innings and we got to see quality pitching to tune up."

Bedford has advanced to eight straight and 10 out of the past 11 Region 7 tournaments. The Hurricanes will compete in Pool A. Bedford plays Central Penn League runner-up Beech Creek at 5 p.m. Saturday, Westmoreland League champion Latrobe at 5 p.m. Sunday and Cambria County League runner-up Hollidaysburg at 5 p.m. Monday.

"I believe we have a chance in this tournament," Mills said. "Our bracket is pretty solid, but this is the deepest our pitching has been in a while. Our defense has played well all season and we have a bunch of guys who have been here two or three times."

St. Michael earned its ninth berth to the Region 7 tournament since 1999. In Pool B, St. Michael (14-7) meets Westmoreland League No. 3 seed Bushy Run at noon Saturday at Everett Elementary School, Central Penn League champion Philipsburg at noon Sunday in Everett and Westmoreland League runner-up Young Township at 11 a.m. Monday in Bedford. Philipsburg topped St. Michael 8-5 in the 2021 tourney.

With 11 returning players from the 2021 regional squad, St. Michael is primed to build on its previous experience.

"When we beat Hollidaysburg and we were talking about going to regionals, Kirk Bearjar, who did play in regionals last year, spoke up and he said, 'Listen, this is the best baseball you're going to play,' " Gramling said. "We faced three teams' aces last year. We mostly lost every game by about two, so we competed. I think we got deeper pitching this year. I definitely think last year's experience will help because we kind of saw what it's like now. We're not going in there big-eyed. Hopefully we can play well."

A tiebreaker is decided in pool play by, in order, head to head, fewest runs allowed, fewest walks/hit batsmen per innings on defense and a coin flip.

St. Michael avenged three regular-season losses by a combined five runs to Hollidaysburg.

"You really can't take a pitch off," Gramling said. "We have the ability to compete at that level. We just need to go out and do it. In the league this year, you couldn't take a night off any game because every win was a tough one."

The Saints are led by Andrew Miko's .462 average at the plate.

The rising senior at Portage has six doubles, one home run, 14 runs scored and 14 RBIs this summer. Bearjar is batting .447 with six doubles, one homer, 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Josh Blanchetti has driven in 21 runs to go with 13 runs, five doubles and two triples. Jace Irvin, Devin Kreger and Luke Scarton have hit one home run each.

Tyler Orris has stolen 12 bases and scored 16 runs.

On the mound, Jeremy Burda is 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 242/3 innings.

Miko has a 3-1 record and 2.33 ERA with 24 punchouts in 24 frames. Jake Poldiak is 2-1 with 18 strikeouts in 20 innings.

Cody Falger has logged 192/3 frames. Bearjar has saved three games.

Bedford's Andrew Lazor is hitting .467 with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, 24 runs, nine stolen bases and 21 RBIs. Calvin Iseminger is batting .471 with a home run and 14 RBIs in 10 games. Matt Whysong has clubbed two home runs to go with 10 RBIs in 11 games. Joey Huxta has driven in 15 runs. Trevor Weyandt has 12 stolen bases, and seven Hurricanes have plated 10 or more runs.

Luke Mickle (5-1) has a 3.00 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 33 innings. Saturday's probable starter Trenten Mellott (3-0) has compiled 21 punchouts and a 1.42 ERA in 19 frames. Lazor (1-0) has logged 16 innings and a 2.81 ERA. Nate Whysong has struck out 18 batters in just 91/3 innings.

Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.