ALBION — Much like its 1-3 start to the Pennsylvania American Legion Elk/McKean Senior League regular season, Smethport Post #976 dug itself into a hole during its first game of the Region 8 Tournament.
The Crawford/Erie league champion, Wesleyville Post #571, sprinted past Smethport in its first game of pool play Friday, 10-0, and left Smethport needing to win both remaining games to make the four-team knockout round.
Over the next two days, Smethport rallied, beating Crawford/Erie qualifiers West Erie County, 5-4, Saturday and Titusville, 6-5, Sunday to earn a second-place finish in Pool B and a spot in the single-elimination playoffs.
“We are just really excited,” Smethport coach Brandon Ruffner said. “Our confidence coming off these two wins is at an all-time high. We’re just, we’re just really happy.”
In dramatic fashion, Smethport pulled off consecutive one-run victories with a young team all playing in their first regional tournament.
Saturday, tied with West Erie County, 4-4, Smethport’s Jackson Glover roped a double down the left field line to score the runner from first and seal a walk-off victory. Sunday, trailing 4-2, Smethport cut the lead to 4-3 before Ryan Clouser crushed a 3-run home run to take the lead for good.
“I was glad to get that Welsylville game out of the way because I kind of figured the result would be a certain way since Weslyville hasn’t lost the game this year. We kind of knew going in it would be a long shot, they’re pretty good,” Ruffner said. “But to get that out of the way, then we were able to just focus on getting back against the other two teams, which we did. It’s just phenomenal. It’s great.”
Smethport joined Wilcox Post #467 in the knockout stage after they rolled through Pool A winning all three games. Wilcox topped Millcreek Post #773, 11-3, Friday, French Creek Valley Post #205, 5-3, and Elk/McKean qualifier Brockway Post #95, 6-0, Sunday.
Dom Allegretto and Aiden Zimmerman each had three hits for Wilcox in its victory over French Creek Valley, while Kaden Dennis drove in a pair of runs. Dennis also got the win on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings before Collin Porter came on to get the final five outs.
Wilcox’s pitching was dominant once again against Brockway, as five pitchers combined to strike out eight while surrendering three hits and five walks. Dennis and Camron Marciniak each had two hits.
Smethport earned a rematch with familiar foe Wilcox Monday at 10:35 a.m. at Northwestern High School after a second place finish in Pool B.
Wilcox will look to reach a second consecutive Region 8 championship game. Smethport has not ,and does not plan to, run to conclusions about games before they happen, even if the result has been poor in the past.
“Wilcox is still the same team that we’ve seen in the last few years,” Ruffner said. “We know what they are and they know what we are but that’s why we play the game. You play the outs and you never know what’s going to happen.”
For the final Elk/McKean qualifier, Brockway appeared to have met its match in pool play, going 1-2. Brockway’s lone victory came against French Creek Valley, 2-0, Friday before it lost its final two against Millcreek, 3-1, Saturday and Wilcox.
However, Brockway finished second in Pool A after French Creek Valley topped Millcreek Sunday, 6-5. Despite having the same records, Brockway advanced to the knockout stage having scored more runs than French Creek Valley and Millcreek.
Wesleyville will play Brockway at 1:35 p.m. Monday for a chance to play for the Region 8 championship game. After the conclusion of both semifinals, the Region 8 championship game will be played Monday at 4 p.m.
