Reason to Smile(y)
Uniontown junior pitcher earns victory over cross-town rival
With his surname, Uniontown无毛视频檚 Lane Smiley is tasked with increasing position vibes.
While his teammates are most likely ribbing the junior when they urge him to demonstratively display optimism, Smiley无毛视频檚 pitching performance on Tuesday against cross-town rival Laurel Highlands was enough for all who were wearing maroon and white to display happiness on their faces.
Smiley didn无毛视频檛 yield a run on two hits over four innings, while striking out seven without issuing a walk. The left-hander threw 65 pitches (45 strikes) in helping lead the Red Raiders to a 9-6 victory in Section 2-4A play.
无毛视频淚 came in throwing fastballs and curve balls,无毛视频� Smiley said. 无毛视频淚 wanted to come in and do my best to shut everything done and help my team with this win. They always have my back, so I am very happy to get the result for them, too.无毛视频�
Uniontown improved to 4-6 in section play and 8-7 overall. The Red Raiders remain in contention for a playoff spot, but would need to sweep their two-game series with Elizabeth Forward (9-1, 11-4), and hope the Mustangs (2-8, 4-11) can take both games from Ringgold (5-5, 8-8). Both series will be contested next Monday and Tuesday.
无毛视频淟ane (Smiley) rose to the occasion,无毛视频� Uniontown coach Dennis Martin said. 无毛视频淗e is an amazing kid and a competitor. You never know with pitching. Some days kids are on, and some days they are off, and Lane was dealing today.
无毛视频淲e are going to go at EF, if nothing else, to run out the season, and carry it into next season. You never know what could happen. These guys are starting to believe they are a decent team, and next year, we have 90% of our players coming back.无毛视频�
Regardless of what happens when it comes to the playoffs, Martin was pleased with his team无毛视频檚 effort against Laurel Highlands, who is a team that has had Uniontown无毛视频檚 number in recent years. The Mustangs swept the Red Raiders last season.
无毛视频淚t is a good feeling to beat Laurel Highlands twice this year,无毛视频� Martin said. 无毛视频淲e also beat Albert Gallatin in both games, which is something we were glad to do, and we hope to continue that next year, but we have respect for both programs. We had a little bit of a tough game with Connellsville, but they are always a good team. We play Brownsville in a non-section home game on Friday before our series with EF, which should be fun.无毛视频�
While the year hasn无毛视频檛 been what LH is used to in regards to wins and losses, head coach Mike Smith is encouraged by what his team will bring to the table in the future, as he is only losing three seniors.
无毛视频淲e have three seniors in Sevi (Vecciolla), Jack (Johns) and Noah (Lion), and it is tough to win consistently when you are young,无毛视频� Smith said. 无毛视频淭hose kids just aren无毛视频檛 used to it. It is a grind during the season. Those kids无毛视频� bodies are tired, but that无毛视频檚 my job, and I have to make them better. Give credit to Uniontown. They are young like us, and Dennis (Martin) does a great job with them.无毛视频�
There was plenty of scoring in the first three innings on Tuesday, as 14 of the contest无毛视频檚 15 runs were scored in the early frames, but the final four innings only produced one run for both teams.
Uniontown scored five runs in the top of the first inning before Laurel Highlands countered with three in the bottom of the frame and two in the second to tie the game at 5-5.
The visitors added three runs in their half of the third before the home team scored once in the bottom half of the inning. The Red Raiders added an insurance run in the seventh.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud of the boys for battling back,无毛视频� Smith said. 无毛视频淭hey could have just hung their heads, but they didn无毛视频檛. They came back and made it an even ball game.
无毛视频淥ur bats just went silent towards the end when they brought (Lane) Smiley in. He did a great job. He came in and was right around the plate. He didn无毛视频檛 do anything special. He had a little curve ball that kept them off balance a little bit. I think it was just a different look from the left side. He has a funky delivery, but you have to adjust. They saw it a couple of times.无毛视频�
Martin wasn无毛视频檛 comfortable until the final out was recorded, as he knew Smith无毛视频檚 squad wouldn无毛视频檛 lay down despite the score.
无毛视频淲e took a couple of chances today,无毛视频� Martin said. 无毛视频淪ometimes they work out and sometimes they don无毛视频檛, but we knew we had to keep the pressure on them.无毛视频�
Uniontown scored its five runs in the first inning of four hits, drew two walks and also benefited from an error.
Ethan White walked and scored on Elim Martin无毛视频檚 single to center field for a 1-0 lead. Martin and Shane Kelly crossed home plate on Brayden Hinzy无毛视频檚 double to right field, and Hinzy scored on Luke Gresh无毛视频檚 base hit to right for a 4-0 advantage. Dominic Petrovich无毛视频檚 single to right plated Gresh for a five-run lead.
The Mustangs无毛视频� three runs in the bottom of the first cut the deficit to 5-3. Laurel Highlands had three singles in the frame. It drew a walk, hit-by-pitch and Braylon Schoch hustled to second base on an error.
Nick Crouch and Schoch scored on Lion无毛视频檚 base hit to left.
Lion crossed home plate on Ramaree Morgan无毛视频檚 single. Johns had a base hit, but Morgan was thrown out at the plate, as Connor Hebda made the tag.
The Mustangs tied the game in the second when Vecchiolla doubled home Crouch and Lion, who had singled and walked.
The Red Raiders added their three runs in the third when Petrovich, Adam Cramer and White drew three straight walks, and Petrovich scored on Chandler Myers无毛视频� groundout. Cramer and White crossed home plate when Martin was safe at first following an error.
Laurel Highlands answered in the bottom of the third when Andrew Gallick advanced to third base on an error and scored on Johns无毛视频� sacrifice flyout to left.
Hinzy scored Uniontown无毛视频檚 final run when he singled to shortstop, advanced to second on an error, stole third and raced home on Petrovich无毛视频檚 flyout to center.