St. Michael set to host Region 7 American Legion baseball tournament

“Our veterans like Maddox Dombrosky and Kaden Christ keep us focused and are great leaders. Kolbie Smiach has been quietly consistent all year. We need those guys and the others that have been there before to keep everyone focused. We need to play within ourselves and not try to do too much.”

The Saints, with their home field at Forest Hills Junior-Senior High School, are the host team and received an automatic bid into the eight-team tournament. Portage’s Haschak Memorial Field will also host games as part of the double-elimination event that will run through Wednesday.

This is St. Michael’s fifth consecutive berth in the Region 7 tournament. The Saints hosted for the first time in 2021, then won three straight Cambria County League titles from 2022-24. St. Michael plays Hempfield East, the fourth seed from District 31 in Westmoreland County, at 5 p.m. Saturday. Hempfield East won Region 7 crowns in 2018 and 2019.

“Hempfield East is a very consistent franchise,” Gramling said. “We played them a while back when they knocked us out of the regional tournament (2018) in a close game when they hosted the event.

“This team has won the regional tournament in the past and gone to states. They are very well-coached and very talented. We will have to play our best against them.”

Cambria County/Central Penn champ Philipsburg, which won the 2022 state title, takes on Latrobe, the third seed in District 31, at 11 a.m. Saturday at Forest Hills. Cambria County/Central Penn runner-up Bedford meets District 31 No. 2 seed Lower Burrell to follow on the same field at 2 p.m.

Cambria County/Central Penn No. 3 seed Claysburg, the 2021 Region 7 victor, plays District 31 champ and defending Region 7 winner Bushy Run at 1 p.m. Saturday in Portage.

The Bushy Run/Claysburg and Hempfield East/St. Michael games are grouped together, so the winners would face each other Sunday. The losers would also meet Sunday.

Claysburg beat St. Michael 8-7 June 18 and 14-4 June 23 this season.

Bedford has advanced to 11 straight and 13 out of the past 14 Region 7 tournaments.

Getting to host again is a privilege for the Saints. Playing quality teams on their home field is a tremendous opportunity for the entire squad.

“I’m very excited to be hosting the regional tournament again,” Gramling said.

“We just played our alumni game on Sunday, and when we talk to our alumni, they still talk about regionals that they got to play in. It is exciting playing in big games against great teams.

“I’m excited that our players get to play at that level. I hope some college coaches come and see the talent in the area and our players have a chance to be seen.”

Many people have stepped forward to help the tournament run smoothly.

“I’m happy to show off our beautiful field and bring some extra traffic to the surrounding businesses,” Gramling said.

“It has been awesome to see how many people have volunteered to help us set up and run this tournament.

“We hope that everyone takes some time to stop down and watch this level of baseball and grab a bite to eat and buy a T-shirt to remember this tournament.”

Brody Custer led St. Michael with a .333 average that included two doubles, two triples, four stolen bases and seven RBIs.

Smiach, who will play at Penn State Altoona, batted .316 with two doubles and seven RBIs.

Christ provided four doubles and seven RBIs. Jake Yatsky hit .308 with three RBIs in 17 plate appearances.

Four different hurlers logged 122/3 or more innings this summer. Jake Singer is 3-0 with a 1.42 earned run average and 28 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Jeff Beyer is 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA and 18 punchouts in 172/3 frames. Gage Ruddek totaled 12 strikeouts in 131/3 innings, and Christ logged 15 punchouts in 122/3 frames.

Solidifying its defense helped St. Michael pick up momentum as the campaign wore on.

“I think we learned to jell with each other as the year went on,” Gramling said.

“Guys were playing positions that they weren’t used to and our defense suffered. Our defense really improved as the year went on. I also believe that our communication was outstanding. Listening to these guys talk baseball in the dugout and helping their teammates has been one of the best things about this season.”

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

Past champions 2024-Bushy Run 2023-Beech Creek 2022-Philipsburg 2021-Claysburg 2020-Bedford 2019-Hempfield East 2018-Hempfield East 2017-Beech Creek 2016-Beech Creek 2015-Beech Creek 2014-Murrysville 2013-Latrobe 2012-Hempfield East 2011-West Hempfield 2010-State College {related_content_uuid}1908b881-0925-4830-819a-4f142d0ffdc9{/related_content_uuid}