Tyrone took on the Westmont Hilltoppers in the first round of the District 6 playoffs on Friday in Johnstown. The game kicked off the playoffs for both teams, with the winner advancing on to play Forest Hills in the second round.

Tyrone knew what they wanted and came out to get it, scoring three in the top of first, not wasting any time.

Senior Zach LeGars, sophomore Ashton Walk, and senior Ross Gampe would all reach base, with only one out, and Junior AJ Coleman would drop down a bunt on a squeeze play, which would score Legars from third. Breakout Freshman Brandon Mcclure would slap a line drive single to the opposite field. The score would advance to 3-0.

The Hilltoppers weren’t ready to be done yet though, as they would collect two hits right away off of Landon Hamer, and it seemed as if this game would be high scoring, but Hamer would get out of it, and only one run would score.

Hamer would go four innings, striking out three, without allowing a walk. Ross Gampe would relieve in the 5th, and wouldn’t allow any earned runs, allowing one unearned run in the bottom of the 7th, and would strike out four.

Tyrone’s offense would capitalize on the mistakes and missed opportunities made by Westmont, scoring one run in the fifth, and scoring three in the 7th. Tyrone’s baserunning was huge, with four stolen bases on the day, one from Ashton Walk, two from Ross Gampe, and one from Ryan Light, who despite having a fractured wrist, pinch-ran.

The biggest disparity during the game was the energy. Tyrone’s dugout would help pick their players up after an error or mistake, even to the point where players were losing their voices. Westmont’s dugout, however, was unable to keep up and would get sent home with their playoff hopes dashed.

But both teams knew this wasn’t the end of the road, with Westmont’s head coach Chris Delsignore saying, “We tasted defeat. Hopefully, it’s motivation to work a little harder. We expect to be back here next year. Maybe we can take another step forward”.

Tyrone’s head coach Kevin Soellner was proud of his team, but was only excited to hop into the next round saying, “Forest Hills is a solid team”. Tyrone travels to Forest Hills for round two on May 25th.

BOX SCORE

TYRONE (7): LeGars c 321, Walk ss 421, Gampe 1b-p 420, Hamer p-c 401, Coleman cf 302, McClure 3b 401, Paterson dh 300, Lehner 3b 210, Miller 301. Totals–30-7-7.

WESTMONT HILLTOP (2): Hockenberry cf 311, Wesner 1b 301, Thomas dh 300, Burnheimer rf-lf 200, Amaranto p-2b 200, Weir lf-rf 311, Gyure c 300 Rozich ss 301 Wilks 3b 301. Totals–25-2-5.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Tyrone 300 010 3 — 7 7 1

Westmont Hilltop 100 000 1 — 2 5 6

E–McClure, Burnheimer 3, Rozich 2, Wilks. 2B–LeGars. RBI–Gampe, Hamer, Coleman, McClure, Burnheimer, Rozich. SB–Walk, Gampe, McClure, Weir, Wesner. CS–Coleman. WP–Hamer, Rupert. PB–none. HBP–Hamer, Amaranto.

PITCHING

Tyrone: Hamer (W) — 4 innings, 3 H, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 R, 1 ER, 70 pitches. Gampe — 3 innings, 2 H, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 R, 1 ER, 42 pitches.

Westmont Hilltop: Amaranto (L) — 4 innings, 4 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 4 R, 0 ER, 66 pitches. Rocco — 2 innings, 1 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 ER, 39 pitches. Rupert — 0 innings, 2 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 3 R, 0 ER, 12 pitches. Gartner– 1 inning, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 pitches.