Murrysville American Legion baseball hungry to finish season strong

By: Giustino Racchini
Monday, July 8, 2024 | 11:56 AM

Through the heat of the summer season, it was so far so good for the Murrysville American Legion baseball team.

With a 10-0 start to the season, the team made up mostly of players from the Plum and Franklin Regional school districts found itself near the top of the standings in District 31.

One of the key factors that helped the team find success was the multitude of starting pitching.

Manager Don Brinker said there are many options on the mound for his team.

“This season, we have at least 8-10 pitchers that we could throw out there to get pitching time,” he said. “Right now, we have six guys that have been our primary pitchers this season.”

Those six pitchers are Colin Watson, Erik Streussnig, Max Bernadowski, Brody Reese, Josh Hudak and Cole Brinker.

Murrysville will be looking for a better finish this season. After an impressive 14-4 record last year, it lost to Latrobe in the District 31 semifinals and went 1-2 at regionals. Bushy Run beat Latrobe last season to win the district title.

Brinker said the senior class being so connected has helped the team a lot this season because the chemistry is strong.

“They push one another to be better each and every day, and to be honest with you, they just enjoy being around each other,” Brinker said.

Coach Bob Bozzuto, the North Allegheny athletic director who previously coached with the Washington Wild Things as a bench coach and manager, had nothing but praise for his players.

“It’s awesome when you get the opportunity to coach young people,” Bozzuto said. “The goal for me is to help the players learn how to play fundamentally sound baseball.”

Bozzuto also is eyeing the future for the Murrysville Legion team.

“We will be hosting the state championships this summer for Legion ball,” Bozzuto said. “Our hope is to be playing our best ball by the end of July to be able to contend for the state tournament.”

The state championships for Legion baseball will take place from July 27-Aug. 2 in Murrysville.

Bozzuto said the team is made up of baseball players who want to continue to grow and develop their games further.

“We have a lot of guys from different grades and so forth that contribute in a lot of different ways,” Bozzuto said. “Colin Watson and Erik Streussnig have been excellent pick-ups for us.

“We’re going to play really good teams down the stretch here, and we’re going to have to be really good in every single game.”