The Laurel Highlands Mustangs will square off against the Ligonier Valley Rams at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.
West Mifflin hit Laurel Highlands with a four-run first inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Mustangs fell 8-3 to the Titans. The Mustangs haven't had much luck with the Titans recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.
Jack Johns was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched six innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Laurel Highlands saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Noah Lion, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
Meanwhile, Ligonier Valley made easy work of Yough on Monday and carried off a 7-1 win. The Rams haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Austin Harr spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on six hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Ligonier Valley is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 3-6 otherwise.
At the plate, Ligonier Valley let Owen Smith and Noah Knupp run wild. Smith got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Knupp went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. Those three stolen bases gave Smith a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cooper Hegan, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Ligonier Valley's win bumped their record up to 5-7. As for Laurel Highlands, their loss dropped their record down to 3-9.
