On Tuesday, May 14th, West Branch baseball played two games: one against the Southern Fulton Varsity Indians and one against the Mount Union Trojans. Their first game was against the Indians. Luke Liptak pitched to start and got the win, only allowing four hits throughout six innings. Lukas Colton got the save in the seventh to finish the game. The game was a defensive showing from both ends, with both teams only giving up four hits. Those four hits came from four different players: Isaac Tiracorda, Luke Liptak, Brody Rothrock, and Coby Kephart. The Warriors rallied with these hits at the right time to take the lead 2-1 after Luke hit a ball to center field to drive in Matt Eirich and Isaac Tiracorda in the top of the sixth. After this win, the boys advanced to the ICC title game and faced off against Mount Union.

The West Branch Warriors engaged in another challenging defensive showdown against Mount Union. Despite strong pitching performances, Mount Union’s prowess at the plate proved decisive. Lukas Colton took the mound as the starter for West Branch, delivering 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, and striking out two batters. Tyler Wilson took over to finish the game. Offensively, the Warriors managed three hits, with contributions from Coby Kephart, Matt Eirich, and Zach McGonigal. Unfortunately, these efforts were not enough to secure a victory, and the Warriors fell 0-3 to the Trojans.

Reflecting on the game, Isaac Tiracorda shared, “The environment going into the games felt good, and they were some of the closest games we’ve played this year. We just couldn’t get the hits rolling.”

Despite the loss in the ICC Championship, the Warriors are looking ahead to their District Six 2A Quarter-final game against the United Varsity Lions on Friday, May 17th. A victory on Friday would advance the Warriors to face the winner of the Homer Center and Northern Cambria matchup on Thursday, May 23rd.