Keystone Oaks takes advantage of youthful Gladiators

By JEREMY TEPPER

MVI Sports

Seven games into the season, it’s easy to see the progress the South Allegheny baseball team has made. The Gladiators have won three games, more wins than they had in 2019.

Still, there have been some growing pains. The transition from bottom-feeder to a playoff team comes with some lumps. Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to Keystone Oaks was a pesky reminder of that for Gladiators coach Dennis Reist.

“It’s a letdown because we can compete with these teams. It’s not like in the past where we would’ve rolled over,” Reist said. “We’re not doing that, but we’ve got to learn how to win these.”

For most of the game SA competed with Keystone Oaks. For one inning, though, the Golden Eagles exploited the Gladiators’ youth, scoring five runs in the third. Reist said his catcher was exposing pitches before they were thrown.

“We’ll address that,” Reist said. “That’s part of being a young team and not being behind the plate before.”

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