The best American Legion baseball teams from across Pennsylvania gathered in Erie to determine the state champion.

North Parkland represented Region 2, one of the more respected regions in the state, and made a strong run before coming up one win shy of advancing after playing three one-run games to open the tournament.

The Buffaloes won each of their first two games in a 2-1 fashion as they downed Post 76 from Hazleton in the opening round and then defeated Bristol Post 382 in the second round.

The wins left NP and Bushy Run from Westmoreland County as the only undefeated teams in the tournament.

In the opening games, North Parkland used small ball to pick up wins. All 10 hits that the Buffaloes collected in the two wins were singles, but they used their speed to steal five bases. Andrew Beers went 3-for-6 (.500) in the two games with a run scored and Nate Unger was 2-for-5 (.400) with a run scored and an RBI.

Unger also got the start against Hazleton and allowed three hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings on the mound to get the win.

Steve Sepko finished the game and gave the Buffaloes 2 2/3 innings of shutout ball with two hits and a walk allowed to record the save. Against Bristol, Aiden Henning threw a complete game and allowed just two hits to get the win for Parkland.

The three combined to allow just seven hits and two earned runs to go with nine strikeouts over 14 combined innings.

That set up a meeting against Bushy Run, the other undefeated team remaining, with the winner gaining a spot in the championship game and guaranteeing a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Regional as one of the top two teams from Pennsylvania.

The game was a one-run battle, but the Buffaloes came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard, taking the game down to the final pitch.

“Parkland players are used to facing tough competition and playing in postseason games, so that helped us,” said NP head coach Jay Marakovits. “A lot of times they’re facing the other team’s ace in games even in the regular season, so they’re used to seeing good pitching. You have to remember that every other team at states has won their region, so they are all very good.”

The middle innings were a battle.

Down 1-0, North Parkland tied the game in the bottom of the third only when Payton Scherff scored from second on a double by Beers.

Bushy Run regained the lead with a run in the top of the fourth.

With the benefit of two errors, a walk, and a single by Brody Morabito, Parkland loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with two walks. Respecting what Scherff did to them an inning earlier, the left fielder didn’t see a strike and walked on four pitches to force in a run that again tied the game.

Trager gave up a leadoff single in the fifth but then got a double play ball and kept Bushy Run from scoring. In the bottom of the inning, Tsubasa Magota and Leo Dauberman drew walks and pulled off a double steal with one out to put runners on second and third. One out later, Gavin Mohry singled to give the Buffaloes their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Bushy Run tied the game in the sixth and then put up two runs in the top of the seventh for a 5-3 lead going to the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and nobody on base, Morabito was hit by a pitch and Mohry followed with a walk ahead of a single through the middle by Trager that loaded the bases. Jared Santilli let a 3-2 pitch go by to work a walk and bring home Morabito to make it 5-4 with the bases still loaded.

After a pitching change, Scherff hit a hard line drive right at the shortstop, who made the play to end the game.

“Had that ball been a little to the left or right, I don’t think it’s caught, and we probably score two runs and win the game,” said Marakovits. “It was definitely hit well, just at the wrong spot.”

With another shot at reaching the finals, the Buffaloes again faced Hazleton, but this time it was a different game and the Buffaloes lost 4-0 and were eliminated from the tournament.

Overall, North Parkland finished 19-7 with a Lehigh Valley League championship and a Region 2 championship to their credit.

Bushy Run won the state championship with Hazleton being the runner-up. The two teams are in Hanover, MD, to play in the Mid-Atlantic Regionals representing Pennsylvania. The tournament started on Wednesday.

“We came in pretty confident because Region 2 is a pretty tough region and is respected at states,” said Marakovits, whose team could return all but four players next season - Beers, Khalil Cruz, Mohry, and Trager. “I think we represented the area well and played hard. At this level, one-run games are not out of the ordinary and we were able to battle through and get a couple of close wins.”

While in Erie the team celebrated former head coach and current adviser Terry Stoudt’s 87th birthday. Stoudt is a fixture with the team and has coached many great players who have come through Parkland.