Heading into the final week of the American Legion season, the Murrysville Mighty Eagles were in danger of falling short of the District 31 playoffs.

However, a three-game winning streak and some clutch play down the stretch helped the local Legion squad continue its season.

Murrysville (6-6) was scheduled to wrap up the regular season Tuesday night with a doubleheader against Burrell and Irwin, but results were unavailable at press time.

Depending on the results, Murrysville will be the second, third or fourth seed in the division. Kiski Valley (15-0) has locked up the first-place position and will play the fourth seed. Irwin (7-7) and Valley (8-6-1) also qualified for the playoffs.

Murrysville also had a game to make up with Jeannette, but the game will not be played because the regular season's final game date was Tuesday. A ruling on a forfeit is pending.

"We went on a nice three-game winning streak, beating Burrell twice and Irwin in the first game," Murrysville coach R.J. Saul said.

"The last two games, we haven't played great. But in those three games, we had good offense, good defense and good pitching. We played well."

The run began with a 9-4 win over Burrell last week. Josh Staniscia had three hits, and Joe Falce had a three-run home run. Joe Fornataro added three hits in the victory.

The Mighty Eagles also edged Burrell later in the week, 10-3. Staniscia earned both wins on the mound. Falce again homered, as did Joel Ackerman.

On Saturday, Murrysville hosted Irwin 359 and came away with a 12-3 triumph. Josh Robinette threw five innings and allowed just two runs en route to the win.

Ackerman was 2 for 2 with four runs scored and a double, and Fornataro had a three-run triple to get the team started in the first inning. Robinette also added a double.

Murrysville's good fortunes against Irwin fell short on Monday, however, as the local team dropped a 13-4 decision.

Nick Emeric took the loss on the mound. Staniscia had two hits, and Mike Novak doubled and reached base twice.

The Mighty Eagles also fell to Kiski Valley, 11-4. Falce took the loss after three innings.

Despite the two recent losses, Saul was happy with the way the team performed down the home stretch, especially after having to play seven games in eight days.

"It's real hard on pitching. We have a lot of people throwing who haven't pitched in years," Saul said. "They're actually doing a very good job of throwing strikes. They've been put in tough situations, but they've responded well."

The District 31 playoffs are scheduled to get under way today, Thursday, with two best-of-three series. The top seed will play the fourth seed, and the second and third seeds will face off.

The winners of the North Division then will play the division champs from the south side of the District 31 bracket for the right to move on to the Region 7 tournament.