First Posted: 5/4/2015
JENKINS TWP. — It was a World Series atmosphere Wednesday.
Although these two teams are a little young to play in the Major League Baseball World Series, two teams from Jenkins Twp./Duryea Little Leagues met on Wednesday night for area supremacy.
In the end, the JTD Phillies got the best of the JTD Yankees, 3-2, in a game dominated by solid pitching and timely hitting.
“It was a huge win,” Phillies coach Tony Black said. “We lost a few heart breakers the last few games and the kids got their heads down a little bit. We wanted them to stay positive.”
Phillies pitcher Joe Slusark fired 5 2/3 innings, giving up just two runs and striking out five batters to lead the Phillies.
“He’s been doing it all year,” Black said. “He’s very consistent and he throws hard and throws strikes. He has a lot of composure. He stayed ahead tonight and stayed aggressive.”
On the other side, Yankees starter Cameron Kohut was just as impressive.
Kohut tossed 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven.
The Phillies put some early pressure on the Yankees in the bottom of the second inning.
CJ DeMark set the table with a one-out bunt single before Ryan Zapko singled himself. With two outs, John Stone belted a two-run single to center field to score both DeMark and Zapko and give the Phillies a 2-0 edge.
In the third, the Phillies tacked on another run with a two-out double from Connor Mulhern.
“The hit by (John Stone) was clutch,” Black said. “He’s the No. 8 hitter and he stayed in there and had a huge hit. Both of those two-out hits were huge.”
With the Yankee deficit now at three Mickey O’Malley started the rally with a one-out triple down the right field line. After Kohut was issued a walk, Anthony Thomas drove in both runners with a double.
The rally was back on in the sixth.
Down 3-2, back-to-back singles from Kyle Breymeier and Tyler Wassel put the Yankees within striking distance. However, Slusark struck out the next two batters.
Slusark was then pulled from the game due to his pitch count. Jacob Black entered the game with one out to go. He struck out the last batter and preserved the win for the Phillies.
“The most important thing was the attitude in the dugout and being positive toward their teammates,” Black said of his Phillies. “They were very supportive all night.”
Boys Major
JTD Pirates – 5, West Pittston No. 2 – 2
David Behm hit a grand slam to lead the Pirates to victory. Pitching was led by Jeremy Cawley, Matthew Macaluso and Brayden Powers.
Brenden Kelly contributed offensively for the Pirates.
JTD Pirates – 10, JTD Nationals – 9
Matt Macaluso hit a walk-off double to lead the Pirates over the Nationals on Wednesday.
Pirates slugger David Behm hit a three-run home run and and inside-the-park home run. Connor Manganiello and Justin Bryk had base hits to start a bottom of the sixth rally. Jeremy Cawley hit a triple and had two singles.
Robbie Barberi, Matt Johnson and Joe Ranielli each had a single and a double for the Nationals.
Boys Minor
Plains – 9, Duryea No. 2 – 5
The Plains White Sox took down Duryea 2, 9-5, in a game played on April 30.
Duryea’s Marshal Gordon had two hits and scored a run. Dominic Bernardi and Mark Korea each had hits and scored for Duryea. Josh Smargiassi and Alex Michaylo also had hits. Michaylo, Luke Snyder and Korea each pitched well in the loss.
Duryea No. 2 – 3, Pittston City No. 2 – 0
Duryea pitchers Nick Borgia and Luke Snyder combined for 16 strikeouts in the shutout win.
All Duryea runs were scored in the first inning with key hits from Borgia and Marshal Gordon.
