Wyoming Area Warriors pulled off a victory over cross-town rivals Pittston Area at Hughestown on Friday afternoon.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area’s shortstop Addison Gaylord (2) forces out Pittston Area runner Lili Hintze (7) at second base from a toss from 2nd baseman Kelcey Podwika.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area pitcher Londyn Sobeck (17) tosses to first baseman Ashlee Gustitus (29), getting Pittston Area’s Lili Hintze (7) out.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Starting pitcher and senior Samantha Herbert (2) is greeted at the plate as she smacked a grand slam to pull the Patriots ahead of rival Wyoming Area 6-5.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Londyn Sobeck (17) connects to drive in two runs for Wyoming Area to break the 10-10 tie in the top of the 8th inning. The final score was 12-10 as Pittston Area failed to score in the bottom of the 8th at home.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Team MVPs were Wyoming Area’s Londyn Sobeck (left) and Pittston Area’s Samantha Herbert (right), with winning coach Kayla Taddei (center) presenting.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
First-year performers were prominent Friday when Wyoming Area ended a six-game losing streak in its softball rivalry series with Pittston Area.
Freshman Londyn Sobeck was selected as her team’s Most Valuable Player as the Lady Warriors defeated the host Lady Patriots 12-10 in eight innings.
Sobeck made her first varsity pitching start, helped get her team in front early, then delivered the game-winning hit in the top of the eighth inning.
Fellow freshman Ashlee Gustitus recorded the game’s final out at first base, matched Sobeck’s three-hit effort at the plate and was one of two runners to score on the winning hit.
The newcomers on the field helped beat their rivals for the first time since 2018 when new Wyoming Area coach Kayla Taddei was playing for the Lady Warriors as a junior. Pittston Area won the six meetings since by a total of 49 runs and the teams did not play in 2020 when the season was wiped out by COVID.
“The rivalry is always just a big game and Pittston is always a super tough team, so this one is really big for us,” Taddei, the former junior high coach, said of getting her second varsity coaching win over a program that produced an unbeaten state championship season in 2022 and went into extra innings in the state final in 2024.
It was not easy.
The Lady Warriors took the lead four times only to have the Patriots rally back into the lead twice and into a tie another time.
“It was really exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Sobeck said. “We kept going on rallies and we would get up and they would come back because they’re a really good team.
“We really battled with them. I was really proud of how we performed.”
Wyoming Area forced the last tie on Josie Kivak’s sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning.
Reliever Alexa Gacek retired the top of the Pittston Area batting order 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning without allowing a ball out of the infield.
Two bases-loaded situations in the eighth inning decided the outcome.
Gacek walked and both Gustitus and Sophia Wardell singled with one out in the top of the inning.
Sobeck came up with two out and delivered the game-winning hit on a line drive to right field, driving in Gacek. Gustitus also came in to score on an error.
“I was just trying to set my nerves aside,” Sobeck said. “I was excited to be in that spot because I wanted to help my team to win.
“It was a good pitch, but I got the barrel on the ball.”
Julia Long’s single and two walks allowed Pittston Area to load the bases with two out in the bottom of the inning.
Gustitus fielded a groundball and recorded the out.
“It was hit hard and it was a tough play by my freshman,” Taddei said.
Josie Kivak doubled in three runs in the five-run fourth to erase an early 2-0 Pittston Area lead.
Sobeck also drove in three runs, Allison Layland scored three times and Addison Gaylord had a triple to add to the Wyoming Area offense.
Samantha Herbert was selected as the Pittston Area MVP after putting her team back ahead with a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth and adding another RBI.
Jillian Haas also homered along with drawing four walks. Lili Hintze had three hits and scored three times. Julia Long had two hits.
Despite scoring 48 runs in the last four games, Pittston Area is 2-3. The team’s two earlier losses came to defending state Class 4A champion Valley View and defending District 2 Class 3A champion Mid Valley.
There was no hint of Friday’s possible outcome in the previous games for each team when they had wildly different results in meetings with Wyoming Valley West.
Pittston Area 16, Wyoming Valley West 0
Jillian Haas went 3-for-3, getting two hits in the first inning of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 opener that lasted just 2½ innings Monday.
Hass, who scored three times and drove in two runs, tripled and singled in the 12-run first inning then added another single in the four-run single.
The single was one of six produced by the Lady Patriots.
Kelcey Podwika, Mikaila Sarf and winning pitcher Samantha Herbert had two hits each.
Gabby Roman tripled and drove in three runs. Podwika, who also tripled, and Sarf drove in two each.
A Viglione, Lili Hintze and Herbert had the other triples.
Herbert struck out five and walked one while holding the Lady Spartans to one hit.
Wyoming Valley West 9, Wyoming Area 1
Natalie Geffert drove in four runs to lead host Wyoming Valley West to the win in the March 28 non-league game.
Harlee Pavlico and Ashlee Gustitus each had a single and double for the Lady Warriors.
