HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Pittston Area unbeaten in baseball, girls’ track

Pittston Area was the first Wyoming Valley Conference baseball team to reach 4-0 overall this season and the Patriots will be the last.

Every other WVC team has already suffered its first defeat. Pittston Area joined Lackawanna League members Riverside and Lakeland Thursday in starting 4-0, but the Patriots have been forced to work for that accomplishment.

Three of the four wins, including both of this week’s, have been in games decided by a single run.

Pittston Area 5, Lake-Lehman 4

Beau Widdick’s two-run double in the top of the sixth broke a tie and lifted Pittston Area to Thursday’s non-league victory.

Lake-Lehman led 3-2 after five innings before Nick Innamorati’s single tied the game.

Widdick had two doubles.

Jacoby Harnen, who had another hit, and Elijah Barr hit solo homers for the Patriots.

Pittston Area 13, Hazleton Area 12

HUGHESTOWN — It took over three hours, 25 hits, nine pitchers, a blown lead, a dramatic comeback and — perhaps biggest of all — a diving catch to give Pittston Area a win over Hazleton Area on Tuesday in an early season Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 showdown.

With a full moon in the sky over the right-field fence, Gavin Wardecki’s perfectly placed chopper during an imperfect game for both teams capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, allowing the Patriots to prevail in their division opener.

Defending divisional champ Pittston Area tied the score in the seventh on an RBI single by Elijah Barr and a bases-loaded walk by Joe Bradley. Wardecki followed with a one-out grounder between the second and first basemen. Hazleton Area first baseman Freddie Corrado made a diving stop, but had no chance of getting Wardecki at first and made a desperation throw home which Barr beat easily.

Pittston Area center fielder Nick Innamorati kept the deficit at three with a spectacular inning-ended catch in the top of the seventh. Innamorati ran full sprint to his left, launched himself and snagged a fly off the bat of Dom Marino. He then threw back to the infield to finish off a double play at first base.

Had Innamorati missed the ball, one run would have surely scored and perhaps two since Marino has good speed. And, the Cougars would have been poised to potentially add more runs.

“That was a laid-out, diving catch,” Patriots coach Paul Zaffuto said. “That was highlight material out there to hold it in check and to just give us a chance. If that ball falls, we don’t have a shot.”

A dramatic seventh inning didn’t seem likely the way the game started.

Pittston Area scored five runs in the first inning with two coming on a double by Jacoby Harnen and one on a single by Dom Salvo. After Hazleton Area got on the board in the second on the first of two solo homers by Jeudi Hidalgo, the Patriots made it 7-1 on a two-run double by Bradley.

Barr struck out seven while pitching the first three innings. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate.

Innamorati, who scored three times, and Salvo had two hits each. Bradley drove in three runs.

Ryan Noone got the last four outs without allowing a run to pick up the win.

Wyoming Area 9, Wyoming Seminary 2

Wyoming Area batted around and scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth Monday at Atlas Field to post a win in its WVC Division 2 opener.

Ben Rogish drove in three runs and stole two bases for the Warriors. His RBI single started the scoring in the fifth when Wyoming Area broke open a 2-1 game.

Alex Vacula struck out six in six innings for the win, then Matt Altavilla struck out two in a hitless seventh.

Vacula, Drew Favata and Jake Snyder all had a double and single. Snyder scored twice.

Suspended game

WEST PITTSTON — When neither team’s bats are heating up, like on a 53-degree Wednesday afternoon, manufacturing runs becomes essential.

Lake-Lehman was able to construct a few more runs than Wyoming Area, but whether that will be enough for a win won’t be known for about three weeks.

The showdown between Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 baseball frontrunners was suspended in the top of the eighth with Lehman ahead 8-6. The game will resume at Lehman on April 23, where the Black Knights will have the bases loaded with no outs. The regularly scheduled game will follow.

Although ominous clouds were present throughout, the suspension wasn’t for darkness but rather brightness.

The red lights on the scoreboard in center field shined so brightly because of the black/gray sky that Lake-Lehman hitters said they couldn’t see pitches.

“The scoreboard lights were glaring, and they couldn’t see the ball when they were pitching,” Lake-Lehman coach Mike Sholtis said. “You couldn’t see the ball because of the red scoreboard lights. So (the umpire) said for safety it wasn’t worth it.”

Jake Snyder struck out eight while limiting Lake-Lehman to three runs (one earned) in five innings. He was 1-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base and two runs scored.

GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD

Pittston Area 117, Berwick 32

Bella Dessoye won two individual events and was part of two relay wins Wednesday when Pittston Area improved to 2-0 in WVC Division 1 by routing visiting Berwick.

The Lady Patriots finished first and second in 11 of the 15 individual events and swept the three relays.

Dessoye won the 1600-meter run in 6:23 and the 800 in 2:46 along with contributing to wins in the first and last track events of the day, the 3200 and 1600 relays.

Ellie Schardien won the long jump and pole vault and was part of the 400 relay.

Alexa Drozginski won the 100 hurdles and triple jump.

Annika Lien had an individual and relay win while Maggie Gruber and Nadia Rawhouser were on the relays with Dessoye.

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

Pittston Area 102, Berwick 48

Freshman Deondre Miller won the 100, 200 and triple jump to lead the host Patriots Wednesday.

Caden Boettger won the 800, 1600 and 1600 relay as Pittston Area evened its WVC Division 1 record at 1-1.

Lucas LoPresto won the discus and javelin.

Jacob Ivey won the 400 and joined Brady Tucker and Jake Mead in being part of the 3200 and 1600 relay wins.

BOYS TENNIS

Wyoming Area 5, Wilkes-Barre Area 0

Trevor Winslow and Jason Wang and the doubles team of Joey Gula-Michael Fuller all won 6-0, 6-0 Thursday at home.

Joseph Allegrucci won 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) at first singles for the Warriors, who are 1-3 in the WVC and 1-4 overall.

Pittston Area 2, Wilkes-Barre Area 1

Nick Jones and Issac Adames won singles matches Tuesday as Pittston Area defeated visiting Wilkes-Barre Area for its first win in two years.

Valley View 5, Wyoming Area 0

Wyoming Area dropped the non-league match at home Tuesday.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Wyoming Area 12, Wallenpaupack 1

Addison Byers scored five goals Thursday to lead Wyoming Area to the non-league win at home, the first victory for new coach Ira Staff.

Brianna Harry, who had two assists, and Alana Zdaniewicz had two goals each. Braiden Llewellyn had a goal and an assist while Brenna Slocum and Claudia Rehill had a goal each.

The Lady Warriors were 1-4 overall going into Saturday’s home game with Tunkhannock.

Delaware Valley 18, Wyoming Area 7

Wyoming Area slipped to 0-4 in the WVC and overall Tuesday despite five goals and an assist by Addison Byers.

Brennan Slocum and Braiden Llewellyn had the other goals.

North Pocono 16, Pittston Area 3

Pittston Area lost on the road Tuesday, falling to 0-3 in the WVC and overall.

BOYS LACROSSE

Wilkes-Barre Area 12, Wyoming Area 4

The Warriors lost the WVC road game Monday and took an 0-3 record into Saturday’s non-league game at Mifflinburg.