DURYEA – The name is different and the makeup of the team has been altered somewhat, but the host team will be trying to produce the same result when the District 16 Major Little League Baseball title is again decided in Duryea Monday night.
Greater Pittston Area stormed into the championship game, scoring all of its runs in the third inning and getting a perfect game from Chase Montigney in a 10-0 four-inning victory over Wilkes-Barre Wednesday night.
A year ago, the combined Duryea/Pittston City team won the district title with a championship game victory on its home field. Now, Avoca has been added to the all-star baseball partnership with Duryea and Pittston City for the team known as Greater Pittston Area.
Montigney is one of four holdovers from last season’s championship for 10-12-year-olds. Silvio Giardina, Dominic Innamorati and Paul Rusincovitch were also part of the Duryea/Pittston City title.
Giardina started at shortstop and led off Thursday. He joined Montigney as the players with two hits.
Innamorati played center field and batted behind Giardina. He was the only player to score twice, producing the first and ninth runs.
Montigney and Rusincovitch, the first baseman, batted fourth and fifth.
Rusincovitch scored and was part of the defensive effort that gave Montigney the little support that he needed. Rusincovitch had six putouts, included an unassisted play to end the second inning.
Montigney was dominant, turning his first all-star pitching appearance this season into his first no-hitter in any game.
“He’s had two one-hitters, but never a no-hitter,” said Ted Montigney, the Greater Pittston Area manager and Chase’s father.
With the help of a sloppy defensive bottom of the third from Wilkes-Barre, the game was over in just 57 minutes and 39 Montigney pitches.
Montigney struck out six, handled two grounders himself and got his glove on another ball that second baseman Josh Lentewski got to in time. He had only one pitch pulled against him in the game and did not allow a ball out of the infield.
After leaving three runners on base in the first two innings, Greater Pittston took advantage of extra opportunities in the third.
Three runs scored before Greater Pittston Area got its first hit of the inning. The scoring was aided by seven errors and five wild pitches from Wilkes-Barre during the inning.
Greater Pittston Area ran aggressively, taking advantage of the balls that got loose in the field and getting two stolen bases from Montigney.
“I wanted to try to get some momentum going,” Ted Montigney said. “Our timing was a little off in the first inning.
“I was trying to get the kids a little momentum and a little life in the heat.”
After their legs got the rally started, the bats kicked in.
Greater Pittston Area put together four straight hits and six from a stretch of seven batters with two outs.
Nico Cieto had the biggest of the hits with a pinch-hit, two-run single to center field.
Richard Tonte’s infield hit and Devon Cesaraso’s bunt single preceded Cieto and gave Greater Pittston Area three straight hits from its reserves.
“It’s been a team effort,” Ted Montigney said. “We have 13 kids on our roster and every one of them has contributed at some point or another over the past two weeks.
“I have some kids where some days they start and some days they come off the bench.”
Giardina kept the streak going with an RBI single.
After Innamorati’s walk, Matt Walter and Montigney drove in the last two runs with singles through the left side.
That put the lead at 10-0 and gave Montigney the chance to end it early in the top of the fourth on the 10-run rule.
District 16 Major Baseball Semifinals
Greater Pittston Area 10, Wilkes-Barre 0
Wilkes-Barre`AB`R`H`BI
Jannuzzi 3b`1`0`0`0
Hughes ph`1`0`0`0
Davies 1b`2`0`0`0
Sekol ss`2`0`0`0
Bottger p`1`0`0`0
Missal 2b`1`0`0`0
Jackson cf`1`0`0`0
Yuknavich c`1`0`0`0
Miller rf`1`0`0`0
Johnson lf`1`0`0`0
Totals`12`0`0`0
Greater Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Giardina ss`3`1`2`1
Innamorati cf`2`2`0`0
Walter c`3`1`1`1
Montigney p`3`1`2`1
Rusincovitch 1b`3`1`0`0
Mead 3b`1`0`0`0
O’Malley 3b`1`1`0`0
Wardecki lf`1`0`1`0
Tonte lf`1`1`1`0
Johnson rf`1`0`0`0
Cesaraso rf`1`1`1`0
Lentewski 2b`1`1`0`0
Cieto ph`1`0`1`2
Totals`22`10`9`5
Wilkes-Barre`000`0—`0
Greater Pittston Area`00(10)`x—`10
Wilkes-Barre`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Bottger (L)`3.0`9`10`0`1`2
Greater Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Montigney (W)`4.0`0`0`0`0`6
