Pittston Area’s Tori Para slides into home plate to score the Patriots’ first run against Tunkhannock on Monday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area pitcher Gianna Adams makes a throw to first base after fielding a grounder in the fifth inning to get out Tunkhannock’s Hannah Jones during Monday’s game.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Tunkhannock’s third baseman Sydney Huff makes a throw to first base in the fifth inning to put out Pittston Area’s Bella Giardina during Monday’s game.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area left fielder Maura Mihalka catches a flyball off the bat of Tunkhannock’s Ella McNeff in the first inning Monday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Tunkhannock third baseman Sydney Huff catches a pop-up in the fourth inning Monday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
TUNKHANNOCK — The Pittston Area Patriots haven’t locked up the division title yet, but they certainly are holding the keys after Monday.
Pittston Area received an outstanding pitcher performance from Gianna Adams and two-run homers from Tori Para and Marina Antal in the third inning as the Patriots defeated Tunkhannock 9-1 in a battle of the top teams in Division 1 of Wyoming Valley Conference softball.
Pittston Area (10-0 Div. 1, 13-0 overall) took a two-game lead over Tunkhannock (8-2, 11-4) with four conference games remaining. The Patriots outscored their four remaining WVC opponents 45-4 in the first meetings.
Adams missed the first game with Tunkhannock because of an injury. She made up for lost time Monday.
The sophomore struck out 10 — recording her 200th strikeout of her career in the process — and retired the final 13 batters in a row to end the game. The Tigers hit only five balls out of the infield and, on one of them, right fielder Kallie Booth threw to first for the out.
“Myself and the whole team were really hungry,” Adams said. “We wanted to come out here and really wanted to keep doing what we do and keep playing like we do.
“I felt good. It’s was like unreal. Just being out there is unreal every game. You really see it when you get injured a little bit and you get to see your team play without you. You get even more hungry and feel it more.”
Like the 5-2 victory over Tunkhannock on April 15, Pittston Area got off to a good start. Booth led off the game by getting hit by a pitch, moved to third on Para’s single and scored on an error. Para crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Ava Callahan for a 2-0 advantage.
Pittston Area made it 6-0 in the top of the third. Para rocketed a two-run homer to right-center field and two batters later Antal hit hers to nearly the same spot.
“The girls are swinging good right now,” Pittston Area coach Frank Parente said. “We all know the game, the ups and downs with hitting. Sometimes you’re on, sometimes you’re not. The last few weeks we’ve been swinging good sticks. I tell the girls, ‘How are we going to adjust if we’re having a rough day? We’re going to make some in-game adjustments.’ But right now, they’re swinging good sticks.”
Tunkhannock got a run back in the bottom of the third when Hannah Jones singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The Tigers had runners on the corners after Emily Schultz was hit by a pitch, but she was their last base runner of the game. Adams got a strikeout to end the threat and pitched perfect innings from the fourth through the seventh.
Tunkhannock’s other hits were a double by Schultz in the first inning and an infield single by Ella McNeff in the third.
“It’s hard to overcome that until they get some consistency,” Tunkhannock coach Bob Hegedty said. “I thought we were getting rolling a little bit, but hats off to them. They came to play. Gianna threw a great game. They came out swinging and we’re not doing a very good job. We’re taking too many pitches and too many strikes and getting behind in the count.”
Pittston Area finished off its scoring in the sixth as Sage Weidlich hit an RBI triple and Bella Giardina and Callahan followed with consecutive RBI singles a bit later.
Pittston Area 9, Tunkhannock 1
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Booth rf`1`2`0`0
Weidlich cf`4`1`1`1
Para ss`3`2`3`2
Giardina 2b`3`1`2`1
Callahan c`3`0`1`2
Antal dp`3`1`1`2
Adams p`3`0`0`0
Soto ph`1`0`0`0
Borthwick 3b`4`0`1`0
Mihalka lf`3`0`0`0
Moran ph`1`0`0`0
Baiera 1b`0`0`0`0
Totals`28`9`9`8
Tunkhannock`AB`R`H`BI
Marabell c`3`0`0`0
McNeff 2b`3`0`1`0
Schultz ss`2`0`1`0
Wood 1b`3`0`0`0
K.Hannon p`3`0`0`0
Huff 3b`3`0`0`0
Van Ness lf`3`0`0`0
M.Hannon dp`2`0`0`0
James cf`2`1`1`0
Kuslicavage rf`0`0`0`0
Totals`24`1`3`0
Pittston Area`204`003`0 — 9
Tunkhannock`001`000`0 — 1
2B — Schultz. 3B — Weidlich. HR — Para, Antal.
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Adams W`7`3`1`01`0`10
Tunkhannock`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
K.Hannon L`7`9`9`8`1`7
