EDWARDSVILLE – Two Montoursville pitchers limited Wyoming Area to one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings Monday, ending the Warriors’ first 20-win season and keeping them from returning to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state championship game with a 5-2 victory Monday at Wilkes University’s Ralston Athletic Complex.
Wyoming Area was playing in just its second state tournament, making it back by winning a second straight District 2 title. The Warriors had never been to a district final before 2021 when they won three rounds of state play to make it to the championship game at Penn State.
“The outcome today wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but these guys are champions,” Wyoming Area coach Rob Lemoncelli said. “They took a program that had never even been to the district championship and let’s look what they’ve done.”
Lemoncelli credited a strong senior class with setting the program up “in really good shape for the future.”
One of those seniors, J.J. Hood, wound up in a starting pitching matchup with future University of Connecticut teammate Maddix Dalena.
Hood, who also led the offense by going 2-for-2 with the team’s only RBI, limited Montoursville to two earned runs on five hits in six innings.
“I thought that he was really good again today,” Lemoncelli said of Hood, who walked two and struck out five. “You look at the top of their order and their first (four) guys had one hit, a single.”
Dalena held Wyoming Area to two runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out nine and walking five in six innings. He did not allow a hit over his final 3 2/3 and Wyoming Area did not score after getting one run in each of the first two innings.
“They had a bulldog on the mound and they played well behind him,” Lemoncelli said.
Dalena finished strong, with three straight strikeouts in the sixth before reaching his pitch limit.
“They’re a really good team,” Dalena said. “My stuff was just on today. I felt really good.”
Wyoming Area had two runners on in the third before Dalena settled in.
Once the pitch count forced a pitching change, Casey Noone greeted Grayson Rinker by lining a shot to left center on the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh.
The comeback fizzled on what appeared to be a missed call.
Jack Mathis hit the ball hard to third baseman Cameron Francis. The third base umpire, positioned behind Francis and screened from seeing when he seemed to drop the ball, signaled that it was a flyout. Noone was doubled off first base when Francis picked up the ball and threw across the diamond.
“This guy over here at third base drops a ball on a line drive and they call (Noone) out on a double play,” Lemoncelli said. “Things like that are going to happen in baseball.”
Each team wound up with five hits, but Montoursville picked up three unearned runs.
Three of Wyoming Area’s five hits came in succession with one out in the bottom of the first. Evan Melberger, Jake Kelleher and Hood singled with Hood driving in Melberger.
Nathan Novakowski walked and eventually scored with the help of a wild pitch and passed ball in the second for a 2-2 tie.
Montoursville went ahead to stay in the third when ninth hitter Ethan Stahl led off with a single and scored. Eighth hitter Aiden Evans drove in the final run when Montoursville scored twice in the seventh.
Hunter Lawall pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in relief for Wyoming Area, which finished 20-5.
Monsignor Bonner eliminated Montoursville, 13-0, in five innings in the quarterfinals.
