Greater Wyoming Area players and coaches celebrate after winning the Section 5 Little League junior baseball championship on Friday at Hanover Area High School. GWA dropped the opener of the best-of-three series against Hanover before winning the next two to claim the title.
John Erzar | Times Leader
HANOVER TWP. — Down six runs after two innings Friday, the Hanover players were reminded there was plenty of baseball left.
Oh boy, was there plenty of baseball left. Even some extra baseball.
And enough baseball to see Hanover take the lead in the sixth, only for Greater Wyoming Area to tie the score in the seventh and win the game in the eighth.
Robbie Yatsko lined a bases-loaded single to left in the bottom of the extra frame, sending GWA to a 10-9 victory and the Section 5 Little League Junior Baseball championship.
GWA won the best-of-three series 2-1 after losing the opener 12-1. The next stop is the state tournament at DuBois Little League from July 25-30.
“I give Hanover credit,” said GWA coach Donnie Ricko, who ran the team in manager Mike Krakosky’s absence. “They kept fighting and fighting and chipping away and chipping away. They kept having professional at-bats against our starter out there Robbie. They worked his pitch count up.”
Nick Little started the bottom of the eighth with a walk and Chris Viadock ran for him. Mike Wassel reached on an error and Prestyn Reeves singled to load the bases. Hanover got two outs and GWA was on the verge of leaving the bases loaded for a fourth time when Yatsko ended the game with his single.
An inning earlier, Yatsko singled with one out and eventually scored on an error to knot the game 9-9 and force the extra inning. GWA got out of a tough situation in the top of the seventh with a unique 2-5-4-3 double play.
Way back in the second inning, GWA scored five times as Reeves’ RBI triple and Yatsko’s two-run double helped give their team a 7-1 lead.
Hanover kept pecking away at the deficit while reliever Jett Kelsall kept the GWA bats quiet. Two runs were tacked on in the third and a four-run fifth — highlighted by Seth Mrak’s two-run double — moved Hanover within 8-7.
Hanover took a 9-8 lead in the sixth when Nate Wright and Spencer Martinez scored on the same wild pitch. Wright scored from third and Martinez from second on an errant throw to get Wright at the plate.
GWA reliever Marco Altavilla took the win, pitching 2 2/3 innings and allowing one hit.
“He’s a kid that’s going to come out there and not beat himself,” Ricko said. “He’s going to throw the ball over the plate and force the other team to beat him. If you can force a team to get three hits to get a run, I like our chances.”
Yatsko finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Reeves was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Mitchell Rusinchak had two hits, a run and an RBI.
GWA forced a third game by defeating Hanover 12-7 on Thursday.
Rusinchak and Reeves each had three of GWA’s 14 hits in the Game Two victory. Rusinchak drove in two runs and Reeses one.
Yatsko had two hits and two RBI. Winning pitcher Connor Krakosky and Little each had two hits.
Krakosky pitched the first four innings and Little went the final three for the save.
Cole Ricko drove in the only GWA run in Wednesday’s loss.
GWA also won the District 31 title in a third game of a best-of-three series, beating Back Mountain, 9-6, July 9.
Reeves, Yatsko and Wassel each had two hits to help GWA repeat its district championship.
Wassel had two triples and an RBI.
Krakosky pitched five innings for the win and Yatsko went the other two for the save. Each also drove in two runs.
