Pittston Area’s Isabella Kroski gets back to first base to beat the tag by Caln Township first baseman Macie Atkinson in the first inning of the Little League 8-10 Softball Eastern Regional championships Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Ainsley Lear delivers a pitch in the second game of Saturday’s Little League 8-10 Softball Eastern Regional championships at the Mountain Top Little League.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Caln Township catcher Layla Fulton celebrates the 3-0 win over Pittston Area with pitcher Kaylee Seybert for the Little League 8-10 Softball Eastern Regional championship Saturday. Seybert’s father Brian is a 1993 graduate of Wyoming Area.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Caln Township second baseman Gia Belfie make a throw to first baseman Macie Atkinson (22) in the sixth inning on a grounder by Pittston Area’s Isabella Kroski.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area shortstop Natalie McAndrew gets ready to make the throw to first base for an out in the first inning of the Little League 8-10 Softball Eastern Regional championships Saturday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WRIGHT TWP. — Pittston Area received two cracks at the Little League 8-10 Softball Eastern Regional title by having some offensive outbursts throughout the week-long tournament.
None came in the first game Saturday morning against Pennsylvania champion Caln Township. Nor were there any in the rematch Saturday afternoon.
Instead, Caln Township shut out Pittston Area twice, 2-0 and 3-0, to win the regional championship at Mountain Top Little League.
Caln completed a five-game winning streak after losing its second game of the double-elimination tournament, including four victories over the last two days. The Eastern Regional title is the highest achievement at this level of Little League softball, as there is no World Series for the age group.
“I was super confident in our girls,” said Caln manager Brian Seybert, who is a 1993 graduate of Wyoming Area. “They never wavered. They never looked past an out, an inning, an at-bat. As long as we played like we did all season long, we had a chance.”
Pittston Area, which received an automatic bid to the regionals as the champion on the host district, managed just four hits in the two games against Caln pitcher Kaylee Seybert, who struck out 19 over the 12 innings.
“It was a tough one today,” Pittston Area manager Bill Kroski said. “She threw 12 innings with lots of strikes. That’s what wins it. We played a clean game. We outhit them in the first game 2-1, but we left too many runners on. That happens, but she threw an excellent game. So did our girls, and you can’t ask for anything better than this. The girls should be proud.”
Caln had just one hit in the first game against Pittston Area’s Ava Thomas, but a bases-loaded walk in the second and an error on Seybert’s single in the fourth accounted for the two runs.
Pittston Area’s best chance in the opener came in the second inning as Thomas and Danielle Budzak walked to give the team first-and-second with two outs. Isabella Kroski had both hits for Pittston Area — infield singles in the first and fifth innings.
Pittston Area didn’t hit the ball out of the infield in the first game. The offense failed to perk up in the second game. Kroski and Natalie McAndrew hit consecutive one-out singles in the third, but Seybert allowed two base runners the rest of the game. Sophia Laudato walked in the fourth and Liv Distasio did the same in the sixth. Both girls ended up stranded at third.
Caln took a 2-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Macie Atkinson and a groundout by Gia Belfie. Megan Sheller scored the other run in the four. She singled, was bunted to second by Maddie McIntyre and used a pair of errors to score.
“We should all be proud and happy for the support we got from parents, the community and the rest of our district,” Kroski said.
GAME ONE
Caln Twp. (Pa.) 2, Pittston Area 0
Pittston Area`AB`R`HBI
Kroski c`3`0`2`0
McAndrew ss`3`0`0`0
Lear 1b`3`0`0`0
Luvernder 2b`3`0`0`0
Laudato lf`2`0`0`0
Karbosky ph`1`0`0`0
Thomas p`1`0`0`0
Fediw cf`1`0`0`0
Bartle ph`1`0`0`0
Budzak 3b`0`0`0`0
Distasio ph`1`0`0`0
Basile rf`1`0`0`0
Pesotini ph`1`0`0`0
Totals`21`0`2`0
Caln Twp.`AB`R`H`BI
La.Fulton c`1`1`0`1
Seybert p`3`0`1`0
Atkinson 1b`1`0`0`0
Copeland rf`2`0`0`0
Melvin rf`1`0`0`0
Belfie 2b`2`0`0`0
Sheller cf`1`1`0`0
Clark lf`2`0`0`0
McIntyre lf`1`0`0`0
Wimmer 3b`1`0`0`0
Le.Fulton ss`1`0`0`0
Totals`16`2`1`1
Pittston Area`000`000 — 0
Caln Twp.`010`10x — 2
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Thomas L`5`1`2`1`8`7
Caln Twp.`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Seybert W`6`2`0`0`3`10
GAME TWO
Caln Twp. (Pa.) 3, Pittston Area 0
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Kroski c`2`0`1`0
McAndrew ss`2`0`1`0
Distasio ph`0`0`0`0
Lear p`3`0`0`0
Luvender 2b`3`0`0`0
Laudato lf`2`0`0`0
Thomas 1b`2`0`0`0
Fediw cf`1`0`0`0
Bartle ph`1`0`0`0
Budzak 3b`1`0`0`0
Karbosky ph`1`0`0`0
Basile rf`1`0`0`0
Pesotini ph`1`0`0`0
Totals`20`0`2`0
Caln Twp.`AB`R`H`BI
La.Fulton c`3`0`0`0
Seybert p`2`1`0`0
Atkinson 1b`3`0`1`1
Copeland rf`1`0`1`0
Melvin rf`0`0`0`0
Belfie 2b`3`0`1`0
Sheller cf`3`1`1`0
Clark lf`2`0`0`0
McIntyre lf`0`0`0`0
Wimmer 2b`2`1`1`0
Le.Fulton ss`2`0`0`0
Totals`21`3`5`1
Pittston Area`000`000 — 0
Caln Twp.`002`10x — 3
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Lear L 5`5`3`2`1`6
Caln Twp.`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Seybert W`6`2`0`0`2`9
