Greater Pittston was still in the first half of the Wyoming Valley Prep American Legion baseball championship in June when Lou Falzone assessed his team’s potential, saying there was “no doubt” the team was capable of winning a state championship.
When Falzone made that statement, no Greater Pittston team had ever won a state Legion baseball championship on any level.
Falzone’s team changed that all Wednesday when it completed an unbeaten run through five Prep Legion state tournament games at Devon Prep High School by defeating Back Mountain, 8-3.
A recap of the Greater Pittston state tournament games:
Greater Pittston 8, Back Mountain 3
After already making it through the winners’ bracket unscathed, Greater Pittston had two shots to beat Back Mountain and win the title. It only needed one.
Lucas LoPresto had two hits, drove in two runs and earned the save by ending the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings on the mound. He limited Back Mountain to a hit and two walks while striking out one. LoPresto also scored a run.
Brady Baldrica went 3-for-3 with a walk and scored twice.
Nick Rinaldi was the winning pitcher. He worked the first 4 1/3 innings. Rinaldi struck out two while giving up three runs on four hits and four walks.
Jacoby Harnen drove in two runs.
Nico Cielo and Kellen Kroski each had RBI singles.
John Jadus, who scored twice, and Aiden George, who scored once, also had singles.
Cielo’s RBI single was followed by Harnen’s two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to open the lead to 5-1.
Greater Pittston scored first in the bottom of the first inning.
LoPresto led off the game with a single, then stole second and third. He scored on Cielo’s sacrifice fly.
Elijah Barr led off and scored in the third to regain a 2-1 lead. He walked, stole second and scored on a Kellen Kroski RBI single.
Back Mountain got within 5-3 before Greater Pittston scored three times, including two runs on a LoPresto single.
Greater Pittston 7, Boyertown 4
Jacoby Harnen went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, three RBI and a run scored in Thursday’s winners’ bracket final.
It was a 5-4 game until Harnen doubled in two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Winning pitcher Aiden George, Gavin Wardecki and Nico Cielo had two hits each.
George also walked, scored and drove in a run. Wardecki also drew a walk. Cielo scored twice and drove in a run.
Elijah Barr, who scored twice and drove in a run, and John Jadus also had singles.
Ryan Tonte finished up on the mound, giving up one hit while getting four outs without allowing a run.
Greater Pittston 10, Back Mountain 0
Greater Pittston needed just five innings in the first of its two state tournament wins over Back Mountain, the team that finished a game behind Greater Pittston at the top of the Wyoming Valley standings in the regular season.
Gavin Wardecki tossed a one-hit shutout with a walk and three strikeouts.
Kellen Kroski, Jacoby Harnen and Elijah Barr all had a single and double.
Kroski drove in four runs and scored.
Harnen and Barr each finished 2-for-2 with a walk. Harnen scored three times and drove in a run. Barr scored twice and drove in a run.
Kellen Kroski drove in four runs and Jacoby Harnen scored three times. Each had a single and double.
Brady Baldrica singled and drove in two runs. Lucas LoPresto doubled and scored.
Back Mountain scored four runs in the first inning, then three each in the third and fourth.
Greater Pittston 8, Shillington 3
Brady Baldrica struck out 12 without walking a batter during a five-hitter as Greater Pittston won the second-round game July 31.
Jacoby Harnen went 4-for-4 and drove in two runs while Elijah Barr was 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored to lead the offense.
Nico Cielo singled, doubled, scored and drove in a run.
John Jadus had a hit, run and RBI while Jack Scagliotti and Lucas LoPresto also had hits.
The game was tied 3-3 until the bottom of the sixth when Jadus, LoPresto and Cielo all had RBI singles. Jadus put Greater Pittston ahead to stay, Harnen’s single drove in two runs and Wardecki walked in a run.
Greater Pittston 3, Glenmoore 0
Three Greater Pittston pitchers combined on the four-hit shutout in the first round of the tournament July 30.
Winning pitcher Elijah Barr struck out nine while walking two and allowing two hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Gavin Wardecki gave up two hits and walked two in 1 1/3 innings.
Brady Baldrica entered with the bases loaded and needed just three pitches to strike out the only batter he faced for the save.
Lucas LoPresto led the offense, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Ryan Tonte and John Jadus had the other hits. Baldrica and Kellen Kroski drove in the other runs.
