PLAINS TWP. – After steamrolling through pool play by a 47-5 combined margin in three games, Plains North ran into an early test on the way to Wednesday’s 8-0, home-field District 16 Little League Major Baseball semifinal win over Township National.
“We knew coming in Township would be a tough out,” Plains North manager Don Stark said. “And they certainly showed it tonight.”
Township National failed to capitalize on the consecutive first-inning singles. Nor was it able to score in the second inning when Chase Dudek singled and Ryan Reza followed with a double with one out.
After Reza’s single, Township North managed just one more hit. Plains North pitcher Donny Stark retired the final 12 batters he faced and finished with seven strikeouts.
Plains North broke the game open with two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth.
Township National lost to Mountain Top, 4-1, July 1 to finish 2-1 and second of four teams in Pool B.
Township American defeated Hanover, 4-3, and Greater Pittston Area lost to Plains North, 18-4, in four innings in other July 1 games. Both finished 1-2 and lost out to Hanover on a three-way tiebreaker for the second playoff berth in Pool .
DISTRICT 31 MAJOR
Greater Wyoming Area won the meeting with Back Mountain American that was shortened by the Mercy Rule, but BMA came up with an extra-inning win in the rematch to knock GWA out of the tournament.
BMA won Wednesday’s semifinal, 1-0.
GWA was 3-1 in round-robin play, including a 16-3 rout of BMA July 1 in four innings. GWA locked up the second seed out of five teams and four semifinalists when it handled Kingston/Forty Fort, 12-4, in the next day.
Nathan Longfoot drove in Brady Miller with a seventh-inning single to decide the semifinal.
David Favata allowed just one hit while striking out 11 for GWA in 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He also had a double.
DISTRICT 16 JUNIOR
Greater Wyoming Area rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Back Mountain, 7-6, Friday in the first game of a best-of-three semifinal series.
Cole Ricko singled to drive in the tying run and Mitchell Rusinchak scored the winner on a wild pitch.
Rusinchak and Isaac Olmsted had two hits each in the win.
Zach Smith was the winning pitcher in relief.
The second game is scheduled for Sunday at Back Mountain at 1 p.m. Game Three, if necessary, will be played Tuesday.
DISTRICT 16 9-11-YEAR-OLDS
Mountain Top and Greater Pittston Area split in the first two games of their best-of-three championship series.
They set up a deciding game that was scheduled to be played Saturday.
Mountain Top won, 8-5, Monday. GPA rolled, 11-0, in four innings Wednesday.
Parker McAndrew homered and Levi Pisano had two hits in Monday’s loss.
DISTRICT 16 8-10-YEAR-OLDS
Plains defeated Township, 14-8, and Mountain Top downed Greater Pittston Area, 17-5, in five innings in Thursday’s semifinals.
GPA went 2-2 in round-robin play to finish third out of five teams.
Township defeated Hanover, 16-9, Monday to finish 1-3 and claim the fourth and final semifinal spot.
Angelo Macario had two hits and drove in three runs for GPA in the semifinal loss. Jacob Hulse singled in a run.
DISTRICT 31 8-10-YEAR-OLDS
Back Mountain National beat Greater Wyoming Area twice in five days, eliminating GWA from the tournament.
BMN won the last round-robin game, 21-2, July 2in three innings.
After GWA went 1-3 to claim the fourth and final semifinal berth, it met top-seeded BMN again and lost, 11-3, Thursday.
