Winning pitcher Cole Ricko went 3-for-3 Tuesday to lead the way as Greater Wyoming Area shut out Back Mountain, 13-0, in five innings to complete a two-game sweep of a best-of-three championship series between the only two District 31 Junior Little League Baseball tournament entries.
Ricko went the distance in a two-hitter. He had two doubles.
Tyler Smith got the offense going with a two-run triple in the first inning. David Favata added a two-run homer in the third inning and Mitchell Rusinchak blasted another in the fifth.
Zach Smith also had two doubles.
SECTION 5 JUNIOR
West Scranton’s Battaglia-Cawley Field will host the tournament, which opens Sunday.
Greater Wyoming Area will play District 32 champion Mid Valley Sunday at 3:30, following the 1 p.m. opener between District 16 champion Hanover and District 17 champion Abington.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament will continue with daily rounds until concluding Wednesday.
DISTRICT 16 9-11-YEAR-OLDS
Greater Pittston Area captured the district title July 8 with a 7-6, seven-inning victory over Mountain Top.
The game was the third of a best-of-three series in which Mountain Top won the opener before GPA took two straight.
Chris Tibel struck out four while allowing just two earned runs over the first five innings.
Tibel, Levi Pisano, Patrick Roman and Rocco Oliveri each had two hits.
Aiden Bryk finished up on the mound and added a hit.
REGION 5 9-11-YEAR-OLDS
Abington shut out Greater Pittston Area, 1-0, Friday in a regional opener, hosted by Mid Valley in Dickson City.
Jake Kwiatkowski, one of two Abington pitchers to split the work in a three-hit shutout, drove in the game’s only run in the fourth inning.
Back Mountain National defeated Mid Valley, 5-3, in the other game to begin the four-team, double-elimination tournament which was scheduled to continue Saturday.
