Kyle Skutack receives his Region 5 Senior American Legion Baseball gold medal from regional director Jerry Ranieli (right) as Greater Pittston manager Steve Homza looks on.
Tom Robinson | Sunday Dispatch
SCRANTON – Greater Pittston loaded and reloaded the bases in Tuesday’s Region 5 Senior American Legion Baseball championship game.
And, each time, Greater Pittston produced.
Kyle Skutack led the way as Greater Pittston rode its performance in bases-loaded situations to a repeat championship, breaking away for a 12-2 victory over Green Ridge in six innings at Connell Park.
The victory sent Greater Pittston back to the state tournament, which begins with a Monday morning game in Latrobe.
Through hits, walks, hard-hit balls that induced errors and a sacrifice fly, Greater Pittston scored in all eight of its bases-loaded situations. It limited Green Ridge to one run on its three bases-loaded plate appearances.
Skutack bookended that performance with the two efforts that scored two runs each. His single to right field in the third inning put Greater Pittston ahead, 3-1, and the shot he ripped to the fence in the sixth inning ended the game by driving in the ninth and 10th runs that Greater Pittston scored with the bases loaded.
A pregame session with coaches helped Skutack make the adjustments needed to deliver three hits and four RBI in the championship game. He had been 0-for-10 in the first three games of the tournament before driving in a run with his only hit during the semifinal.
“When we were batting in the morning before the game, it helped me focus basically on my stance and my swing,” Skutack said. “Obviously, today it really improved and hopefully it carries on into states.”
Skutack finished with three singles, but his last swing of the tournament would have been good for at least a double and probably would have delivered three runs, if needed. By then, however, Greater Pittston already had scored six runs in the sixth and needed just the last two to end the game on the 10-run rule.
“The pitcher was struggling to throw strokes, so with bases loaded, two out, you might as well help the pitcher out a little bit, swing as hard as you can,” Skutack said. “If you get ahold of it, it will go.
“Luckily, I was able to do that and find a gap.”
Brian McCormack finished up on the mound when Greater Pittston loaded the bases with one out and a 4-2 lead in the sixth.
Vinny Bonomo added to the lead with a sacrifice fly, then the last seven batters reached base. After four walks and two errors, Skutack had the only hit during that stretch.
“Kyle was struggling at the beginning of this tournament,” Greater Pittston manager Steve Homza said. “He came up big the last two days.
“We needed him. Right after (third hitter Hunter) Lawall, our lineup is completely different. For him to spark that right after Lawall is a good job.”
Greater Pittston had many chances and still left nine runners on while Green Ridge stranded eight.
When Green Ridge started the fourth inning with two straight hits, Bonomo threw the lead runner out at third, reducing a likely multiple-run inning to a single run.
Catcher Cameron Moser twice ended innings by throwing out two runners trying to steal, including leadoff hitter Dino Dimauro for what proved to be the final Green Ridge out.
Pitchers Tommy Carlin and Anthony Cencetti did not allow an earned run, each escaping a bases-loaded jam.
Carlin got out of one after one of his four hit batters put Green Ridge ahead, 1-0, in the first.
Cencetti relieved Carlin and got the last out of the fifth on a grounder to third baseman Jack Mathis, who stepped on the bag for the force. He walked one while getting the last four outs and a save because of the tight situation in which he took over.
Carlin got the win, striking out six while giving up five hits, a walk and two unearned runs in 4 2/3.
“It was the best he pitched all year,” Homza said. “Coming into today, Tommy just needed to throw strikes.
“I was hoping he would give us at least three (innings) and the fact that he almost got us into the sixth was a superb job.”
Greater Pittston’s pitching depth came through.
Carlin was one of eight pitchers used in the tournament, which featured games on five straight days, and one of four to both start one game and relieve in another.
“We knew we just had that big (semifinal) win over Swoyersville and we could not get complacent,” Carlin said. “ … I just had to pitch very well. I can’t thank my team enough.”
Carlin shook off his own hit batters and his team’s two uncharacteristic infield errors.
“I just had to let it go,” he said of pitching with runners on 16 times in the game. “I knew I had a good defense behind me and it would help me through either its with its defense or on offense.”
Greater Pittston provided Carlin with both.
Jeremy Cawley, Mathis and Lawall were a combined 4-for-10 with three walks, six runs, two RBI and four stolen bases in the top one-third of the batting order.
Cawley stole two bases and scored twice. Mathis drew two walks, got on base four of five times and scored three runs. Lawall had two hits.
