Wyoming Area remained in title contention in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference while Pittston Area’s hopes of repeating its Division 1 championship are virtually over after consecutive losses to the top two teams.
Wyoming Area 15, Nanticoke 3
Addison Gaylord and winning pitcher Alexa Gasek each hit home runs Tuesday as Wyoming Area defeated host Nanticoke in six innings in a WVC Division 2 game.
Gaylord finished 3-for-3 with two walks, five runs scored and two RBI.
Gasek drove in three runs and pitched a three-hitter. She struck out six and did not walk a batter.
Wyoming Area scored multiple runs in five of its six at bats beginning with Gasek’s three-run homer before Nanticoke recorded an out.
Josie Kivak led off the game with a double, Gaylord followed with a single, then Gasek homered to center field.
Allison Layland also had three hits and drove in three runs. She doubled twice.
Kivak, who scored three times, and Kaia Brown each had a double and single.
Marissa Giardina had two hits and scored twice.
Arianna Gaylord drove in two runs.
The Lady Warriors, who are 8-5 overall, are 5-1 in the division. They trail only Lake-Lehman (9-1) and are percentage points ahead of Holy Redeemer (6-2).
Tunkhannock 19, Pittston Area 7
HUGHESTOWN – Tunkhannock did not slow down when it had two outs late in the game and Pittston Area did not stop battling when it faced an early finish for the 10-run rule in Friday’s WVC Division 1 game.
The division-leading Lady Tigers scored their last 12 runs – their final run of the fourth inning, then all three in the fifth and all eight in the sixth – with two outs.
Pittston Area fought off a five-inning loss, then tried to extend the game beyond the sixth by scoring four times, but still was unable to prevent the Mercy Rule from kicking in at that point.
Marina Antal hit a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the sixth to finish a big day for the Lady Patriots. She also had a triple while finishing 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored.
“We could have packed it in,” Pittston Area coach Frank Parente said. “It would have been easy to go three up, three down or something like that.
“But we battled and Marina had a heckuva swing.”
Erin Van Ness and winning pitcher McKenzie Hannon each went 4-for-4 with four RBI for Tunkhannock. The Lady Tigers had a home run, two triples and three doubles among their 20 hits.
Gabby Roman drew four of Hannon’s 11 walks and scored twice.
The Lady Patriots are 4-4 in the division and 7-6 overall.
Dallas 3, Pittston Area 2
Dallas answered a Pittston Area run in the top of the 10th inning by scoring twice in the bottom of the inning to pull out a victory Wednesday in the WVC Division 2 game.
The second-place Lady Mountaineers came up with three straight, one-out singles to pull out the win for Nina Barrouk, who struck out 19 and did not walk a batter while limiting the Lady Patriots to six hits.
Samantha Herbert went the distance for Pittston Area, striking out eight and walking two. She held Dallas scoreless over the first four innings, then for four more before the winning rally.
Gabby Gorzkowski led the Pittston Area offense with two hits and two runs.
Jillian Haas had a triple and Julianna Cocco doubled.
Pittston Area 13, Holy Redeemer 3
Marina Antal had three hits, including a home run, and winning pitcher Samantha Herbert drove in four runs Monday to lead Pittston Area to a non-league win on the road.
The Lady Patriots scored six runs in the top of the first, then six more in the seventh to finish off the Lady Royals.
The first five Pittston Area batters reached base to begin the game and Lili Hintze capped the first-inning scoring with a two-run single.
Herbert drove in three runs with a double and Julianna Cocco drove in two with a single during the seventh inning.
Antal finished with three hits while Cocco had two hits and three RBI.
Hintze, Gabby Roman, Jillian Haas and Mikaila Sarf all scored twice.
Herbert struck out five and walked four in a five-hitter
