HUGHESTOWN — Through rain and shine, Pittston Area scored six times in the first inning Friday.
And no matter what the weather conditions, the Patriots kept scoring throughout the game.
Finally, after a delay for heavy rain, Pittston Area ended a miserable day for baseball. The Patriots scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to defeat Dallas 16-6 in a District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
“The at-bats we put on today and the way we ran the bases,” Pittston Area coach Paul Zaffuto said. “Again, when they punched, we punched back. They kept firing, but we kept having an answer for them. I’m just very proud of the team that we have.”
Jacoby Harnen followed Rich Tonte’s RBI single with an RBI double to stop the game via the 10-run rule. Pittston Area (21-0) will now play in the championship game tentatively scheduled for Tuesday at a time and site to be determined.
The other semifinal game between North Pocono and Abington Heights still needs to be played. That game was scheduled for Saturday.
Rain was falling when Pittston Area leadoff hitter Dom Innamorati walked to start the first inning. By the time inning ended, the sun was shining. The first inning was indicative of the weather all game until a downpour halted it going to the bottom of the fifth.
In between, the Patriots scored in every inning starting with the six-run first where Jake Aftewicz had an RBI single, Chase Montigney had a two-run double, Tonte brought in a run with a groundout and Harnen hit a sacrifice fly.
Dallas (13-8) got a run back in the second on an RBI single by Jack Leandri, but Pittston Area answered with four in the bottom of the inning.
Beau Widdick followed consecutive singles by Silvio Giardina and Aftewicz with a two-run double. Harnen finished off the scoring with an RBI single for a 10-1 lead.
Again, Dallas fought back with an RBI each from Brady Youngblood, Dylan Geskey and Jack Dale in the third. And again, the Patriots answered as Elijah Barr had an RBI double and Widdick singled in a run to make it 12-4.
The fourth was similar. Two runs for Dallas, two for Pittston Area.
Barr picked up the win, going three innings despite being ill.
Widdick and Harnen each went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI to lead a 14-hit attack. Widdick scored three runs.
Barr and Aftewicz had two hits each. Montigney and Tonte drove in two runs. Dominic Innamorati, Giardina, Montigney and Tonte scored twice each.
