West All-Stars Ella Tito from Tunkhannock taged out in the second inning by East All-Star catcher Gabby Gorzkowski of Pittston Area.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
East All-Star Abby Williams threw to first to put out West All-Star Ella Tito from Tunkhannock in the third inning.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
West All-Star pitcher McKenzie Hannon wipes the sweat from her hands to keep control of her pitches.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
West All-Star catcher Renea Haddock from Wyoming Area swats away the bugs during the game at Lake Lehman High School.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
Marina Antal from Pittston Area was named the East All-Star MVP.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
Erin Van Ness from Tunkhannock was named the West All-Star MVP.
Fred Adams | for Times Leader
LEHMAN TWP. — There was plenty of offense in the 45th annual Dallas Kiwanis Club Robert L. Dolbear Softball All-Star Game and players from Pittston Area and Wyoming Area were a big part of that.
Another factor was the 8-on-8 format with just two players, instead of three, trying to cover the outfield ground for each team in the game for recent graduates of Wyoming Valley Conference teams.
Marina Antal from Pittston Area earned Most Valuable Player honors for the East team during its 7-5 loss to the West Tuesday night at Lake-Lehman.
Wyoming Area’s Arianna Gaylord and Marissa Giardina, batting back-to-back in the fourth and fifth spots in the order, had the only triples in a game that did not feature any home runs.
Antal had singles in her first two at-bats to make her the only East player with two hits. She finished 2-for-4, including an RBI on a bases-loaded, infield single in the fourth inning to produce the first East run.
“It was just for fun,” said Antal, the third baseman who plans to continue her softball career at Marywood University. “Just one more time for Pittston Area. Came with a fun mindset, hopefully to win but that’s all right.”
Wyoming Area’s Rebecca Gula, who was “traded” from the West to the East during the pregame to even the rosters at eight apiece following a series of no-shows, was the only player to drive in two runs for the losing team. Her groundout produced the last of three runs in the fourth inning, then she singled to drive in one run in the sixth before scoring the final East run.
Gula, who played right field, finished 1-for-4.
Pittston Area’s Gabby Gorzkowski was the East catcher and reached base twice while going 0-for-2. She was hit by a pitch, drew a walk and was credited with one run scored.
Wyoming Area had the most players in the game. Even with Gula’s switch, the Lady Warriors made up half the roster for the winning West team.
Gaylord went 2-for-4 and scored a run. After starting the game in left field, she pitched the final two innings, giving up two runs before getting out of a bases-loaded jam and retiring the last four batters she faced.
Giardina was 1-for-3 with an RBI groundout, a run scored following her triple and another time on base when she was hit by a pitch. She played third base.
Catcher Renee Haddock was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI. She reached on an error and drove in Giardina with a groundout.
Kaia Brown played first base and drove in the game’s first run with a single up the middle in the first inning.
Wyoming Area’s Dean Carey coached the West along with Tunkhannock’s Bob Hegedty and Ron Hampsey. The team also had players from Tunkhannock, Lake-Lehman and Hazleton Area.
The East team, coached by Wyoming Valley West’s Jessica Ras and Pittston Area assistant Anthony Bellino, also had players from Holy Redeemer, Nanticoke and Wilkes-Barre Area.
