GPT outlasts Abington for Section 5 minor baseball tournament win

GLENBURN — The first inning of the Section 5 Minor Little League Baseball Tournament could not have gone much better for Greater Pittston Township.

A half-dozen runs scored in the top of the inning and a half-dozen pitches were all Colton Talerico needed for a 1-2-3 run through the bottom of the inning.

A series of ups and downs followed, but GPT never let the advantage earned in the first inning get completely away.

After building the lead as high as eight, GPT escaped a bases-loaded jam for the game’s final out and a 15-14 victory over host Abington at the Ackerly Field.

Before speedy leadoff hitter Jack Keeler could steal second base as the potential winning run and eliminate a force at every base, GPT manager John Cerasaro chose to issue a bases-loading, intentional walk.

Having a force at every base helped when shortstop Rocco Skula capped his standout game defensively by fielding a groundball on the next pitch and flipping to second base for the final out.

Joey Basile, the last of six pitchers used by GPT as it combined keeping arms eligible for future games with securing the opening win, had walked his first batter. He got the save by retiring the second that he actually pitched against.

“We were hoping to jump out early being the visiting team, but I wasn’t expecting six runs,” GPT manager John Cerasaro said. “ … We had our pitchers limited to no more than one day (mandatory rest).

“The sectional tournament is tough. You’re playing every day for five days. We have enough arms as long as the defense and hitting do their part.”

GPT advances to Sunday’s 3 p.m. winners’ bracket final of the four-team tournament in a game against Carbino/Archbald, a 13-3 winner over Greater Wyoming Area.

The six-run first was the result of three singles, a costly Abington error and some aggressive GPT baserunning.

Connor Yonki led off with a single up the middle, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a one-out infield single by starting pitcher Colston Talerico.

Santino Rynkiewicz had an RBI single, Basile came all the way home from second base as two runs scored when Anthony Cortese grounded into the second out of the inning and Anthony Cerasaro raced home with the sixth run on a wild pitch.

Rynkiewicz, who scored three times and drove in three more, doubled in two runs while helping push the lead to 12-4 in the third inning.

Abington made things interesting with five runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth as well as stranding five runners.

Doubles by Kaysen Simmons and Basile produced three GPT runs in between for the needed insurance.

“We were talking midway through the game that no matter what number is up on that board, it’s not enough in a game like this,” John Cerasaro said.

GPT mixed a handful of outstanding defensive plays with nine errors that led to 11 unearned runs.

Anthony Cerasaro made a diving catch at second base for the game’s first out; Basile made a throw from the third-base line across the diamond and Skula made strong throws after making a tough backhand stab and going to his knees for a glove-side play.

“The first few innings our defense looked like it usually does,” John Cerasaro said. “Maybe later in the game nerves got to them as Abington kept battling back. We made some routine mistakes where our defense is usually pretty solid across the board.”

Greater Pittston Township 15, Abington 14