Stripes & Strikes continued its mastery of the Greater Pittston Senior American Legion Baseball team.
Greater Pittston made a strong push at a title only to settle for second place for the third time this season.
And, for the third time, it was Stripes & Strikes that stopped Greater Pittston head-to-head while finishing first.
The Hazleton-based team handed Greater Pittston two home-field, one-run losses, including in the final, in the Region 5 Tournament.
Stripes & Strikes was also first and Greater Pittston second in the Wyoming Valley League regular season and again in the Wyoming Valley playoffs.
Stripes & Strikes 2, Greater Pittston 1
Stripes & Strikes escaped a seventh-inning, bases-loaded jam Tuesday to defeat Greater Pittston and complete an unbeaten, four-game run through the region tournament.
Greater Pittston went 3-2 in the tournament, losing in the winners’ bracket final and again on the final day when it would have needed two straight wins over Stripes & Strikes to capture the title.
After Greater Pittston tied the game in the top of the sixth, Stripes & Strikes answered in the bottom of the inning with two straight hits and a sacrifice fly.
Stripes & Strikes also got out of a bases-loaded situation after Greater Pittston had scored in the sixth.
Dominic Innamorati was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Innamorati went to second on a Silvio Giardina infield single, took third on a Zander Condeelis sacrifice and scored when Chase Montigney grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Paul Rusincovitch had two hits in the loss.
Silvio Giardina did not walk a batter in a complete game. He gave up six hits and two runs while striking out one.
Stripes & Strikes advances to the state tournament in Erie.
Greater Pittston 7, Hughesville 3
Greater Pittston, which hosted the entire tournament at the Pittston Primary Center, forced its latest Stripes & Strikes rematch by winning Tuesday’s elimination bracket final.
Paul Rusincovitch went the distance on the mound, allowing just one earned run. He gave up seven hits, but did not walk a batter while striking out five.
Drew Cisney doubled twice, Jake Aftewicz tripled and singled and Dominic Innamorati also had two hits. Each scored one run and drove in another.
Richie Tonte scored twice.
Hughesville led 1-0 after two innings.
Rusincovitch led off the third with a single and scored the tying run. Tonte scored the run that put Greater Pittston ahead to stay on a squeeze by Silvio Giardina.
Stripes & Strikes 5, Greater Pittston 4
Andrew Burns singled up the middle with two out in the bottom of the ninth to lift Stripes & Strikes to victory in the winners’ bracket final July 20.
Greater Pittston led 3-0 after 3½ innings and 4-1 going into the bottom of the sixth before Stripes & Strikes rallied to tie the game.
Aiden Timmons finished on the mound for Stripes & Strikes, working three scoreless innings.
Zander Condeelis went 3-for-5 with two runs scored to lead Greater Pittston’s offense.
Jake Aftewicz had two hits and drove in two runs.
Dominic Innamorati had two hits stole two bases. Tommy Carlin also had two hits while Drew Cisney stole two bases.
Greater Pittston 9, Mountain Post 1
Greater Pittston scored in all but one at-bat and got hits from seven different players July 19 when it handled Mountain Post in the winners’ bracket semifinal.
Following up a 13-1, five-inning romp over South Scranton in the first round, Greater Pittston banged out 14 hits for the second straight game.
Leadoff hitter Dominic Innamorati went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases.
Innamorati was followed by Zander Condeelis, who had two hits, two runs, two RBI and two stolen bases.
Chase Montigney, Drew Cisney, Richie Tonte and Silvio Giardina also had two hits. Montigney drove in two runs. Cisney and Giardina scored twice. Tonte had a double.
Greater Pittston used five pitchers.
Cisney was perfect in the first two innings.
Giardina struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced in three scoreless, hitless innings.
Ryan Tonte needed just three pitches to get the final two outs of a combined three-hitter.
