Pittston Area catcher Jacoby Harnen removes his mask as Greencastle-Antrim players react to the winning run crossing the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area starter Elijah Barr threw five innings.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area shortstop Beau Widdick ranges far to his right to try and track down a ball hit by Greencastle-Antrim’s Nolan Sullivan in the first inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area’s Alex Rosencrance reacts to scoring the Patriots’ first run in a four-run second inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area’s Nick Innamorati reacts to scoring on a triple by Beau Widdick in the second inning.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
FREDRICKSBURG — Role reversal was unkind to Pittston Area on Thursday afternoon.
So unkind that it ended the Patriots’ season.
After rallying three times in their last two wins, the Patriots saw Greencastle-Antrim turn the tables on them. The Blue Devils scored three times in the bottom of the seventh to walk off Pittston Area 6-5 in a PIAA Class 5A baseball quarterfinal game.
“All I can say is I’m proud, I’m proud of them. That’s all,” Pittston Area coach Paul Zaffuto said. “The ball bounced the way we didn’t want to, found third base three times. We knew that it would, and when it did, it didn’t end up in our favor.”
Pittston Area’s second trip to the state quarterfinals ended like its first in 2019 — with a loss to the District 3 third seed. This one, though, was more painful.
The District 2 champion Patriots (21-4) led 4-0 after three innings and 5-3 going to the bottom of the seventh.
Greencastle-Antrim (21-3) threatened in the bottom of the sixth, but managed to flip the batting order for the seventh. That’s when trouble began.
“We hit the ball hard, but we kind of hit it at people the whole game,” Greencastle-Antrim coach Eric Shaner said. “We made slight adjustments and I thought our at-bats were good.
“We were hoping to scratch out one there in the sixth, but we’ve come back a couple times this year from some dire circumstances.”
Leadoff hitter Andrew Weaver started the seventh by bouncing a single just out of reach of Pittston Area third baseman Ryan Noone. Cam Rakaczewski did the same, with his hit a little closer to the third-base line.
Nolan Shovlin then dropped down a bunt, but Weaver beat the throw to third to load the bases. An error scored the first run and a two-run single in the left-center gap by Manny Brookens sent Greencastle-Antrim to the semifinals for the second time in four seasons.
“To start the seventh, they just hit the baseball and they hit it in spots where we couldn’t defend it,” Zaffuto said.
Pittston Area has never advanced to the state semifinals, but things looked promising early on.
The Patriots plated four runs in the second inning, scoring the initial run for the first time since a D2-5A semifinal win against Abington Heights.
Nine-hole hitter Nick Innamorati had an RBI single for the first run. Leadoff hitter Beau Widdick blasted a two-run triple to left-center to make it 3-0. Widdick then scored on a passed ball.
Greencastle-Antrim got a run back on an RBI double by Mason Mellott in the fourth, but the Patriots answered in the fifth with an RBI infield single up the middle by Gavin Wardecki.
Wardecki’s single scored Ryan Tonte, who was the courtesy runner for Jacoby Harnen. Harnen reached base with a double.
An inning earlier, Pittston Area had a run erased. Widdick hit what appeared to be an RBI single, but the runner missed third on the way home. He was called out on an appeal for the third out.
“He missed it by a lot,” Zaffuto said. “As soon as he did it, I cursed because I knew it was coming.”
An RBI single by Rakaczewski and an error helped Greencastle-Antrim cut the deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
Greencastle-Antrim reliever Avery Horst pitched the final 1.2 innings to get the win. After hitting a batter, he retired five in a row as the Patriots didn’t hit the ball out of the infield.
Class 5A Quarterfinals
Greencastle-Antrim 6, Pittston Area 5
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Widdick ss`4`1`2`2
E.Barr p`3`0`1`0
Noone 3b`0`0`0`0
Harnen c`3`0`1`0
Tonte cr`0`1`0`0
Salvo lf`4`0`0`0
Wardecki 1b`3`0`1`1
Rosencrance 3b`3`1`0`0
Bradley rf`3`0`0`0
Budzak 2b`2`1`1`0
Innamorati cf`2`1`1`1
Totals`27`5`7`4
Green-Antrim`AB`R`H`BI
Weaver 2b`2`2`1`0
Rakaczewski ss`4`2`3`1
Sullivan cf`3`1`1`0
Horst dh`4`0`0`0
Bostick p`0`0`0`0
M.Brookens lf`4`0`2`2
B.Brookens rf`2`1`0`0
Mellott 3b`3`0`1`1
Bishop 1b`3`0`3`0
Davidson c`3`0`0`0
Totals`28`6`11`4
Pittston Area`040`010`0 — 5
Green-Antrim`000`120`3 — 6
E — Pittston Area 3, Greencastle-Antrim 2. DP — Pittston Area 1. LOB — Pittston Area 7, Greencastle-Antrim 9. 2B — Harnen, Mellott. 3B — Widdick. SB — Sullivan. CS — Davidson. SAC — Sullivan.
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
E.Barr`5`6`3`2`2`2
Rosencrance (L)`1`5`3`2`0`0
Green-Antrim`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Bostick`5.1`7`5`4`2`4
Horst (W)`1.2`0`0`0`0`2
HBP — Wardecki, Budzak (by Bostick), Innamorati (by Horst), Weaver (by E.Barr).
