DALLAS TWP. — Every few years, the Dallas baseball team hosts a late morning game due to one circumstance or another.
It gives students in the school district a chance to leave class for a little bit to watch the team play.
In 2016 when the Mountaineers held a game like that, Darren Kerdesky was one of those who stepped out of class for a little while and watched the varsity boys.
“I was in the middle school watching that game and was hoping that I got a chance to play in one of these,” Kerdesky said. “Jordan McCrum was pitching. Dave Simpson hit a home run. I wanted to be able to do the same thing. And I did it.”
He certainly did.
On Friday afternoon in another game where dozens of kids from the school district left class for a little bit as the game was moved up to a start time on 11:30 a.m. due to the Wyoming Area prom, Kerdesky got a chance to participate in the contest. And he duplicated what he saw on that day three years ago. The senior pitched a complete-game and hit a game-deciding three-run home run to lead the Mountaineers to a 4-3 win over Wyoming Area as they clinched the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 title and wrapped up the No. 1 seed for next week’s District 2 Class 4A tournament.
“That’s a big motivator right there,” Kerdesky said about the win. “We’re looking to go far into the playoffs. And I think we should as long as we keep our defense tight.”
On the mound, Kerdesky allowed just three hits, one walk and two earned runs in seven innings. At the plate, the slugger was 2-for-3 with a single and the three-run shot in the fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.
“Kerdesky, a man among boys. The best player on the field today,” Dallas coach Ken Kashatus said.
Wyoming Area, which has wrapped up the No. 3 seed for the Class 4A district event, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Jake Kelleher tripled in a run. But after that hit, the Warriors didn’t get a hit until a double by Cole Coolbaugh with one out in the sixth. Still, the team enters the postseason on the right track, winners of four of six after a stretch where they only won once in six games at the start of April.
“Our guys are rolling now. We’re playing good baseball. It’s the best baseball we’ve played all year,” Warriors coach Rob Lemoncelli said. “Regardless of the outcome, one swing of the bat changed the game.
“We figured out a game plan that works best for us and we’re executing. And when we’re executing, we’re a dangerous team with the arms that we have, the defense that we play, we should be a tough out in the playoffs.”
Lefty Toby Hallman also went the distance, tossing six innings for the Warriors and giving up six hits and just one walk, while fanning five. The one bad pitch to Kerdesky doomed him.
“He missed his spot, but that’s not on him. We gotta do a better job of putting runners in scoring position, giving us opportunities to score,” Lemoncelli said. “He threw a great game. He pitched well enough to win. He deserved to win.”
The Warriors mounted a comeback in the sixth and seventh, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Kelleher in the sixth before taking advantage of a pair of Dallas errors in the last inning to get within a run.
NOTE: The District 2 Class 4A playoffs start Tuesday. Wyoming Area will host Scranton Prep and Dallas will host Berwick.
Hanover Area 6, Nanticoke Area 4
Auggie George drove in two runs as Hanover Area held off a late Nanticoke Area rally to win the battle of rivals.
Tory Metric pitched 3.2 innings of relief for the win. Hanover Area finished with just three hits.
Jake Krupinski, Matt Bobeck and Tyler Pokrinchak had an RBI each for Nanticoke Area.
Hanover Area finished the seventh seed in the D2-3A playoffs and will play at second-seeded Mid Valley on Monday. Nanticoke Area will be the seventh seed in the D2-4A playoffs and play at Valley View on Tuesday.
Dallas 4, Wyoming Area 3
Wyoming Area`AB`R`H`BI
Yochem rf`3`0`0`0
Petrucci 1b `2`1`0`0
Coolbaugh cf`3`1`2`0
Kelleher c`2`0`1`2
Graham 3b`3`0`0`0
Hallman p`0`0`0`0
Williams dh`3`1`0`0
Angelella 2b`3`0`0`0
Wiedl ss`2`0`0`0
Elmes lf`3`0`0`0
Totals`25`3`3`2
Dallas`AB`R`H`BI
Kerdesky p`3`1`2`3
CLewis ss`3`0`1`1
MLuksic 3b`3`0`0`0
McGeehan cf` 0`0`0`0
Connolly dh` 3`0`0`0
ZLuksic c`3`0`1`0
Shaver 1b`2`0`0`0
Lombardo 2b`2`1`0`0
BLewis lf`2`1`1`0
Nocito rf`2`1`1`0
Totals`23`4`6`4
2B: Coolbaugh, Z. Luksic. 3B: Kelleher. HR: Kerdesky.
Wyoming Area`100`001`1`—`3
Dallas`001`030`x` —`4
Wyoming Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Hallman (L) `6.0`6`4`4`1`5
Dallas`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Kerdesky (W) `6.0`3`3`2`1`7
Hanover Area 6, Nanticoke Area 4
Hanover Area`AB`R`H`BI
Polanco ss`1`1`0`1
George c`3`1`1`2
Stefanowciz 3b`2`0`1`1
Hummer p`3`0`0`1
Kolbicka 2b`4`1`0`0
Quaglia rf`4`0`0`0
Murphy cf`2`2`1`0
Metric 1b`0`0`0`0
Richards dh`1`1`0`0
Rowley lf`2`0`0`0
Schiel ph`1`0`0`0
Totals`27`6`3`5
Nanticoke Area`AB`R`H`BI
Myers 2b`4`0`1`0
Matson p`2`0`0`0
Bielecki lf`2`0`0`0
Cease ss`4`1`1`0
TKrupinski 1b`1`1`0`0
Brown rf`3`1`1`0
Szychowski cf`2`0`0`0
Pokrinchak ph`1`0`1`1
JKrupinski lf`2`1`1`1
Heffron 3b`2`0`1`0
Sura p`0`0`0`0
Heald c`0`0`0`0
Bobeck dh`3`0`1`1
Totals`25`4`7`3
Hanover Area`213`000`0 — 6
Nanticoke Area`25`4`7`3
2B: Stefanowicz, Pokrinchak, J.Krupinski. 3B: Myers.
Hanover`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Hummer`1.2`4`2`2`1`2
Metric (W)`3.2`3`2`2`0`1
Jasler (S)`1.2`0`0`0`0`1
Nanticoke pitching line unavailable
