MOOSIC – Batting and pitching, particularly of the power variety, draw most of the attention in a baseball game.
But fielding has been a big part of a successful Pittston Area baseball season, including May 26 in the District 2 Class 5A baseball championship game.
The Patriots combined a series of clutch defensive plays with a complete game by Cole Cherkas and extra-base hits from five different players to defeat North Pocono, 5-4, at PNC Field.
“Our defense has been our backbone,” said first baseman Hunter Ralston, who made a tough catch for the game-ending and title-clinching out. “Our defense is always there, whether I’m pitching or someone else is pitching, they back us up and they make the plays.”
The infield showed its range.
Joe Cencetti charged up the third-base line on a drag bunt for the game’s second out.
Ralston retreated into the expansive foul territory up the right-field line to catch a blooper to end the game.
Before that, shortstop Josh Baiera went deep in the hole at shortstop for the next-to-last out. If Damario Maglio had reached on the play, pinch hitter Stephen McNulty’s three-run, two-out home run in the top of the seventh would have lifted the Trojans into a tie instead of bringing them within one run.
Center fielder Andrew Krawczyk went to his knees while backhanding a line drive by Jake Mastillo to start the fourth inning, then made a shot in the right-center field gap look like a routine play to end the sixth by getting another good jump.
“I can’t talk enough about the catch that Krawczyk made, the play Baiera made at shortstop, even this last play of the game for Hunter to make that play is incredible,” Pittston Area coach Paul Zaffuto said.
Cencetti got Pittston Area a 1-0 lead in the first inning. His quick read on Ryan Ruddy’s bunt contributed to a 1-2-3 start by North Pocono.
“I was expecting something,” Cencetti said of the game’s second batter. “You always have to be ready for a bunt in that situation, with the top of the order up.”
Cencetti made the play on a hard run, right at the line, and fired the ball across his body for the out.
“I saw it go down and decided to take a shot at it,” said Cencetti, who finished 2-for-2 and drew an intentional walk. “I could have let it go foul, but I was just going to take a shot at throwing it out.”
Cencetti doubled in the bottom of the inning to score Krawczyk, who had led off with a walk.
Krawcyzk put Pittston Area back ahead, 2-1, in the bottom of the third after North Pocono’s Zach Walsh had tied it with an RBI triple in the top of the inning.
After a Krawczyk triple to right field to start the third inning, Joe Stella drove him in with a groundball to short.
Cherkas retired nine straight after Walsh’s RBI triple with the help of defense from Krawczyk and others.
“We’ve been working for this all year,” Krawczyk said. “Day in and day out, we’ve been putting work in on our fielding.”
The team’s development offensively has often been more immediately obvious.
Zaffuto has frequently credited that to a commitment in recent seasons to become physically stronger in the weightroom.
“The seniors that are here are big, strong, tough kids and they were not going to let anyone take this away from them,” Zaffuto said.
Cherkas and Riley Brody hit the ball to the fence to start the sixth inning. Ralston then followed by sending a ball deep to center field for the third straight double. Two outs later, Krawczyk singled to right field for the last of the three sixth-inning runs that built a 5-1 lead.
Three unearned runs on McNulty’s homer added a bit of tension, but even though Zaffuto thought Cherkas was starting to lose command of his changeup, he trusted the starting pitcher – and the defense – to finish the Trojans.
“There was no question at all,” Zaffuto said. “The guy’s got the heart of a lion.”
Krawczyk, Brody and Cencetti all finished with two hits.
Pittston Area (17-5) opens the state tournament Monday at The University of Scranton at 4:30 against Marple-Newtown, the third-place team from District 1.
