SPRINGBROOK TWP. — Ominous clouds that hovered around North Pocono Little League made a thunderstorm seem imminent Tuesday evening.
The only thing that ended up raining down was a home run barrage by Greater Pittston Area.
GPA smacked four long balls in all, accounting for six runs in an 8-5 victory over Back Mountain National for the Section 5 Little League Major Baseball championship.
GPA, which is also the District 16 champion, heads to the state tournament at Camp Hill Little League. It opens play in the double-elimination state tournament Sunday at 1 p.m. against Section 6 champion Council Rock Holland.
“I knew we had a shot through districts to go through. We had a lot of guys returning from last year,” GPA manager Ted Montigney said. “We set different goals each week.
“Our first goal coming out of districts was to get our first sectional win.”
GPA wound up getting three straight, the last two over BMN.
Two homers in the fourth inning gave GPA some breathing room in the championship game, which was the first of its two title shots, if needed, after BMN came back from the elimination bracket.
GPA led 3-2 when TJ Johnson sent the first pitch of the fourth inning over the right-field fence. Pinch hitter Devon Cerasaro was hit by a pitch two outs later and Matt Walter followed with a homer to left that just tucked inside the foul pole for a 6-2 lead.
BMN came back with a run in the fifth, but GPA got two on a home run by Elijah Mead in the bottom of the inning.
After BMN cut the deficit to 8-5, but Johnson ended the game on a strikeout.
“He pitched on my team all season, my regular season team,” Montigney said. “He’s been lights out for me all year. Some of our games we had only four innings going through, so some of my pitchers really hadn’t had to go.
“He went a couple innings the other day, but this was the first time I really needed him in a pressure spot.”
BMN stranded two runners in the first and sixth innings and left the bases loaded in the third and fourth. The third and fourth innings produced just an RBI single from Kaden Coyne.
GPA’s Dominic Innamorati opened his team’s home run outburst with a solo shot to start the third. The blast gave GPA the lead for good, 3-2.
Innamorati and Paul Rusincovitch joined Johnson with two hits each.
GPA 10
Back Mountain North 7
SPRINGBROOK TWP. — Opportunity presented itself in the fourth inning July 14 and Greater Pittston Area took full advantage.
Some of those same opportunities came Back Mountain National’s way later on, but it wasn’t as fortunate with them.
The end result was GPA’s winners’ bracket final victory, which gave the team two shots at the Section 5 title it later claimed.
GPA scored seven times with two outs in a whirlwind fourth inning to take a 9-4 lead.
After the first two GPA batters were retired on groundouts, Nico Cielo and Devon Cerasaro drew consecutive walks. Silvio Giardina followed with an RBI single, then an error brought in two more runs. Then there was a single by Matt Walter, a hit batter, another error and a bases-loaded walk by Elijah Mead.
Brandon Wardecki knocked in the final two runs of the outburst with a single to left.
BMN appeared primed to cut into the deficit in the fifth after Zach Williams hit a two-run single and Nick Pisaneschi was plunked with a pitch to load the bases. The rally fizzled when Mead, GPA’s center fielder, caught a flyball and threw a strike to home to cut down a BMN runner for an inning-ending double play.
GPA’s pitching and defense stranded 10 BMN runners.
Dominic Innamorati picked up the win in relief and had GPA’s only extra-base hit, a solo homer in the first inning.
Giardina finished 3-for-4. Walter had two hits.
GPA 9
North Pocono 2
SPRINGBROOK TWP. — That five-run cushion after one inning had a dual purpose for Greater Pittston Area July 13.
First, any nervousness of playing in a Section 5 Little League Major Baseball game was eased. Secondly, it allowed a group effort on the mound to keep plenty of arms eligible for the next day.
Elijah Mead got GPA off to a quick start with a three-run homer and four pitchers shut down host North Pocono’s bats.
“Some of these kids played on the 9-10s a couple years ago and we got our first sectional win today,” GPA manager Ted Montigney said. “We were 0-2 last year, so it was nice to get our first win in sectionals and get off to a good start.”
Silvio Giardina started things off with a single to left in the bottom of the first. An out later, Matt Walter laced a double into the left-center gap to score Giardina. Chase Montigney followed by chopping a single to left to score Walter.
Paul Rusincovitch made it three consecutive hits with an infield single and Mead followed with a three-run blast to left.
Just like that, it was GPA 5-0 after one inning and the groundwork for the pitching strategy was in place.
T.J. Johnson started and struck out four of the seven batters he faced over two innings. Giardina then took over for 1 2/3 innings and recorded four strikeouts. Chase Montigney followed and had GPA within two outs of a piecemeal no-hitter before North Pocono’s Memphis Shotto singled to center.
GPA’s Richard Tonte hit an RBI single in the third to boost the lead to 6-0. Walter capped the GPA scoring with a three-run homer to left in the fourth.
North Pocono finally got on the board in the sixth with two more hits, including an RBI single by Lou Antidormi. The game ended when Antidormi was tagged out after sliding past second on a fielder’s choice and it was determined North Pocono scored another run before the out.
Walter, who drove in three runs, and Motigney had two hits each.
