Tunkhannock gets past Nanticoke

The Tunkhannock Tigers traveled to Nanticoke on Friday night to take on the Trojans. It was a rematch of last year's District 2 4A Semifinal matchup which Nanticoke won. Tunkhannock is coming off a loss to Western Wayne. Nanticoke is coming off a loss to rival Hanover Area.
 The Tigers would start off hot in the first quarter as they would get back-to-back three pointers by Ben Chilson and Jack Chilson for a 6-0 lead. The Tigers would lead 14-7 until the Trojans would go on an 11-0 run to end the quarter and take a 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Nanticoke would make it a ten point game but Tunkhannock would go on an 11-0 run to end the half and take a 31-30 lead at halftime. Highlighted by 2 three pointers by Chris Trochak during the run.
 The Tigers started by building their lead to six but the Trojans' Colby Butczynski woud hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 3. Ben Chilson would hit a basket to make it a five point lead. The Tigers would take a 47-42 lead at the end of the third quarter. Jack Chilson would make a basket to make it a seven point lead. A free throw by Sincere Shiloh and a three point play by Jake Krupinski would make it a three point Tigers lead. The Tigers would drain out the clock and would take a 58-52 victory on the road at Nanticoke. Ben Chilson had a game high 26 points and Jack Chilson added 10 for the Tigers. For the Trojans, Jake Krupinski and JJ Bielecki each had 16 points and Colby Butczynski added 11.

Thoughts on the game: The Tigers were very impressive from behind the arc. They hit 13 three pointers on the night and nine in the first half. Ben Chilson was the biggest reason for the victory tonight. He had 26 points and had 6 three pointers. For the Trojans, JJ Bielecki and Jake Krupinski had good games tonight with 16 points each.

Tunkhannock 58 Nanticoke 52
Tunkhannock
Ben Chilson 26
Jack Chilson 10
Paul Binner 3
Chris Trochak 6
Ryan Harder 8
Jake Frisco 5

Nanticoke
Jake Krupinski 16
JJ Bielecki 16
Colby Butczynski 11
Sincere Shiloh 6
Collin Brown 3

Hawkeyes get big road victory at Nanticoke

The Nanticoke Trojans played host to the Hanover Area Hawkeyes on Friday night. The Trojans and Hawkeyes faced off in the District 2 4A Quarterfinals last year with Nanticoke taking the victory. Nanticoke is coming off a victory on Thursday night over Wyoming Area. Hanover Area is coming off a loss last Friday night to North Pocono. Both students sections were anticipating this rivalry matchup leading up to tipoff.
 The Trojans would start with the game's first five points off of Collin Brown. Then Auggie George and Khairi Carson would give the Hawkeyes a quick 6-5 lead. A three pointer by Collin Brown and a three point play by Colby Butczynski would give the Trojans the lead and would lead 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans would increase their lead to seven but the Hawkeyes would go on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 26 but a basket by JJ Bielecki and a free throw by Colby Butczynski would give the Trojans a 29-26 lead at halftime.
Auggie George would cut the Trojans lead to 1 but Collin Brown would make it a three point game again but Mike Merth would hit a three to tie the game at 31, after Butczynski would hit a basket, the Hawkeyes would go on a 10-0 run to give them an eight point lead. A Butczynski basket would end the run but a three pointer by Carson and a basket by Asad Whitehead would increase the lead to 11. After a pair of free throws by Sincere Shiloh, Todd Kolbecka would hit a three at the buzzer for a 49-37 at the end of three. The Hawkeyes would cruise to a 67-54 victory at Nanticoke.

Thoughts on the game: I will say that this was a very surprising result. It was a big win for the Hawkeyes. Khairi Carson had a big game with 19 points and Asad Whitehead also played well with 15. For the Trojans, Colby Butczynski had a good game with 25 points and Collin Brown had a good game with 15.

Hanover Area
Auggie George 6
Khairi Carson 19
Mike Merth 10
Asad Whitehead 15
Todd Kolbecka 9
Joe Curcio 8

Nanticoke
Collin Brown 15
Colby Butczynski 25
Jake Krupinski 2
JJ Bielecki 2
Sincere Shiloh 10

Crestwood defense dominant in victory over Williamsport

The Williamsport Millionaires took the long drive to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Comets are coming off victories over Scranton and Lake-Lehman last weekend. The Millionaires are coming off an overtime victory at Abington Heights on Wednesday.
Crestwood would start with the game’s first five points but the Millionaires would tie the game at 5. The Comets would go on a 12-0 run to end the quarter. It was highly by Paul Feisel scoring eight straight points to end the quarter. The Comets would continue to build upon their lead and would lead 30-14 at halftime. The Comets would cruise in the second half to a 61-35 home victory. Paul Feisel scored a game high 17 points and Ryan Petrosky added 15 points for Crestwood. For Williamsport, Nassir Jones scored nine points and Cole Johnson added seven points.

Thoughts on the game: Crestwood really dominated on the defensive side tonight. Paul Feisel gave the Comets their big lead with eight straight points and never looked back. Feisel had a good game tonight with 17 points as did Ryan Petrosky with 15. For the Millionaires, Nassir Jones has a good game with nine points.

Williamsport
Cole Johnson 7
Ahmir Ellzy 4
Connor Nyman 2
Marshall Brown 2
Nassir Jones 9
James Evans-McQuay 6
Al-Kabeer Jason 2
Tyler Fausnaught 3

Crestwood
Brad Papura 3
Ryan Petrosky 15
Mike Zaleski 8
Paul Feisel 17
Jake Zaleski 6
Brandon Nieminski 3
Marcus Vieney 4
Don Shaw 2
Nick Ruggeri 3

Crestwood takes opener over Scranton

The Scranton Knights traveled to Mountain Top on Friday night to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Knights finished last season as the District 2 runner-up in 6A. The Comets also finished as the District runner-up in 5A but advanced to the second round of the PIAA 5A State Playoffs and lost to Pottsville.
 The Comets would start off hot and go to an 8-2 lead but Scranton would go on a 7-0 run and take a 9-8 lead. The rest of the quarter would be a back and forth and Crestwood would lead 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Knights would take the lead on a basket by John Rose and a three pointer by Patrick McCormack to make it 20-17 but the Comets would get back to back baskets from Marcus Vieney and a three point play by Jake Zaleski to regain the lead at 28-21. The Comets would take a 37-31 lead at halftime.
The Comets' Ryan Petrosky would start off the second half with 9 of the Comets 11 points on their 11-0 run. Kevin Lazdowsky would end the Knights drought with a basket but Paul Feisel would drain back to back three pointers. The Comets would end up leading 61-43 at the end of the third quarter. The Comets would lead as much as 17 but Scranton would make it interesting with Lazdowsky scoring 8 straight points and Tylil White hitting a basket to cut the lead to seven but Paul Feisel would get a basket and sink two free throws as the Comets would take the season opener with a 71-62 victory over Scranton. Ryan Petrosky would score a game high 21 points for Crestwood and Marcus Vieney also added 12 in the victory. For the Knights, Jason Shields had a team high 13 and Patrick McCormack and Kevin Lazdowsky each added 12 points.

Thoughts on the game: The Comets looked really good overall. Marcus Vieney played a really good game on both sides of the ball. Ryan Petrosky also had a good game with 21 points. For the Knights, Patrick McCormack had a really good game shooting. He scored 12 points on the night.

Crestwood 71 Scranton 62
Scranton
John Rose 10
Jason Shields 13
Pat McCormack 12
AJ Dinterman 5
Tylil White 10
Kevin Lazdowsky 12

Crestwood
Marcus Vieney 12
Ryan Petrosky 21
Brad Papura 3
Jake Zaleski 11
Brandon Nieminski 4
Don Shaw 1
Paul Feisel 15
Nick Ruggeri 2
Mike Zaleski 2

Crestwood dominates in victory over Valley West

The Wyoming Valley West Spartans traveled to Mountain Top on Friday night to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Spartans are 1-1 and lost to Hazleton Area last week. The Comets are also 1-1 and lost to Dallas in Week 2. Both teams are looking to get to 2-1 on the season.
The Spartans would start with the ball and would go three and out. They would try a fake punt but wouldn’t convert. The Comets would start with good field position. Ryan Miller would start with a 18 yard run and on the next play, quarterback Ryan Petrosky would score from six yards out for a 7-0 Crestwood lead. The Spartans would try to go for it on fourth down and would fall short. The Comets would drive down the field and end with a four yard touchdown run by Ryan Miller and the extra point would be no good and the lead would be 13-0. The Spartans next Drive would end in a punt. The next Comets Drive would end in a punt. The Comets would score again in the second quarter when Ryan Petrosky would go to Brandon Nieminski for a six yard touchdown pass and a 20-0 lead. After a couple of punts, the Comets would get the ball back with 1:33 to go and Petrosky would find Jesse Zaykoski for a 40 yard touchdown and they would go for 2 and a 28-0 lead as we headed to halftime.
The Comets would get the ball to start the second half and would get a 19 yard touchdown run by Ryan Miller for a 35-0 lead and the mercy rule would be in effect. The Spartans would block a punt that would go to the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 35-2 in favor of the Comets. Early in the fourth quarter, Valley West would a one yard touchdown run by Brendan Woods to make it 35-8 with 10:24 to go. The Comets would cruise from there as they would take a 35-8 victory over Valley West to go to 2-1 on the season.

Packers take road victory in opener vs Bears

The Green Bay Packers travel to Chicago to open up the 100th NFL as they renew their rivalry with the Bears. The Bears won the NFC North last season and lost in the Wild Card game to the Eagles last season. The Packers missed the playoffs for the second straight year and are hoping to get back into the playoffs with star QB Aaron Rodgers and new head coach Matt LaFleur.
 Both teams would trade punts on the first three possessions. The Bears would start with good field position on their second possession of the game. David Montgomery would get 6 yards on second and 6 but they would settle for a 38 yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro for a 3-0 Bears lead. The Packers and Bears would trade punts as the first quarter came to a close. On the first play of the Packers drive in the second quarter, Aaron Rodgers would go to M Valdes-Scantling for 47 yards to the Bears 27 yard line. On second and 1, Rodgers would go to Davante Adams for 10 yards for a first and goal at the eight yard line. Very next play, Rodgers would go to tight end Jimmy Graham for the eight yard touchdown pass and the Packers would lead 7-3 with 13:08 remaining in the second quarter. Teams would trade punts until the end of the first half when Rodgers had a chance for a hail mary but the throw would fall short as we head to halftime with the Packers leading 7-3 over the Bears.
 They would trade punts throughout the third quarter but the Bears would drive to the Packers 33 yard line and faced a fourth and 10 and QB Mitch Trubisky would get stopped for three yards and a turnover on downs late in the third quarter. The Packers and Bears would once again trade punts. The Packers would go on a ten play drive that would end with a 39 yard field goal by Mason Crosby for a 10-3 game with 5:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bears would take over and on 2nd and 4, Trubisky would go to Allen Robinson for four yards. On a second and 5, Trubisky would go to Tarik Cohen for nine to the Bears 49 yard line. On a second and 10, Trubisky would find Robinson for 24 yards to the Packers 27 yard line. The Packers would challenge and the ruling would be upheld but on the next play, Trubisky would go to Robinson again, this time for 21 to the Packers 30 yard line on third and 10. On third and 1, Trubisky would find Cohen for 5 to the 16 yard line. The Bears would face a third and 10 and Trubisky would go to the end zone but it would be intercepted by former Bear Adrian Amos for a touchback. The Bears would have all three of their timeouts and would use two of their timeouts and would get the ball back with 1:33 to go. The Bears would face a fourth and 10 with 1:09 to go and Trubisky would get sacked by Preston Smith and the Packers would take the road victory in Chicago 10-3.

Green Bay
Passing
Aaron Rodgers 203 yards 1 TD 0 INTs

Rushing
Aaron Jones 13 carries 39 yards
Aaron Rodgers 3 carries 8 yards
Jamaal Williams 5 carries 0 yards
Marquez Valdes-Scantling 1 carry 0 yards

Receiving
Marquez Valdes-Scantling 4 catches 52 yards
Davante Adam 4 catches 36 yards
Jimmy Graham 3 catches 30 yards 1 TD
Trevor Davis 1 catch 28 yards
Robert Tonyan 1 catch 28 yards
Jamaal Williams 2 catches 15 yards
Marcedes Lewis 2 catches 14 yards
Aaron Jones 1 catch 0 yards

INTs
Adrian Amos 1

Chicago
Passing
Mitch Trubisky 228 yards 0 TDs 1 INT

Rushing
Mike Davis 5 carries 19 yards
David Montgomery 6 carries 18 yards
Mitch Trubisky 3 carries 11 yards
Cordarrelle Patterson 1 carry -2 yards

Receiving
Allen Robinson 7 catches 102 yards
Tarik Cohen 8 catches 49 yards
David Montgomery 1 catch 27 yards
Taylor Gabriel 2 catches 24 yards
Mike Davis 6 catches 17 yards
Adam Shaheen 1 catch 6 yards
Cordarelle Patterson 1 catch 3 yards

Tigers take down Nanticoke

The Tunkhannock Tigers traveled to Nanticoke to take on the Trojans. The Tigers are coming off a loss to Dallas. Nanticoke is coming off a road loss at Pittston Area. Both teams are looking for their first win of the year.
Tunkhannock would start with the ball and would start the drive off well going into Trojan territory but the Trojans’ Keanu Ammons would get an interception to end the drive. The Trojans’ first drive would end in a botched punt and Tunkhannock would get at the Trojan 5 yard line and Gavin D’Amato would get in on the first play of the drive on a five yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Tunkhannock lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Ammons would return the kickoff 96 yards to tie the game at 7. The Tigers would go three and out but the punt return would be fumbled and recovered by Tunkhannock. The Tigers would get all the way to the Trojan 13 yard line but the Tigers would fumble and Nanticoke would recover. The Trojans would have a turnover on downs on the next drive and two plays later, Jack Chilson would go to Jake Frisco for a 37 yard touchdown and a 14-7 Tunkhannock lead. The Trojans would have another drive that would result in a turnover on downs. The Tigers would go three and out on the next drive. The Trojans next drive would result in Butczynski going to Darren Boseman for an 11 yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter. The next few drives would result in a punt or a fumble until the end of the second quarter when the Tigers would take over at their own 29 and would drive down the field and end with Chilson going to Frisco for a 17 yard touchdown for a 21-14 Tunkhannock lead as we head to halftime.
The Tigers would recover the kickoff and would end with a field goal to make it a 24-14 game. The Trojans would punt on their first drive of the second half. The Tigers would get a 64 yard touchdown run by D’Amato for a 31-14 Tigers lead. Another three and out for the Trojans would result in another Tunkhannock touchdown with Ty Konen going in from 31 yards out and a 38-14 lead as we headed to the end of the third quarter. The Tigers would cruise and take the road victory at Nanticoke 38-14.

Crestwood beat Wilkes-Barre Area in Overtime

The Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack played their first football game in school history as they traveled to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Comets are hoping to play spoiler to the Wolfpack’s inaugural game. Wilkes-Barre Area is looking to start off their first season with a win.
 Ryan Petrosky would go to Brandon Nieminski for 18 yards on 2nd down and 6. The Comets would face a 3rd and 3 and Ryan Miller would run for 10 yards. On third and 7, Petrosky would go for 11. On a third and 3 at the Wilkes-Barre Area nine yard line, Petrosky would find Nieminski for a nine yard touchdown and the extra point would be good for a 7-0 Crestwood lead. The first Wolfpack Drive would end in a punt. Wilkes-Barre would get a fumble recovery by Aiden Redding for the Wolfpack’s first ever touchdown and the game would be tied at 7 with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter. Crestwood would answer right away as Petrosky would throw a 30 yard pass to Garrett Swank for his second of the game to finish an eight play drive and would lead 14-7 with 9:16 remaining in the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Rafael McCoy would return the kickoff 80 yards to tie the game at 14. The Comets would drive all the way to the Wilkes-Barre 13 yard line but the drive would end on an interception by Rafael McCoy at their own 5 yard line. On the second play of the drive, the Comets would recover a fumble at the Wilkes-Barre 9 yard line. They would capitalize on a one yard QB sneak by Petrosky to get back on top at 21-14 with 1:29 remaining in the second quarter. The Wolfpack would answer with a four play drive ending with a Talee Swinney pass to Malachi Williams for 44 yards to tie the game at 21 with a minute to go and that would be the score at halftime.
 The Wolfpack would start the second half with a three and out. The Comets would drive the ball down the field and would result in a missed field goal attempt that hit the left upright. Crestwood would recover a fumble at the end of the third quarter at the Wolfpack 28 yard line still tied at 21. The Comets would face a fourth and goal at the one and Wilkes-Barre Area would get the stop. Kam Taylor would go to McCoy for 37 but the drive would end in a strip sack and the fumble would be recovered by Crestwood. However, three plays later, Crestwood would fumble and the Wolfpack would recover. Wilkes-Barre would drive to the Crestwood 37 facing a third and 3 and Noah Taylor looked like he would be stopped short but would get some extra yardage for a first down. The Wolfpack would attempt a field goal but it would missed off the left upright no good with 1:22 to go. Crestwood would run out the rest of the clock as we go to overtime tied at 21. The Comets would get the ball to start the first overtime and on fourth and goal at the one, Ryan Miller would score from one yard out and the extra point was good and Crestwood would lead 28-21. First play in overtime, McCoy would score from 10 yards out and the Wolfpack would go for two. Kam Taylor would run and the Wolfpack thought that Taylor was in as they rushed out to the field but the referee would rule that he was short of the goal line and Crestwood would take a 28-27 victory in overtime over Wilkes-Barre Area.

District 2 Football Scores
Pittston Area 30 Nanticoke 8
Northwest 8 Lackawanna Trail 7
Wyoming Area 56 Mid Valley 13
Pennridge 13 Delaware Valley 0
Dallas 49 Tunkhannock 13
Valley View 41 Wallenpaupack 10
North Pocono 42 West Scranton 6
Valley West 14 Scranton 10
Lakeland 28 Honesdale 8
Wyoming Area 56 Mid Valley 13
Old Forge 46 Carbondale 0
Western Wayne 33 Lake-Lehman 7
Riverside 54 Susquehanna 13
Hanover Area 31 Athens 21
Pottsville 42 Hazleton Area 7
Wylausing 34 Montrose 6

Dallas advances to semis with victory over Berwick

The Berwick Bulldogs traveled to Dallas High School on Tuesday afternoon to take on the Mountaineers in the District 2 4A Quarterfinals. The Mountaineers enter as the number one seed and the Bulldogs come in as the number eight seed. Dallas swept the regular season series with Berwick. Dallas went to Alex Kapral on the mound and Berwick would send Sawyer Kemp to the mound.

Henry Novicki would draw a two out walk but a strikeout would end the Top of the first. Darren Kerdesky would hit a leadoff single then steal second and go to third on a flyout to right and score on a groundout by Jake Shaver for a 1-0 Dallas lead. A groundout would end the first inning. Mark McCracken would hit a two out single but a strikeout would keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. Jake Connolly would hit a leadoff double and would move him to third on a sacrifice bunt by Zack Luksic but back to back strikeouts by Kemp would keep the game 1-0. Kaleb Gearinger would reach on an error with two outs and Novicki would a double to make it second and third. A strikeout would end the inning. Sam Nocito would lead off with a single and then Kerdesky would hit a triple to score Nocito for a 2-0 Mountaineers lead. After a strikeout, Shaver would hit a single to score Kerdesky and would score on a three base error for a 4-0 Dallas lead. Mike Luksic would hit a single then Connolly would reach on an error. After a strikeout, Fred Lombardo would hit a single to score Luksic and Connolly would try to score but would be out at the plate but the inning would end with a 5-0 Mountaineer lead after three innings. Max Slusser would draw a leadoff walk and Mike Lombargo would hit a single, but an infield fly and a 6-4-3 double play would keep Berwick off the scoreboard. Beau Lewis would hit a leadoff triple and then Nocito would execute a squeeze bunt to score Lewis for a 6-0 lead. Nocito would be out trying to get to second. Kerdesky would have his third hit of the game with a single. Kerdesky would move to second on a groundout and Shaver would hit a single to score Kerdesky for a 7-0 lead. Teagan Shortlidge would come in to pitch for Berwick and would get a flyout would end the inning. Ian Kishbaugh would hit a one out double but a groundout and a flyout would end the fifth inning. Connolly would hit a leadoff single. After a strikeout, Lombardo would draw a walk but a flyout and a fielder's choice would end the inning. Slusser would get hit by a pitch with one out but flyouts to right would end the top of the sixth. Nick Feudale would come in to pitch the sixth for Berwick. Kerdesky and Cooper Lewis would draw walks and the Bulldogs would go to Mark McCracken. Shaver would reach on an error to load the bases. Mike Luksic would bring home Kerdesky with a fielder's choice, then Connolly would hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Lewis for a 9-0 lead as we head to the seventh. The Bulldogs would score two runs in the seventh but the Mountaineers would take the 9-2 victory as they head to the District 2 4A Semifinals on Friday.

Thoughts on the game: Darren Kerdesky had a great game at the plate, going 3 for 3 with four runs scored and an RBI triple in the third inning. Jake Shaver also had a good game at the plate with three RBIs. Alex Kapral pitched six great innings. Giving up two runs on six hits with five strikeout and only two walks. Henry Novicki had a good game at the plate for the Bulldogs, going 2 for 3 on the day.

Dallas 9 Berwick 2
Berwick 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Dallas 1 0 4 2 0 2 x 9

Berwick
SS Kishbaugh 4 0 1 0
CF Gearinger 4 0 1 1
1B Novicki 3 0 2 0
C Levan 4 0 0 0
3B Slusser 1 0 0 1
2B Lombargo 4 0 1 0
RF/P McCracken 3 0 1 0
P Kemp 1 0 1 0
P Shortlidge 0 0 0 0
P Feudale 0 0 0 0
RF Powers 0 0 0 0
PR Wygant 0 1 0 0
DH Cerasoli 2 0 0 0
LF Hughes 3 1 1 0

2B: Novicki, Kishbaugh

Dallas
CF Kerdesky 3 4 3 1
SS C Lewis 3 1 0 0
P Kapral 0 0 0 0
P Killian 0 0 0 0
DH J Shaver 4 1 2 3
1B M Luksic 4 1 1 1
3B Connolly 3 0 2 1
C Z Luksic 3 0 0 0
2B Lombardo 2 0 1 1
2B Williams 0 0 0 0
LF B Lewis 3 1 1 0
RF Nocito 3 1 2 1

2B: Connolly
3B: Kerdesky, B Lewis

Pitching
Berwick
Kemp (L) 3.2 IP 7 R 5 ER 10 H 4 K 0 BB
Shortlidge 1.1 IP 0 R 0 ER 1 H 1 K 1 BB
Feudale 0+ IP 2 R 2 ER 0 H 0 K 2 BB
McCracken 1 IP 0 R 0 ER 0 H 1 K 0 BB

Dallas
Kapral (W) 6+ IP 2 R 2 ER 6 H 5 K 2 BB
Killian 1 IP 0 R 0 ER 2 H 0 K 1 BB

Deom Dominant as Trojans shutout Crestwood

The North Pocono Trojans and Crestwood Comets traveled to the University of Scranton's Volpe Field for the District 2 5A Quarterfinal. It is the third straight year that the Trojans and Comets would face off in the District Playoffs with Crestwood taking the victory in the 2017 District 2 5A Quarterfinals and North Pocono taking the District Title over Crestwood in the 2018 5A Championship game. Ryan Deom would get the start for the Trojans. The Comets would go to Brad Papura.
Deom would start off with a 1-2-3 top of the first for North Pocono. Zach Walsh would lead off the bottom of the first then steal second. After a strikeout, Ryan Deom would hit a single to bring home Walsh for a 1-0 North Pocono lead. Jake Mastillo would draw a walk but a flyout and a strikeout would end the inning. Deom would throw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second. Travis Lane would get by a pitch and Nick Pagotto would reach on a fielder's choice. Ryan Ruddy would draw a walk and both runners would advance to second and third on a passed ball. Walsh would single home Pagotto for a 2-0 lead but would get Ruddy in a rundown for the second out. A strikeout would get Papura out of the inning. Deom would be perfect through three after a 1-2-3 third inning. Mastillo would hit a one out single then Shane Lamparter would follow with a single but a fielder's choice and a strikeout would end the inning. Deom remained perfect in the fourth with a strikeout, a lineout, and a flyout. Walsh would hit a two out triple to left center but Papura would get out of it with his sixth strikeout. Deom would be perfect through five with a popout to himself and two strikeouts. Papura would throw a 1-2-3 fifth highlighted by two strikeouts and a running catch by Mick Bafunno for the third out. Mike Geroski would break up the perfect game with a walk and Colby Jones would break up the no-hitter with a single to right. After a strikeout, Mike Palmiero would hit a single and courtesy runner Nico Schwartz would try to score but Walsh would throw him out at home for the third out. Papura would throw a 1-2-3 sixth for the Comets. Deom would throw a 1-2-3 seventh for the Trojans and take a 2-0 victory over the Crestwood Comets. North Pocono will take on Abington Heights in the District 2 5A Semifinals on Thursday. Crestwood ends their season at 11-9.

Thoughts on the game: Deom just pitched brilliantly throughout the game. The only time he was threatened was the sixth. He ended allowing only two hits, striking out 11 and walking only one. Zach Walsh had a great game overall, going 2 for 2 with a triple and a RBI. Brad Papura had a great game on the mound, striking out nine and walking only three. Crestwood had an impressive year after starting 2-6 on the year and winning 9 of their next 11 games and return several players for next year.

North Pocono 2 Crestwood 0
Crestwood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
North Pocono 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 3 0 1 0
3B Dean 3 0 0 0
LF Bafunno 3 0 0 0
P Papura 2 0 0 0
PH Petrochko 1 0 0 0
2B Litchkofski 2 0 0 0
1B Caladie 2 0 0 0
C Geroski 1 0 0 0
RF Jones 2 0 1 0

North Pocono
RF Walsh 2 1 2 1
1B Millan 3 0 0 0
P Deom 3 0 1 1
C Mastillo 2 0 1 0
LF Lamparter 3 0 1 0
3B Maglio 3 0 0 0
2B Holtsmaster 0 0 0 0
DH Lane 2 0 0 0
SS Pagotto 3 1 0 0
CF Ruddy 1 0 0 0

3B: Walsh

Pitching
Crestwood
Papura (L) 6 IP 26 BF 2 R 2 ER 5 H 9 K 3 BB

North Pocono
Deom (W) 7 IP 23 BF 0 R 0 ER 2 H 11 K 1 BB

Crestwood gets past Northwest

The Northwest Rangers traveled to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets on Thursday afternoon. Both teams are looking to tune up their games for the upcoming District 2 Playoffs. Northwest is coming off a loss on Wednesday to Wyoming Seminary. Crestwood is coming off a victory over Scranton on Wednesday. Northwest would go to John Krzywicki on the mound. Colby Jones would get the start for the Crestwood Comets.
 Sam Saxe would draw a leadoff walk then David Piestrak would follow with a walk but Jones would settle down and retire the next three batters to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard. Krzywicki would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for the Rangers. Jones would throw a 1-2-3 second for the Comets. Mick Bafunno would lead off by getting hit by a pitch and would steal second, a flyout would move Bafunno to third then Brad Papura would draw a walk. Bafunno would score on an errant pickoff to first for a 1-0 Crestwood lead, moving Papura to second. Papura would move to third on a wild pitch. Stew Caladie would bring home Papura with an RBI single and leading 2-0. After a fielder's choice, Chico Mendoza would draw a walk but a strikeout would end the inning. Sam Saxe would hit a one out single. After a strikeout, Curtis Gregory and Tommy Antolik would reach on errors to load the bases but a groundout to short would end the threat. Mike Palmiero would draw a leadoff walk, would steal second and go to third on a wild pitch. After a flyout, Mick Bafunno would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Palmiero for a 3-0 Crestwood lead. Derek Petrochko and Papura would draw walks but a groundout would end the inning. Jones would strike out the side in the fourth for the Comets. Chico Mendoza would hit a one out single then Dean Ambosie would draw a walk but a strikeout and a fielder's choice would end the inning. Jones would throw a 1-2-3 fifth for the Comets. Bafunno would hit a leadoff single and advance to second on a passed ball and go to third on a groundout. Papura would bring home Bafunno with a single for a 4-0 lead. Caladie would then hit a double to move Papura to third. Mike Geroski would hit a double to score Papura and Caladie for a 6-0 Crestwood lead. Sam Saxe would come in to pitch for the Rangers and would get a flyout and a groundout to end the fifth. Dean Ambosie would come in to pitch the sixth for the Comets. Gregory would hit a double to lead off the sixth. Antolik would reach on an error that would move Gregory to third. Nick Wilson would hit a single to put the Rangers on the board, scoring Antolik. Joey Noss would hit a single. After a strikeout, Kevin Boyer would reach on an error that would score Antolik to make it 6-2 but a strikeout and a popout would end the top of the sixth. Palmiero would hit a single then steal second and go to third on a throwing error. Matt Dean would hit a single to score Palmiero for a 7-2 Crestwood lead. Mick Bafunno would reach on an error. After a strikeout, Papura would draw a walk to load the bases. Caladie would hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Dean for an 8-2 lead. A flyout would end the inning. Ambosie would get the first two outs and the Comets would go to Mike Palmiero to finish up the game. Antolik would hit a single but Palmiero would get a groundout to end the game as the Comets would take an 8-2 home victory over Northwest.

Thoughts on the game: For Crestwood, Colby Jones pitched fantastic. He struck out eight and had two walks while throwing five innings of shutout ball. Stew Caladie had a great game at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Curtis Gregory had a good game with a double and a run scored.

Crestwood 8 Northwest 2

Northwest 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Crestwood 0 2 1 0 3 2 x 8

Northwest
2B/P Saxe 3 0 1 0
SS Piestrak 3 0 0 0
CF/2B Gregory 4 1 1 0
LF/C Antolik 4 1 1 0
P/CF Krzywicki 1 0 0 0
DH Ridgley 2 0 0 0
DH Wilson 1 0 1 1
DH Copko 0 0 0 0
C Mott 2 0 0 0
3B Noss 1 0 1 0
1B Capece 3 0 0 0
RF Boyle 3 0 0 0
3B Pierontoni 1 0 0 0
LF Tarnowski 2 0 0 0

2B: Gregory

Crestwood
CF/P/SS Ambosie 3 0 0 0
SS/P Palmiero 3 2 1 0
3B Dean 4 1 1 1
LF Bafunno 2 2 1 1
P Jones 0 0 0 0
CF Schwartz 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Papura 1 2 1 1
1B Caladie 3 1 2 2
C Geroski 4 0 1 2
RF Mendoza 2 0 1 0

2B: Caladie, Geroski

Pitching
Northwest
Krzywicki (L) 4.1 IP 6 R 6 ER 6 H 3 K 6 BB
Saxe 1.2 IP 2 R 1 ER 2 H 1 K 1 BB

Crestwood
Jones (W) 5 IP 0 R 0 ER 1 H 8 K 2 BB
Ambosie 1.2 IP 2 R 1 ER 3 H 2 K 0 BB
Palmiero 0.1 IP 0 R 0 ER 1 H 0 K 0 BB

Palmiero's big day propels Crestwood past Coughlin

The Coughlin Crusaders traveled to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Crusaders are coming off a loss to Pittston Area on Tuesday. The Comets are currently on a three game winning with wins over Berwick, Pittston Area and Valley West. The Crusaders went to Tony Egidio for the start on the mound. Adam Litchkofski would start for the Comets on the mound.
 Litchkofski would start with a 1-2-3 top of the first. Dean Ambosie would lead off with a walk but a double play on runner's interference. Matt Dean and Mick Bafunno would reach on errors but a groundout would keep the game scoreless. Josh Rhodes would lead off by getting hit by a pitch and Josh Wychock would single to move Rhodes' courtesy runner Jim Kenzakoski to third. Evan Serafin would bring home Kenzakoski for a 1-0 Coughlin lead. A groundout to first would move the runners to second and third. Alex Rubbico would draw a walk to load the bases with one out. A fielder's choice by Braeden Cook to third would score Wychock for the 2-0 Crusader lead. A strikeout would end the inning. Mike Geroski would reach on an error and Colby Jones would draw a walk. A fielder's choice would end the inning. Ben Yozwiak would hit a leadoff single then Tony Egidio would reach on an error and Josh Rhodes would walk to load the bases with no outs. A 1-2-3 double play with give them two outs but Serafin would hit a double to center to score Egidio and Kenzakoski to make it 4-0 Coughlin. A groundout would end the inning. Mike Palmiero would hit a single, he would advance to second on a groundout. Mick Bafunno would hit a double to score Palmiero to put the Comets on the board at 4-1. A groundout and a strikeout would end the inning. Pedro Betancourt and Yozwiak would draw two out walks. Matt Dean would come in relief for the Comets. Dean would get a flyout to left to end the top of the fourth. Geroski and Jones would hit one out singles. After an infield fly, Palmiero would bring home courtesy runner Nico Schwartz to make it 4-2. Matt Dean would hit a single to bring home Jones to make it a one run game at 4-3. Palmiero would go to third and would score on a wild pitch to tie the game at four. A flyout would end the inning. Rhodes would draw a leadoff walk, a groundout to second would move Kenzakoski to second then would move to third on a wild pitch. A groundout to the pitcher would get the out at home and a fielder's choice would end the top of the fifth. Stew Caladie would hit a two out double but a flyout to center would end the inning. Rubbico would hit a leadoff single and would go to second on a passed ball. After a strikeout and a flyout, Yozwiak would hit a double to right to score Rubbico for a 5-4 Coughlin lead. A flyout to right would end the top of the sixth. Jones would lead off with a walk. Ambosie would reach on an error, Palmiero would tie the game with a single to score Jones. Jim Kenzakoski would come in relief for the Crusaders. The runners would move over one base on a passed ball and Dean would hit a double to score Ambosie and Palmiero to make it 7-5 Comets. Kenzakoski would prevent more damage by getting the next three outs. Caladie would come in for the save for Crestwood. Rhodes would draw another walk. After a fielder's choice, Serafin would hit a single then Tanner Smith would single to load the bases. Rubbico would reach on an error that would score Wychock to make it 7-6. A strikeout and a lineout to short would end the game as the Comets escape with a 7-6 victory over the Crusaders.

Thoughts on the Game: Mike Palmiero had an excellent game at the plate with three runs, three hits and two RBIs. Matt Dean had a good game at the plate, bringing home the eventual winning run on a double. For Coughlin, Evan Serafin had a great game at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. Ben Yozwiak would go 2 for 3 with an RBI double.

Crestwood 7 Coughlin 6

Coughlin 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 6
Crestwood 0 0 1 3 0 3 x 7

Coughlin
SS Betancourt 4 0 0 0
1B Yozwiak 3 0 2 1
P/LF Egidio 4 1 0 0
C Rhodes 0 2 0 0
PR Koretz 0 0 0 0
CF Wychock 4 2 1 0
3B Serafin 4 0 3 3
2B Smith 4 0 1 0
RF Rubbico 3 1 1 1
LF Cook 3 0 0 1
P Kenzakoski 1 0 0 0

2B: Serafin, Yozwiak

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 1 0 0
SS Palmiero 4 3 3 2
3B/P Dean 4 0 2 3
LF Bafunno 4 0 1 1
P Litchkofski 0 0 0 0
2B/3B Albee 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 4 0 0 0
1B/2B Papura 4 0 0 0
2B Lyle 1 0 0 0
1B/P Caladie 2 0 1 0
C Geroski 3 1 1 0
RF Jones 1 2 1 0

2B: Bafunno, Caladie, Dean

Pitching
Coughlin
Egidio (L) 5+ IP 29 BF 7 R 6 ER 8 H 2 K 3 BB
Kenzakoski 1 IP 4 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 1 K 0 BB

Crestwood
Litchkofski 3.2 IP 20 BF 4 R 2 ER 4 H 1 K 4 BB
Dean (W) 2.1 IP 10 BF 1 R 1 ER 2 H 1 K 1 BB
Caladie (S) 1 IP 7 BF 1 R 1 ER 2 H 1 K 1 BB

Crestwood beats Valley West for Third Straight Victory

The Valley West Spartans played host to the Crestwood Comets on Tuesday afternoon. The Comets are coming off their second straight victory, beating Pittston Area. The Spartans are coming off a loss at Pittston Area on Thursday. The Spartans would start Tom Federici on the mound. The Comets would go with Brad Papura on the mound.
Federici would throw a 1-2-3 top of the first for the Spartans. Danny Gibbons would draw a one out walk. After a strikeout, Stephen Banas would draw a walk but a flyout would keep the game scoreless. Mick Bafunno would lead off by getting hit with a pitch but Federici would retire the next three batters. Papura would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the second. Mike Geroski would lead off with a single then Chico Mendoza would move Geroski's courtesy runner Nico Schwartz to second and would reach on an error. After a flyout, Mike Palmiero would hit a single that would score Schwartz for a 1-0 Crestwood lead. Matt Dean would hit a single and then Bafunno would bring home Mendoza with a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 lead. A strikeout would end the top of the third. Tyler O'Kane reached on an error with one out. Gibbons would draw a walk and O'Kane would steal third. Mike Kane would bring home O'Kane on a groundout to make it 2-1. A strikeout would end the fourth. Chico Mendoza would hit a leadoff double then Dean Ambosie would hit a single to move Mendoza to third. A fielder's choice at home would be the first out and Ambosie would move to third. A wild pitch would score Ambosie to make it 3-1. After a strikeout, Bafunno would hit a double to score Palmiero for a 4-1 Comets lead. A groundout would end the top of the fifth. O'Kane would hit a single. After a strikeout, Kane and Banas would draw walks to load the bases. Dean Ambosie would come in to pitch for the Comets. Nate Dudeck would hit a single to score O'Kane and Kane to make it 4-3. Banas would stay at second. After a fielder's choice, Tom Federici would draw a walk but a strikeout would end the fifth. Rich Kolesar would come in to pitch for the Spartans and would throw a 1-2-3 sixth for Valley West. Ambosie would throw a 1-2-3 sixth for the Comets. Kolesar would throw another 1-2-3 in the seventh to keep it a one run game. Banas would hit a one out double to right but Ambosie would get a strikeout and a groundout as the Comets would take their third straight victory with a 4-3 victory over Valley West.

Thoughts on the game: Another great victory by the Comets. After starting 1-5, Crestwood is now currently at 8-8 on the season. Mick Bafunno had a good game, driving in two runs. Brad Papura pitched well. He went 4.2 innings with five strikeouts and gave up three runs. Dean Ambosie did a great job on the mound in relief, going 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four and got out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth. For Valley West, Tom Federici had a great game on the mound. He struck out seven while walking none. Nate Dudeck had a great game at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs.

Crestwood 4 Valley West 3

Crestwood 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 4
Valley West 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3

Crestwood
CF/P Ambosie 4 1 1 0
SS Palmiero 4 1 1 1
3B Dean 2 0 1 0
LF Bafunno 1 0 1 2
P Papura 0 0 0 0
CF Schwartz 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Litchkofski 3 0 0 0
1B Caladie 3 0 0 0
C Geroski 3 1 1 0
RF Mendoza 2 1 1 0

2B: Mendoza, Bafunno

Valley West
LF O'Kane 2 2 1 0
SS Gibbons 2 0 0 0
1B Kane 3 1 0 1
C Banas 2 0 1 0
RF/P Kolesar 0 0 0 0
DH Dudeck 4 0 2 2
3B Baranski 4 0 0 0
PR Michak 0 0 0 0
P/RF Federici 2 0 0 0
CF Stevens 2 0 0 0
2B Vought 3 0 0 0

2B: Dudeck, Banas

Pitching
Crestwood
Papura (W) 4.1 IP 22 BF 3 R 2 ER 2 H 5 K 6 BB
Ambosie (S) 2.2 IP 11 BF 0 R 0 ER 2 H 4 K 1 BB

Valley West
Federici (L) 5 IP 23 BF 4 R 3 ER 6 H 7 K 0 BB
Kolesar 2 IP 6 BF 0 R 0 ER 0 H 1 K 0 BB

Crestwood gets past Pittston Area

The Crestwood Comets traveled to Pittston Area to take on the Patriots on Monday afternoon. The Comets would serve as the home team at the Patriots' home field. The Patriots are coming off a victory over Valley West on Thursday. The Comets are coming off a shutout victory over Berwick on Friday. The Patriots would start Hunter Ralston on the mound. Colby Jones would get the start for the Comets.
Andrew Krawczyk hit a leadoff double to right, after a strikeout, Joe Cencetti hit a single to move Krawczyk to third but a lineout to first would result in a double play to end the threat. Mike Palmiero would hit a one out double then Matt Dean would hit a single to score Palmiero for a 1-0 Crestwood lead. A fielder's choice and a flyout would end the inning. Derick Cunis drew a one out walk but a strikeout and a groundout would end the top of the second. Mike Geroski would reach on an error with two outs but a strikeout would end the inning. Krawczyk would hit a one out single for his second hit of the game, then Joe Stella would hit a single to move Krawczyk to third. A caught stealing and a strikeout would keep the Patriots off the board. Matt Dean would record his second hit with a two out single but a groundout to second would keep it 1-0. Cole Cherkas would draw a one out walk then Cunis would single. Devon Markert would single home Cherkas to tie the game at one and move Stella to third. Hunter Ralston would give Pittston Area the lead with a sacrifice fly to left for a 2-1 lead. A lineout would end the top of the fourth. Brad Papura would single with one out then move to second on a wild pitch. Stew Caladie would then follow with a walk. Both runners would move up one base on a wild pitch. Papura would score on another wild pitch to tie the game at two. Caladie would move to third. Geroski would draw another walk then Chico Mendoza would hit by a pitch to load the bases. Dean Ambosie would get hit by a pitch to bring in Caladie for a 3-2 Comets lead. Alex Bouika would come in to pitch for the Patriots. Mike Palmiero would bring home courtesy runner Nico Schwartz on a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-2 Comets lead. Matt Dean would hit a single to bring home Mendoza and a 5-2 lead. Mick Bafunno would reach on an error and Ambosie would score for a 6-2 lead. A groundout would end the inning. Krawczyk would lead off with a single then Stella would draw a walk. Cencetti would hit a double to score Krawczyk to cut the lead to 6-3. A groundout to third would move pinch runner PJ Pisano to third. A groundout to second would score Stella to make it 6-4. Cunis and Markert would draw walks to load the bases but a flyout to right would end the threat. Adam Felinski would come in to pitch for Pittston Area. Zach Andrews would hit a one out single but a strikeout and a flyout would end the inning. Stew Caladie came in to pitch the sixth for the Comets. Krawczyk would draw a one out walk but a pickoff and a strikeout would end the top of the sixth. Felinski would throw a 1-2-3 sixth for the Patriots. Johnny DeLucca would hit a one out single and Cole Cherkas would draw a walk but a flyout to center and groundout to third would end the threat as the Comets would take a 6-4 victory over the Pittston Area Patriots.

Thoughts on the game: Crestwood's Matt Dean had a great game at the plate, going 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs. It was a great victory for Crestwood. For Pittston Area, Joe Cencetti went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Andrew Krawczyk went 3 for 3 on the day.

Crestwood 6 Pittston Area 4

Pittston Area 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 4
Crestwood 1 0 0 5 0 0 x 6

Pittston Area
CF Krawczyk 3 1 3 0
C Stella 3 1 1 0
3B Cencetti 4 0 2 1
PR Pisano 0 0 0 0
LF Delucca 4 0 1 0
SS Baiera 0 0 0 0
DH Cherkas 2 1 0 1
DH Johnson 0 0 0 0
2B Cunis 2 1 1 0
1B Markert 3 0 1 1
P Ralston 1 0 0 1
P Bouika 0 0 0 0
PH Brody 1 0 0 0
P Felinski 0 0 0 0
RF Dillon 3 0 0 0

2B: Krawczyk, Cencetti

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 1 0 1
SS Palmiero 3 1 1 1
3B Dean 4 0 3 2
LF Bafunno 3 0 0 0
P Jones 0 0 0 0
2B Litchkofski 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B/1B Papura 3 1 1 0
1B/P Caladie 1 1 0 0
PH Andrews 1 0 1 0
C Geroski 2 1 0 0
RF Mendoza 2 1 0 0

2B: Palmiero

Pitching
Pittston Area
Ralston (L) 3.1 IP 19 BF 5 R 4 ER 4 H 4 K 2 BB
Bouika 0.2 IP 4 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 0 K 0 BB
Felinski 2 IP 7 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 2 K 0 BB

Crestwood
Jones (W) 5 IP 26 BF 4 R 4 ER 8 H 4 K 5 BB
Caladie (S) 2 IP 8 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 1 K 2 BB

Ambosie and Litchkofski lead Comets to victory over Berwick

The Berwick Bulldogs traveled to Mountain Top  on Friday afternoon to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Bulldogs are coming off a loss on the road to Nanticoke on Thursday. The Comets are coming off a nine inning loss to Hazleton Area. The Bulldogs would go to Sawyer Kemp on the mound. The Comets would start Adam Litchkofski on the mound.
Ian Kishbaugh would reach on a single then Shane Levan would reach on an error, a fielder's choice for the first would make it first and third with one out. Max Slusser would draw a walk to load the bases but Litchkofski would get a strikeout and a groundout to keep the Bulldogs off the board. Dean Ambosie would draw a leadoff walk but Kemp would retire the next three to keep it scoreless after one. Litchkofski would throw a 1-2-3 second for the Comets. Kemp would answer with a 1-2-3 inning of his for the Bulldogs. Levan and Henry Novicki would each hit one out single but a strikeout and a groundout would end the inning. Ambosie would draw a two out walk but a strikeout would end the inning. Mark McCracken would reach on an error and Nick Feudale would move him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Stas Hughes would draw a walk but a 4-3 double play would end the inning. Matt Dean would hit a double to right for the Comets' first hit of the game. Mick Bafunno would draw a walk. A flyout to right would result in a double play and a strikeout would end the inning. Litchkofski would throw a 1-2-3 top of the fifth for the Comets. Stew Caladie would hit a single and would be lifted for a pinch runner in Zach Andrews. Andrews would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Geroski. After a strikeout, Ambosie would hit a single to right to score Andrews for a 1-0 Crestwood lead. Ambosie would steal second and Mike Palmiero would hit a single and Ambosie would be out at home. Mike Lombargo would hit a single then go to second on a wild pitch then go to third on a groundout. A popout to Palmiero would end the threat. Kemp would throw a 1-2-3 sixth for the Bulldogs. Litchkofski would get groundouts to third then Kishbaugh would hit a single then Levan would follow with a single. Ambosie would come in to close the game for the Comets and he would get a strikeout to end the game with the Comets taking a 1-0 shutout victory over the Berwick Bulldogs.

Thoughts on the game: It was a well pitched game by both games. Adam Litchkofski had a great game on the mound, going 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking only 2. Dean Ambosie also played well, getting the go-ahead RBI in the fifth and coming in to close out the game on the mound. For Berwick, Sawyer Kemp had a great game on the mound as well. He went six innings, striking out seven and walking only 3. Shane Levan had a great game at the plate, going 2 for 4.

Crestwood 1 Berwick 0

Berwick 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Crestwood 0 0 0 0 1 0 x 1

Berwick
CF Kishbaugh 4 0 2 0
C Levan 4 0 2 0
1B Novicki 4 0 1 0
3B Slusser 2 0 0 0
2B Lombargo 3 0 1 0
RF McCracken 3 0 0 0
LF Feudale 3 0 0 0
CF Hughes 2 0 0 0
P Kemp 0 0 0 0
DH Anderson 3 0 0 0

Crestwood
CF/P Ambosie 1 0 1 1
SS Palmiero 3 0 1 0
1B Dean 3 0 1 0
3B Albee 0 0 0 0
LF Bafunno 2 0 0 0
P Litchkofski 0 0 0 0
CF Schwartz 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Papura 2 0 0 0
3B/1B Caladie 2 0 1 0
PR Andrews 0 1 0 0
C Geroski 1 0 0 0
RF Jones 2 0 0 0

Pitching
Berwick
Kemp (L) 6 IP 23 BF 1 R 1 ER 4 H 7 K 3 BB

Crestwood
Litchkofski (W) 6.2 IP 29 BF 0 R 0 ER 6 H 4 K 2 BB
Ambosie (S) 0.1 IP 1 BF 0 R 0 ER 0 H 1 K 0 BB

Benson's walk-off caps Valley View's comeback over Crestwood

The Valley View Cougars traveled to Mountain Top on Wednesday afternoon to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Cougars would serve as the home team at Veterans Field. Valley View is coming off a win over Abington Heights. Crestwood is coming off a victory at Nanticoke to win their third in a row. The Cougars' Dixon Black faced off against the Comets' Colby Jones.
 Black would throw a 1-2-3 top of the first for Valley View. Dixon Black would hit a two out single but a flyout to center would end the first. Derek Petrochko would get hit by a pitch with one out then Brad Papura would draw a walk and Stew Caladie would hit an infield single to load the bases. Mike Geroski would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Petrochko for a 1-0 Crestwood lead. A groundout would end the top of the second. Duke Stafursky, Paul Chorba, and Shane Doherty would draw two out walks to load the bases but a strikeout would end the inning. Black would another 1-2-3 inning in the third. Chase Combs would hit a leadoff single and Black would draw a walk but would retire the next three batters to keep the Cougars off the board. Black would throw his second straight 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. Chorba would hit a one out single, after a fielder's choice by Doherty, Zack Kovalchik would hit a single to move Doherty to third and Kovalchik would go to second on the throw but a strikeout would end the fourth. Chico Mendoza would hit a double to right with two outs. Mendoza would go to third on a wild pitch then Dean Ambosie would hit a double to left for a 2-0 lead. Mike Palmiero would hit a single to move Ambosie to third. Ambosie would score on a wild pitch for a 3-0 Crestwood. A groundout would end the top of the fifth. Black would reach on a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth but a flyout, a fielder's choice and a caught stealing would end the inning. Robert Basalyga would enter the game to pitch the sixth for the Cougars. Mick Bafunno would draw a leadoff walk but a 5-4-3 double play and a groundout would end the top of the sixth. Chorba would reach on an error with two outs but a strikeout would end the sixth. Basalyga would throw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. Jones would get a flyout to right for the first out and the Comets would go to Matt Dean in relief. Combs would hit a single then Black, Ryan Cesaroni would draw walks. Alex Savkov would hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Combs for the Cougars first run of the game at 3-1. Jeremy Boyle would draw a walk to load the bases and would be lifted for a pinch runner in Matt Smith. Stafursky would get hit by a pitch to make it 3-2 and Dean Ambosie would come in to pitch for the Comets. The Cougars would bring in Zach Benson to pinch hit. Ambosie would have him at 0-2 and Benson would hit a ball that just hit the edge of the fielder's glove and would score Cesaroni and Smith as the Cougars would take it 4-3.

Thoughts on the game: It was a really good game today. Colby Jones had a great game, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings. Dixon Black also had a good game on the mound, striking out 5 and walking one. Chico Mendoza and Dean Ambosie each had doubles for Crestwood. Black also had a good game at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a run scored.

Valley View 4 Crestwood 3
Crestwood 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3
Valley View 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4

Crestwood
CF/P Ambosie 3 1 1 1
SS Palmiero 3 0 1 0
3B/P Dean 3 0 0 0
CF Schwartz 0 0 0 0
LF Bafunno 2 0 0 0
P Jones 0 0 0 0
3B Albee 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 2 1 0 0
2B Papura 2 0 0 0
1B Caladie 3 0 1 0
C Geroski 2 0 0 1
RF Mendoza 3 1 1 0

2B: Mendoza, Ambosie

Valley View
CF Kovalchik 4 0 1 0
SS Combs 4 1 2 0
P/2B Black 2 1 2 0
LF Cesarini 3 1 0 0
3B Savkov 3 0 0 1
C Boyle 3 0 0 0
PR Smith 0 1 0 0
RF Stafursky 2 0 0 1
1B Sheridan 0 0 0 0
DH Chorba 2 0 1 0
DH Manchak 0 0 0 0
DH Benson 1 0 1 2
2B Doherty 1 0 0 0
P Basalyga 1 0 0 0

Pitching
Crestwood
Jones 6.1 IP 28 BF 0 R 0 ER 4 H 3 K 4 BB
Dean (L) 0.1 IP 6 BF 4 R 4 ER 1 H 0 K 3 BB
Ambosie 0+ IP 1 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 0 K 0 BB

Valley View
Black 5 IP 21 BF 3 R 3 ER 3 H 5 K 1 BB
Basalyga (W) 2 IP 6 BF 0 R 0 ER 0 H 0 K 1 BB

Crestwood shuts out Nanticoke

The Crestwood Comets traveled to Nanticoke to take on the Trojans. The Comets are riding a two game winning streak after beating Tunkhannock and Wyoming Area. The Trojans are coming off a loss to Hazleton Area on Saturday afternoon. The Comets' Brad Papura faced off against the Trojans' Colby Butczynski.
 Mike Palmiero would hit a one out single then Matt Dean reached on a single to move Palmiero to third but a caught stealing and a strikeout would end the top of the first. After a strikeout in the top of the first, Papura was in trouble as he walked Nick Matson, Derek Cease and Trahjan Krupinski to load the bases but would get out of it with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the game scoreless after one. Stew Caladie would draw a one out walk, after a flyout, Colby Jones would reach on an error to move Caladie to third then Dean Ambosie would hit a single to bring home Caladie for a 1-0 Crestwood lead. A strikeout would end the inning. Papura would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the second. Mick Bafunno would reach on an error then Derek Petrochko would draw a walk but a fielder's choice and a nice diving catch by Dylan Szychowski would end the top of the third. Derek Cease would get the Trojans' first hit of the game with a single with two outs and Trahjan Krupinski would draw a walk but a popup to Palmiero would end the third. Jones would hit a one out single, then Ambosie would follow with a single then Palmiero would hit a single to score Jones for a 2-0 Comet lead. After a strikeout, Bafunno would draw a walk but a groundout would end the top of the fourth. Szychowski would lead off by reaching on an error but 2 strikeouts and a fielder's choice would keep the Trojans off the scoreboard. Adam Litchkofski would lead off with a single then Caladie would follow with another single then Mike Geroski would hit a double to right-center to score Litchkofski for a 3-0 Crestwood lead. Derek Cease would come in to pitch for Nanticoke. Jones would draw a walk. After back to back strikeouts, Matt Dean would bring home Caladie and Geroski for the 5-0 lead. Bafunno would then triple to right to score Dean and Jones for the 7-0 advantage. Bafunno would score on a wild pitch for the 8-0 lead. A groundout would end the inning. Papura would another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth. Devland Heffron Patrick Lyle would single to left and Jones would reach on an error but there would be an out at third for the third out of the top of the sixth. Chris Ormes would draw a one out walk and Dean Ambosie would come in relief of Papura. Ambosie would get a 3-6 double play to end the sixth. Heffron would throw a 1-2-3 seventh for the Trojans. Matt Bobeck would hit a ground-rule double to left with two outs, but a popout would end the game with the Comets taking the shutout victory on the road 8-0.

Thoughts on the game: Crestwood's Brad Papura had an excellent game on the mound. He struck out 12 in 5 1/3 innings and gave up one hit. At the plate, Matt Dean had a great game. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBIs. For Nanticoke, Derek Cease had one of their two hits of the game.

Crestwood 8 Nanticoke 0
Crestwood 0 1 0 1 6 0 0 8
Nanticoke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Crestwood
CF/P Ambosie 4 0 2 1
PH Makowski 1 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 4 0 2 1
PH Ferracio 1 0 0 0
3B Dean 4 1 2 2
PH Kreuzer 1 0 0 0
LF Bafunno 2 1 1 2
PH Andrews 0 0 0 0
P Papura 0 0 0 0
CF Schwartz 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Litchkofski 4 1 1 0
1B Caladie 3 2 1 0
C Geroski 3 1 1 1
PH Lyle 1 0 1 0
RF Jones 3 2 1 0

2B: Geroski
3B: Bafunno

Nanticoke
2B Myers 4 0 0 0
RF/LF Matson 2 0 0 0
LF Bielecki 0 0 0 0
SS/P Cease 2 0 1 0
1B T Krupinski 0 0 0 0
PH Balliet 1 0 0 0
P Butczynski 0 0 0 0
RF Ormes 0 0 0 0
DH Pokrinchak 2 0 0 0
CF Szychowski 2 0 0 0
PH Brown 1 0 0 0
3B/P Heffron 2 0 0 0
PH Sura 1 0 0 0
LF/SS/3B J Krupinski 2 0 0 0
PH Makiewicz 1 0 0 0
C Heald 2 0 0 0
C Bobeck 1 0 1 0

2B: Bobeck

Pitching
Crestwood
Papura (W) 5.1 IP 23 BF 0 R 1 H 12 K 5 BB
Ambosie 1.2 IP 5 BF 0 R 1 H 2 K 0 BB

Nanticoke
Butczynski (L) 4+ IP 26 BF 5 R 4 ER 9 H 3 K 4 BB
Cease 1 IP 6 BF 3 R 3 ER 2 H 2 K 1 BB
Heffron 2 IP 7 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 1 K 0 BB

Bafunno's single gives Crestwood walk-off comeback victory over Tunkhannock

The Tunkhannock Tigers traveled to Mountain Top's Veterans Field on Wednesday afternoon to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Tigers are coming off an extra innings loss to Hazleton Area. The Comets are coming off a loss on the road to Dallas. The Tigers went to Shane Wood to start on the mound. Colby Jones got the start for the Comets on the mound.
 Tyler Faux would lead off with a walk and would be out on a fielder's choice by Bill Dziak. Dylan Mislevy would then single and David Baltrusiatis would draw a walk to load the bases. Nick Reposa would hit a single to score Dziak and Mislevy for a 2-0 Tigers lead. Back-to-back groundouts would end the top of the first. Wood would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for Tunkhannock. Jones would throw a 1-2-3 top of the second. Mick Bafunno would draw a walk to lead off the inning and would go to second on a stolen base and go to third on a groundout with one out but a strikeout and a groundout would end the inning to keep the Comets off the scoreboard. Dziak would reach on a single to lead off the top of the third. After a popout, Baltrusaitis would hit a two run home run to left for a 4-0 Tigers lead. A flyout and a groundout would end the top of the third. Wood would throw another 1-2-3 inning in the third inning. Wood would hit a single and Matt Dean would come in to pitch for the Comets. Dean would get a strikeout, a caught stealing and a groundout to end the top of the fourth. Wood would throw his third 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. Tyler Faux would hit a single but a 6-4-3 double play and a flyout would end the inning. Derek Petrochko would lead off with a single for the Comets' first hit of the game. Petrochko would be lifted for a pinch runner in Zack Andrews. Brad Papura would reach on an error to move Andrews to third. Andrews would score on a fielder's choice by Stew Caladie to cut the lead to 4-1 and to get the Comets on the board. A strikeout and a groundout would end the fifth. Reposa would draw a one out walk but back to back strikeouts would end the top of the sixth. Matt Dean would hit a two out single and Bafunno would draw a walk and both would advance on a wild pitch and would intentionally walk Petrochko. Papura would walk in a run to make it 4-2. Bafunno would score on a wild pitch to make it 4-3. Tunkhannock would go to CJ Wright in relief. Caladie would bring home Petrochko to tie the game at 4. The Tigers would get out of the inning thanks to a diving catch by Denny Robinson to end the sixth. Robinson would lead off the top of the seventh with a double to left, after a strikeout, Faux would single and Robinson would score to make it 5-4 Tigers. Faux would be out trying to advance to second. A strikeout would end the top of the seventh. Adam Litchkofski would hit a two out single then Dean would reach on an error that moved Litchkofski to third. He would score on a wild pitch to tie the game at 5 and courtesy runner Chris Ferracio would move to second. Ferracio would go to third on another wild pitch and then Mick Bafunno would hit a ground ball to short and would beat it out to score Ferracio as the Comets would take a 6-5 victory over Tunkhannock.

Thoughts on the game: What a comeback by the Crestwood Comets. Down 4-0 with a pitcher throwing a no-hitter through four innings. Matt Dean had a great game on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, he went four innings in the relief, giving up one run, striking out five and walking one. At the plate, he started the rally in the sixth with a single that would tie the game up. Stew Caladie also had a good game with 2 RBIs on the day. For Tunkhannock, David Baltrusaitis had a great game with a two run home run as did Nick Reposa who started the scoring with a two RBI single.

Crestwood 6 Tunkhannock 5
Tunkhannock 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 5
Crestwood 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 6

Tunkhannock
SS Faux 3 0 2 0
3B Dziak 4 2 1 0
1B Mislevy 3 1 1 0
RF Baltrusaitis 2 1 1 2
CF Reposa 2 0 1 2
C Sheridan 2 0 0 0
PH Cisek 1 0 0 0
P Wood 3 0 1 0
P Wright 0 0 0 0
P Sherwood 0 0 0 0
LF Robinson 3 1 1 0
RF Sackman 2 0 0 0
PH Astegher 1 0 0 0

2B: Robinson
HR: Baltrusaitis

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 4 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 3 0 0 0
SS Litchkofski 1 1 1 0
3B/P Dean 4 2 1 0
LF Bafunno 2 1 1 1
P Jones 0 0 0 0
3B Albee 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 2 1 1 0
DH Andrews 0 1 0 0
2B Papura 2 0 0 1
PR Bukowski 0 0 0 0
C Geroski 3 0 0 0
RF Mendoza 3 0 0 0

Pitching
Tunkhannock
Wood 5.2 IP 24 BF 4 R 4 ER 2 H 4 K 4 BB
Wright 0.1 IP 2 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 0 K 0 BB
Sherwood (L) 0.2 IP 5 BF 2 R 0 ER 2 H 1 K 0 BB

Crestwood
Jones 3+ IP 16 BF 4 R 4 ER 5 H 2 K 2 BB
Dean (W) 4 IP 13 BF 1 R 1 ER 3 H 5 K 1 BB

Dallas shuts out Crestwood

The Dallas Mountaineers hosted the Crestwood Comets on Wednesday afternoon. The Mountaineers come in with a record of 6-2. The Comets are 2-5 with a victory over Meyers on Friday. Dallas would start Jake Shaver on the mound. Crestwood would send Brad Papura to the mound.
 Dean Ambosie would start the game with a first pitch single to center. After a flyout, Mike Palmiero hit a single but Shaver would get back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat. Darren Kerdesky would hit a leadoff double to right that would hit the fence. He would advance to third on a wild pitch and would score on a RBI groundout by Cooper Lewis for a 1-0 Mountaineer lead. A popout and a strikeout would end the inning. Adam Litchkofski would hit a one out single. After a fielder's choice, Colby Jones would hit a single to make it first and second with two outs but a fielder's choice to second would end another threat. Jacob Connolly would hit a leadoff single after a fielder's choice. Courtesy runner Lucas McGeehan would steal second. After a strikeout, Sam Nocito would hit a single to score McGeehan for a 2-0 lead. Another strikeout would end the third. Mike Palmiero would have his second hit of the game with a one out single and would steal second. Palmiero would go to third on a groundout to third. Stew Caladie would draw a walk but a flyout to center would end the Top of the third. Papura would throw a 1-2-3 third for the Comets. Matt Dean would hit a one out single, steal second and go to third on a groundout to second but another groundout to second would keep the Comets off the scoreboard. Mike Luksic would lead off by getting hit by a pitch. After a fielder's choice, Zack Luksic would draw a walk but a lineout to Palmiero would result in an unassisted double play to end the fourth inning. Mick Bafunno would draw a walk and would steal second. After a strikeout and a groundout, Caladie would draw a walk but a groundout to short would end the Top of the fifth. Sam Nocito would lead off with a leadoff infield single then steal second and third then score on an error for a 3-0 Dallas lead. Beau Lewis would draw a walk and eventually score on a wild pitch for the 4-0 lead. Cooper Lewis would draw a walk with one out and would eventually score on a double steal for the 5-0 lead.  Jake Shaver would draw another walk. Francisco Mendoza would come in to pitch for the Comets and would get a flyout and a popout would end the fifth. Chris Killian would come in to pitch the sixth for the Mountaineers. Matt Dean would have his second hit of the game with an infield single but a 4-6-3 double play would end the Top of the sixth. Zack Luksic would lead off with a single then his courtesy runner would steal second and third then pinch hitter Alex Kapral would draw a walk and would be lifted for a pinch runner in Ryan Collins. After a popout, Beau Lewis would hit a single to score McGeehan for a 6-0 Dallas lead. Kerdesky would bring home Collins on a sacrifice fly to right for a 7-0 lead. A groundout would end the inning. Killian would throw a 1-2-3 7th to preserve the shutout as the Mountaineers would beat the Crestwood Comets 7-0 at home.

Thoughts on the game: Shaver got himself into trouble several times during the game but he would get the outs at the right time. Sam Nocito had an excellent game at the plate, going 2 for 3 with an RBI single in the second inning. For Crestwood, Mike Palmiero had a great game on both offense and defense. At the plate, he went 2 for 3 and had an unassisted double play in the fourth inning.

Crestwood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dallas 1 1 0 0 3 2 x 7

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 0 1 0
PH Schwartz 1 0 0 0
LF Bafunno 2 0 0 0
PH Don Shaw 1 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 3 0 2 0
PH Daniel 1 0 0 0
C Geroski 3 0 0 0
1B Caladie 1 0 0 0
P Papura 0 0 0 0
P Mendoza 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Litchkofski 3 0 1 0
3B Dean 3 0 2 0
3B Albee 0 0 0 0
RF Jones 3 0 1 0
RF Andrews 0 0 0 0

Dallas
CF Kerdesky 3 1 1 1
SS C Lewis 3 0 0 1
P Shaver 2 0 0 0
2B Lombardo 0 0 0 0
3B M Luksic 2 0 0 0
1B Connolly 3 0 1 0
C Z Luksic 2 2 1 0
2B Williams 0 0 0 0
DH/P Killian 2 0 0 0
PH Kapral 0 0 0 0
PR Collins 0 1 0 0
RF Nocito 3 1 2 1
LF B Lewis 2 1 1 1

2B: Kerdesky

Pitching
Crestwood
Papura (L) 4.1 IP 21 BF 5 R 5 ER 5 K 4 BB
Mendoza 1.2 8 BF 2 R 2 ER 2 H 0 K 1 BB

Dallas
Shaver (W) 5 IP 24 BF 0 R 0 ER 6 H 4 K 3 BB
Killian (S) 2 IP 6 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 2 K 0 BB

Valley West gets past Crestwood

The Valley West Spartans traveled to Veterans' Field in Mountain Top on Wednesday afternoon to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Spartans are coming off a victory over Hazleton Area on Sunday afternoon. The Comets are coming off their first win of the season, a road win over Coughlin. Nate Baranski got the start for the Spartans. Adam Litchkofski got the start for the Comets.
 Garrett Vought would reach on an error with one out, then Mike Kane hit a bloop single to right but a strikeout and a flyout would end the top of the first. Baranski would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for the Spartans. Ryan Stevens would hit a one out double to left but back-to-back strikeouts would keep the Spartans off the board. Stew Caladie would draw a one out walk but Baranski would get back-to-back strikeouts to end the second. Tyler O'Kane would draw a leadoff walk. After a strikeout, Mike Kane would draw a walk then advance to second and third on a passed ball. After a strikeout, Nate Dudeck would draw a walk to load the bases. Baranski would hit an infield single to score O'Kane for a 1-0 Valley West lead. A strikeout would end the top of the third. Matt Dean would lead off with a single for the Comets' first hit of the day. Dean would steal second. After back-to-back strikeouts, Mick Bafunno would draw a walk but a flyout would end the inning. Danny Gibbons would draw a leadoff walk. After a popout, O'Kane would hit a double to left to make it second and third with one out. Vought would reach on an error causing Gibbons to score for a 2-0 lead and moved O'Kane to third. An RBI fielder's choice by Kane would score O'Kane for the 3-0 advantage. A strikeout would end the top of the fourth. Caladie would draw a one out walk but back-to-back strikeouts would keep the Comets off the board. Francisco Mendoza would come in to pitch the fifth for the Comets. Tom Federici would draw a leadoff walk, Baranski would move Federici to second but Caladie would throw to second basemen Brad Papura to get the runner that was off second. Stevens would draw a walk but a strikeout would end the top of the fifth. Dean Ambosie would hit a two out single but a groundout would end the inning. Hunter Sgarlat would lead off with a walk then O'Kane would move Sgarlat to second on a sacrifice bunt. Vought would draw a walk but a popout and a strikeout would end the top of the sixth. Mike Geroski would hit a one out single, then Caladie would follow with a single but Baranski would get his 12th and 13th strikeout to keep it 3-0 Valley West at the end of the sixth. Baranski would hit a one out single but a fielder's choice and a strikeout would end the top of the seventh. Tom Federici would come for the save in the seventh inning. Federici got into some trouble to start the inning. Matt Dean would hit a double to right then Colby Jones and Ambosie drew walks to load the bases. Federici would get a lineout for the first out. Mike Palmiero would get the Comets on the board with an RBI groundout to make it 3-1 and to move the tying run to second with two outs. Federici would get a strikeout to end the game and the Spartans would escape with a 3-1 road victory over Crestwood.

Thoughts on the game: Valley West's Nate Baranski had an excellent game on the mound. Baranski threw six scoreless innings, striking out 13 and walking only 3. Baranski also went 2 for 3 with an RBI single. For Crestwood, Adam Litchkofski had a good game on the mound, striking out seven in his first career start. Matt Dean had a good game at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double.

Valley West 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3
Crestwood 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Valley West
LF O'Kane 3 2 1 0
2B Vought 3 0 0 0
1B Kane 3 0 1 1
C Banas 4 0 0 0
3B/P Federici 1 0 0 0
DH Dudeck 1 0 0 0
P/3B Baranski 3 0 2 1
CF Stevens 3 0 1 0
SS Gibbons 3 1 0 0
RF Kolesar 2 0 0 0
RF Sgarlat 0 0 0 0

2B: Stevens, O'Kane

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 0 1 0
LF Bafunno 3 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 4 0 0 1
C Geroski 4 0 1 0
1B Caladie 1 0 1 0
PR Andrews 0 0 0 0
P Litchkofski 0 0 0 0
P Mendoza 0 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 3 0 0 0
2B Papura 3 0 0 0
3B Dean 3 1 2 0
RF Jones 2 0 0 0

2B: Dean

Pitching
Valley West
Baranski (W) 6 IP 25 BF 0 R 0 ER 3 H 13 K 3 BB
Federici (S) 1 IP 6 BF 1 R 1 ER 1 H 1 K 2 BB

Crestwood
Litchkofski (L) 4 IP 22 BF 3 R 2 ER 4 H 7 K 4 BB
Mendoza 3 IP 13 BF 0 R 0 ER 1 H 3 K 4 BB

Cougars power past Crestwood

The Hazleton Area Cougars traveled to Mountain Top to take on the Crestwood Comets. The Cougars are coming off a home victory over Coughlin. The Comets are coming off a road loss at Pittston Area. The Cougars sent Frank DeGaetano to the mound. The Comets started Colby Jones on the hill.
Alex Schell would lead off with a single. After a strikeout, Gavin McGowan would hit a single to move Schell to third, then Jerome Repetz would get hit by a pitch, but an out at home on a fielder's choice and a strikeout would get Jones out of the inning. DeGaetano would get back-to-back strikeouts then Mike Palmiero and Mike Geroski would draw walks but a groundout would end the inning. Gabe Colyer would lead off with a single then Alex Amentler would draw a walk and JT Vozar would make it second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Schell would then single home Colyer and Amentler for a 2-0 Cougars lead. A strikeout and a groundout would end the top of the second. DeGaetano would throw a 1-2-3 second inning for Hazleton Area. Repetz would lead off with a walk and lifted for a pinch runner in Oscar Nina. DeGaetano would draw a walk. After a strikeout, Nina would steal third and Colyer would single home Nina for a 3-0 lead. Amentler would draw a walk but a caught stealing and a groundout would end the inning. Dean Ambosie would hit a one out single then Mick Bafunno then Palmiero would hit a single that would score Ambosie to get the Comets on the board at 3-1. Bafunno would go to third. Mike Geroski would hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Bafunno to make it a one run game at 3-2. A groundout would end the inning. Schell would lead off with a double then Kilker would single to move Schell to third then Schell would score on a grounder that was misplay for a 4-2 lead. After a flyout for the first out, DeGaetano would double to score Kilker and McGowan for a 6-2 lead. After a strikeout, Colyer would single to bring DeGaetano to third, then Amentler would bring home DeGaetano and Colyer for an 8-2 lead. Vozar would double to bring home Amentler and a 9-2 advantage. Matt Dean would enter the game for the Comets. Schell would single home Vozar for the 10-2 lead. Kilker would bring home Schell for the 11-2 lead. McGowan would bring in the 9th run of the inning with a double that scored Kilker. Repetz would get hit by a pitch then DeGaetano would single home the 10th run of the inning. Another hit by pitch would occur but a strikeout would end the top of the fourth. Gabe Colyer would come in to pitch the fourth for the Cougars. Derek Petrochko would hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth and would be lifted for Zach Andrews as a pinch runner. Don Shaw would then draw a walk. Brad Papura would single to load the bases with no outs. Francisco Mendoza would single home Andrews and Shaw to make 13-4. Ambosie would single home Papura to make it 13-5. Bafunno would draw a walk then Mike Palmiero would groundout to bring home Mendoza to make it 13-6. Mike Kilker would come in to pitch for Hazleton Area. A groundout and a double play would end the fourth. Patrick Lyle would come in to pitch the fifth for the Comets. Amentler, Vozar, and Schell would draw walks to load the bases, an out at third trying to steal third base. A balk would score Vozar for a 14-6 lead. Back-to-back groundouts would end the top of the fifth. Kilker would throw a 1-2-3 fifth for the Cougars. Dillon Shaw would come in to pitch the sixth for Crestwood. Repetz and Corey Zientek would draw walks. A fielder's choice would make it first and third. A Balk would score Repetz for a 15-6 lead. A strikeout and a flyout would end the top of the sixth. Nico Schwartz would hit a one out single but a flyout and a groundout would end the inning and the game would be called with the Cougars taking a 15-6 victory over the Crestwood Comets.

Thoughts on the game: The Cougars' Alex Schell had a great game at the plate. Going 4 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBIs. The Cougars had five doubles as a team and 15 hits. Frank DeGaetano had a good game at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double and 3 RBIs. For Crestwood, Dean Ambosie had a good game, going 2 for 3 with an RBI as did Mike Palmiero who went 1 for 2 with 2 RBIs.

Hazleton Area 0 2 1 10 1 1 15
Crestwood 0 0 2 4 0 0 6

Hazleton Area
LF Schell 4 2 4 3
3B/P Kilker 5 2 2 1
SS McGowan 5 2 2 1
1B Repetz 1 1 0 0
PR Nina 0 1 0 0
P DeGaetano 3 1 2 3
RF Zientek 0 0 0 0
C Book 3 0 0 0
PH LaBuda 1 0 0 0
RF Genoa 0 0 0 0
DH/P/3B Colyer 4 3 3 2
PH Moran 1 0 0 0
CF Amentler 1 2 1 1
PH Skuba 1 0 0 0
2B Vozar 2 1 1 2

2B: Schell, McGowan, DeGaetano, Amentler, Vozar

Crestwood
CF Ambosie 3 1 2 1
CF Schwartz 1 0 1 0
LF Bafunno 1 1 0 0
PH Priest 1 0 0 0
SS Palmiero 2 0 1 2
PH Ferroccio 1 0 0 0
C Geroski 0 0 0 1
3B/2B Caladie 3 0 0 0
DH Petrochko 2 0 1 0
DH Andrews 0 1 0 0
1B Don Shaw 2 1 0 0
1B Rinehimer 0 0 0 0
2B Papura 3 1 1 0
3B Albee 0 0 0 0
RF Mendoza 2 1 1 2
RF Kreuzer 1 0 0 0

Pitching
Hazleton Area
DeGaetano 3 IP 14 BF 2 R 2 ER 2 H 4 K 3 BB
Colyer 0+ IP 6 BF 4 R 4 ER 4 H 0 K 2 BB
Kilker (W) 3 IP 10 BF 0 R 1 H 2 K 1 BB 0 ER

Crestwood
Jones (L) 3.2 IP 27 BF 10 R 5 ER 11 H 5 K 3 BB
Dean 0.1 IP 6 BF 3 R 0 ER 4 H 1 K 0 BB
Lyle 1 IP 5 BF 1 R 1 ER 0 H 0 K 3 BB
Dillon Shaw 1 IP 10 BF 1 R 1 ER 0 H 1 K 2 BB

Trojans take down Mountaineers

The Nanticoke Trojans and Dallas Mountaineers played at PNC Field on a blustery Wednesday afternoon. It was their first conference game of the season. Dallas sent Alex Kapral to the mound. The Trojans started Colby Butczynski on the mound.
Butczynski would start with a 1-2-3 top of the first  Kapral would also have a 1-2-3 inning in the first. Butczynski would have his second straight 1-2-3 inning. Trahjan Krupinski would strikeout but a passed ball would get him to first. Tyler Pokrinchak would single to move Krupinski to third. After a groundout, Dylan Szychowski would have an RBI groundout to score Krupinski for a 1-0 Trojans lead. Jake Krupinski would then triple to right to score Pokrinchak for a 2-0 lead. Jadyn Heald would single home Krupinski to increase the lead to 3-0. Luke Myers would follow with a single. Heffron would reach on an error that would score Heald and Myers for a 5-0. Another error by the Mountaineers would score Heffron for a 6-0. Trahjan Krupinski would get hit by a pitch. A popout would end the Top of the second. Jake Shaver would hit a single but a double play and a flyout would end the inning. Kapral would throw a 1-2-3 third for the Mountaineers. Beau Lewis would reach on a passed ball after a strikeout. Lucas McGeehan would draw a walk. After a strikeout, Jake Connolly would hit a single and Lewis would score after a misplay to get Dallas on the board. However, a 6-4-3 double play would end the Top of the fourth. Shaver would come in to pitch the fourth for the Mountaineers. Myers would draw a one out walk and would steal second. After a strikeout, Derek Cease would hit a single to score Myers for a 7-1 lead. Trahjan Krupinski would single to move Cease to third. Cease would score on a pick play for an 8-1 advantage. A flyout would end the inning. Shaver would hit a one out double, but Butczynski would get back-to-back groundouts would end the Top of the fifth. Nick Matson would reach on an error to lead off the bottom of the fifth. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice, Chris Ormes would hit a single and Myers would draw a walk, but a flyout would end the fifth. Butczynski would get a groundout for the first out of the sixth and Nanticoke would bring in Matson and would get a groundout and a flyout to end the Top of the sixth. Cease would hit a single but three straight strikeouts by Shaver would end the sixth. Connolly would lead off with a single. After back-to-back strikeouts, Shaver would reach on an error then Freddie Lombardo would hit a double to left to score Connolly and Shaver for a 8-3 score but a flyout would end the game as the Nanticoke Trojans would take an 8-3 victory over the Dallas Mountaineers.

Thoughts on the game: Nanticoke's Colby Butczynski pitched very well. He went 5.1 innings and gave up one unearned run, striking out six and walking one batter. Derek Cease had a great game at the plate and in the field. Going 2 for 4 with a RBI single in the fourth and a run scored. For Dallas, Jake Shaver had a really good game, going 2 for 3 with a double and throwing three innings in relief, giving up 2 runs and striking out six.

Dallas 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3
Nanticoke 0 6 0 2 0 0 0 x 8

Dallas
LF Lewis 3 1 0 0
LF Gashi 0 0 0 0
CF McGeehan 2 0 0 0
3B/1B M Luksic 3 0 0 0
RF Nocito 0 1 0 0
DH/3B Connolly 3 0 1 0
C Z Luksic 3 0 0 0
P Kapral 2 0 0 0
RF Osipower 1 0 0 0
1B/P Shaver 3 1 2 0
2B Lombardo 3 0 1 2
2B Williams 0 0 0 0
SS Bednar 3 0 0 0

2B: Shaver, Lombardo

Nanticoke
2B Myers 2 2 1 0
3B Heffron 4 1 0 0
SS Cease 4 1 2 1
1B T Krupinski 3 1 1 0
P Butczynski 0 0 0 0
RF Brown 0 0 0 0
DH Pokrinchak 4 1 1 0
RF/P Matson 4 0 0 0
PR Bielecki 0 0 0 0
CF Szychowski 3 0 0 1
LF J Krupinski 3 1 1 1
LF Sura 0 0 0 0
C Heald 2 1 1 1
PH Ormes 1 0 1 0

3B: J Krupinski

Pitching
Dallas
Kapral (L) 3 IP 6 R 0 ER 4 H 2 K 0 BB
Shaver 3 IP 2 R 2 ER 4 H 6 K 2 BB

Nanticoke
Butczynski (W) 5.1 IP 1 R 0 ER 3 H 6 K 1 BB
Matson 1.2 IP 2 R 0 ER 2 H 2 K 0 BB

Fast start propels DeSales to road victory at Wilkes

DeSales traveled to Artillery Park on Friday afternoon to take on the Wilkes Colonels. The Bulldogs enter the game at 4-2 and second in the MAC Freedom Standings and 7-10 overall. The Colonels come in 3-3 and tied for fourth in the MAC Freedom Standings with King's. DeSales would send Junior John Poccia to the mound and Wilkes would start sophomore Matt Konikow.
Evan Plummer would lead off by getting hit by a pitch and then Preston Amato would draw a walk then Charlie Barebo would bring home Plummer with a single for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead. Barebo would get caught stealing second for the first out. Johnny Medina would get hit by a pitch then Wilkes would go to the bullpen with Zach Adamshick coming in relief. DH Sean Hanczaryk would bring home Amato for a 2-0 lead. After a strikeout, Nick White would hit a double to score Medina for the 3-0 lead. A flyout would end the top of the first. Jonah Harder would lead off the Wilkes half of the inning with a hard hit ball for an infield single. Jack Fischer would then follow with a double to move Harder to third but Poccia would settle down and retire the next three batters to keep the Colonels off the board. Cody Mish would hit a leadoff double then Plummer would single to move Mish to third. Amato would bring home Mish with a single for a 4-0 lead. Barebo would hit a double to score Plummer for a 5-0 lead. Keaton Allison would come in to pitch for Wilkes. Medina would hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Amato for the 6-0 advantage. Hanczaryk would reach on an error that would score Barebo for a 7-0 lead. A strikeout and a pickoff would end the top of the second. On the first pitch of the second inning, Nick Pronti would hit a home run to left to get the Colonels on the board at 7-1, but two strikeouts and a groundout would end the inning.  Sergio Diaz would lead off with a walk but Allison would retire the next three batters for the first DeSales scoreless inning of the day. Harder would lead off with a single. After a strikeout and a groundout that moved Harder to second, Brandon Reno would hit a single to score Harder to make it 7-2. Charles Giacometti would reach on an error that would score Reno for a 7-3 score. A popout to first would end the inning. Hanczaryk would draw a two out walk then Mike White would hit a double to score Hanczaryk for a 8-3 Bulldogs lead. Nick White would follow with a single to score Mike White for the 9-3 advantage. Diaz would hit a single to move White to second. Mish would then bring home Nick White for a 10-3 lead and Diaz would try to score after the ball was overthrown but Vinny Bobbin would throw to Allison for the out at the plate. Bobbin would draw a one out walk but a strikeout and a caught stealing would end the fourth. Travis Woolfenden would come in to pitch for the Colonels in the fifth. Plummer would lead off with a double. A flyout to right would move Plummer to third then an RBI groundout by Barebo would make it 11-3 then a groundout to short would end the inning. Poccia would throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth. Nick White would hit a two out single but a flyout would end the threat. Poccia would a second straight 1-2-3 inning in the sixth. Plummer would hit a one out single but a groundout and a flyout would end the top of the seventh. For a third consecutive inning, Poccia would go 1-2-3. Woolfenden would throw a 1-2-3 eighth inning for Wilkes. Austin Barry would lead off with getting hit by a pitch then Jared Angerman would hit a single. After a strikeout and a flyout, Alex Halladay would hit a single to score Barry for an 11-4 score. A strikeout would end the inning. Anthony Esposito would come in to pitch for the Colonels in the ninth inning. Dillon Drew would lead off with a walk. After a strikeout, Mish would draw a walk but an infield fly and a flyout to center would end the top of the ninth. Zac Vittorelli would come in to pitch the ninth for DeSales. Michael Patrizio would lead off with a double to right and would move to third on a groundout to second. Patrizio would try to score on a passed ball but the catcher would get to him in time for the second out. Vincent Uzzi would hit a single but a strikeout would end the game as DeSales would take the road victory over Wilkes 11-4.

Thoughts on the game: DeSales Bulldogs right fielder Charlie Barebo had a great game at the plate, hitting a double and driving in three. Evan Plummer went 3 for 4 with three runs scored. Overall, DeSales hit well early, hitting five doubles. DeSales starting pitcher John Poccia pitched very well, striking out 9 while only walking one. For Wilkes, Nick Pronti had a nice home run in the second inning and Jonah Harder had a good game at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a run scored.

DeSales at Wilkes

DeSales 3 4 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 11
Wilkes 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4

DeSales
RF Plummer 4 3 3 0
RF Beaky 1 0 0 0
2B Amato 4 2 1 1
CF Barebo 5 1 2 3
3B Medina 3 1 0 0
DH Hanczaryk 4 1 1 2
C M White 4 1 1 1
LF N White 4 1 3 2
LF Drew 0 0 0 0
1B Diaz 3 0 1 0
1B Condello 1 0 0 0
SS Mish 4 1 2 1

2B: Plummer, Barebo, M White, N White, Mish

Wilkes
RF/CF Harder 3 1 2 0
CF Barry 1 1 0 0
2B Fischer 3 0 1 0
2B Angerman 1 0 1 0
1B Caposi 3 0 0 0
1B Tisa 1 0 0 0
DH Reno 3 1 1 1
DH Nifenecker 1 0 0 0
3B Giacometti 3 0 0 0
3B Halladay 1 0 1 1
SS Pronti 3 1 1 1
SS Gonzales 1 0 0 0
LF Wing 2 0 0 0
RF Patrizio 2 0 1 0
C Bobbin 1 0 0 0
C Malatesta 2 0 0 0
CF Reinart 2 0 0 0
LF Uzzi 2 0 1 0

2B: Fischer, Patrizio
HR: Pronti

Pitching
DeSales
Poccia (W) 8 IP 33 BF 4 R 3 ER 6 H 9 K 1 BB
Vittorelli 1 IP 4 BF 0 R 0 ER 2 H 1 K 0 BB

Wilkes
Konikow (L) 0.1 IP 4 BF 3 R 3 ER 1 H 0 K 1 BB
Adamshick 0.2 IP 8 BF 4 R 4 ER 6 H 1 K 0 BB
Allison 3 IP 15 BF 3 R 3 ER 4 H 3 K 2 BB
Woolfenden 4 IP 15 BF 1 R 1 ER 0 K 0 BB
Esposito 1 IP 5 BF 0 R 0 ER 0 H 1 K 2 BB

Crestwood and Nanticoke advance in State Playoffs

Crestwood 65 Frankford 35
Sean Murphy scored a game high 25 points and Ryan Petrosky added 17 as Crestwood defeated Frankford 65-35 in the first round of the 5A State Playoffs. Jeremiah Wilborn scored 13 points and Seydou Ndiaye added 11 for the Pioneers. The Comets will take on Pottsville in the second round of the PIAA 5A Playoffs

Crestwood 65 Frankford 35
Frankford 35
Yaseem Cruz-Davis 3
Jeremiah Wilborn 13
Seydou Ndiaye 11
Jayquan Williams 3
Akeem Rapheal 2
Kyrie Hines 3

Crestwood 65
Sean Murphy 25
Jake Zaleski 8
Camden Boris 10
Marcus Vieney 2
Ryan Petrosky 17
Mike Palmiero 2

Nanticoke 57 Montoursville 35
Trahjan Krupinski dominated inside and outside as he had a game high 22 points and Nate Kreitzer added 20 as the Trojans would take down Montoursville 57-35. Josh Burger had 10 points and Dylan Bower had six points for Montoursville. The Trojans will take on Bonner-Pendergast in the second round of the PIAA 4A Playoffs.

Nanticoke 57 Montoursville 35
Montoursville 35
Dillon Young 3
Josh Burger 10
Hunter Shearer 3
Dylan Bower 6
Austin Loe 4
Brandon Good 3
Jake Simms 3
Isaac Barrett 2

Nanticoke 57
JJ Bielecki 3
Nate Kreitzer 20
Colby Butczynski 8
Trahjan Krupinski 22
Sincere Shiloh 4

PIAA District 2 Basketball Scores
2A Girls Old Forge 55 GAMP 20
3A Girls Loyalsock 57 Holy Redeemer 41
2A Girls Holy Cross 53 Marian Catholic 39
3A Girls Dunmore 62 Constitution 14
6A Girls Hazleton Area 40 Central Bucks West 38
4A Boys Danville 54 Western Wayne 33
5A Boys Abington Heights 72 Pottsgrove 48
5A Boys Penncrest 53 Wallenpaupack 42
4A Boys Scranton Prep 71 Susquehanna Township 50

Thoughts on the District Championships

The past three days have been a fun ride. It all started on Thursday afternoon where the Susquehanna played Forest City for the District 2 Single-A Girls Championship. It ended on Saturday with Hazleton Area taking the District 2 6A Championship with a victory over Scranton. 

Every number one seed took the District Title and every team was the defending District champion. However, people would think it's not too surprising, but most of the District Finals were close with the exception of a few. I was surprised by a few games being close and those games were hard fought, coming down to the fourth quarter or even the last possession. Overall, it made for a very fun three days of basketball. Got to see some great performances and accomplishments. Now, we head on to States which start on Friday and several teams in District 2 will compete for a State Title.

District 2 Basketball Championships Day 3

Dunmore 33 Holy Redeemer 27
Victoria Toomey and freshman Moriah Murray each recorded nine points as Dunmore would take the District 2 2A Girls Championship 33-27 over Holy Redeemer. Samantha Yencha had nine points for the Royals and Julia Andrejko and Cameron Marcinkowski each added eight for Holy Redeemer.

Holy Cross 46 Northwest 25
Caleb Callejas scored a game high 13 points and Keiran Burrier added 11 as the Crusaders would take another District 2 2A Boys Championship with a 46-25 win over Northwest. The Rangers' Walker Yaple scored a team high 10 points and Jaxon Yaple and Matt Pierontoni added 5.

Scranton Prep 47 Nanticoke 41
Leo O'Boyle had a game high 18 points, including the 1,000th point of his career and Mario Rotell would add 12 as Scranton Prep would take a 47-41 victory over Nanticoke over another District 2 4A Boys Championship. Jake Krupinski had a team high 13 points for the Trojans and Nate Kreitzer added 10 points.

Abington Heights 33 Valley West 19
Maria Tully had nine points and the Comets' defense held Valley West to 19 points as Abington Heights would take the Girls 5A District 2 championship. Valley West's Toni Amato led the Spartans with seven points.

Hazleton Area 48 Scranton 35
Da'mir Faison had a game high 21 points and Kyle Franek added 11 as the Cougars would take another District 2 6A Boys Basketball Championship with a 48-35 win over Scranton. The Knights' Marcus Bauman had a team high 12 points.

District 2 Basketball Championships Day 2

Holy Cross 43 Old Forge 38
Crusaders freshman Kaci Kranson had a game high 18 points and Abby Lentowski added eight points as Holy Cross would unthrone Old Forge 43-38 to take the District 2 2A Girls crown. The Blue Devils' Olivia Ciullo had 15 points and Makayla Parker added 13.

Holy Cross 43 Old Forge 38
Holy Cross
Abby Lentowski 8
Haley Bestrycki 7
Kaci Kranson 18
Abby Sempa 7
Caroline Kranick 3

Old Forge
Lindsey Welsh 8
Olivia Ciullo 15
Makayla Parker 13
Angelina Rios 2

Hazleton Area 48 Williamsport 41
Marissa Trivelpiece and Kyra Antolick each added 13 points as the Lady Cougars raced to a 19-5 first quarter lead and would take their second straight District 2/4 Subregional Title with a 48-41 victory over Williamsport. The Millonaires' Jada Whaley would score a team high 10 points and Katelyn Wilson, Emily Pardee and Kailee Helmrich would each add seven points.

Hazleton Area 48 Williamsport 41
Williamsport
Fondrea McClain 3
Katelyn Wilson 7
Kailee Helmrich 7
Emily Pardee 7
Jada Whaley 10
Jessica Robinson 2
Whitney Felix 3
Samiyah Little 2

Hazleton Area
Brooke Boretski 8
Marissa Trivelpiece 13
Olivia Wolk 5
Kyra Antolick 13
Virginia Yurchak 8

Abington Heights 43 Crestwood 36
George Tinsley scored 15 of his game high 20 points in the second half and Trey Koehler added 15 points as Abington Heights would win their eighth straight District Title with a 43-36 victory over Crestwood. Crestwood's Ryan Petrosky would score 15 points and Mike Palmiero added eight.

Abington Heights 43 Crestwood 36
Crestwood
Camden Boris 4
Mike Palmiero 8
Ryan Petrosky 15
Brad Papura 2
Sean Murphy 5
Jake Zaleski 2

Abington Heights
Trey Koehler 15
George Tinsley 20
Jack Nealon 3
Mike Malone 2
Corey Perkins 3

District 2 Basketball Championships Day 1

Susquehanna 39 Forest City 21

Mackenzie Steele had 14 points as the Sabers took the District 2 Single-A Championship with a 39-21 victory over Forest City. Bella Pleska had 8 points for Forest City.

Scranton Prep 46 Lake-Lehman 43

Scranton Prep 46 Lake-Lehman 43

Rachel Rose scored a game high 18 points and Cecilia Collins added nine points as Scranton Prep would win their second consecutive District 2 4A Championship. Madison Borum added 17 points for Lake-Lehman. 

Lake-Lehman

Sarah Salus 5

Madison Borum 17

Savannah Purdy 9

Claire Dougherty 2

Corinna Scoblick 8

Scranton Prep

Rachel Rose 18

Cecilia Collins 9

Maggie Mills 8

Elisa Penetar 6

Kathleen Rose 2

Maria Belardi 3

Wyoming Seminary 48 Holy Redeemer 47

Dmitri Gnall had a game high 21 points and Todd Phillips hit a game winning jumper with under a minute left as the Blue Knights would take back-to-back District 2 3A Championships. Justice Shoats had a team high 19 points for the Royals and Nick Prociak added 14 points.

Wyoming Seminary 48 Holy Redeemer 47 

Holy Redeemer

Derek Answini 3

Justice Shoats 19

Collin Cook 5

Nick Prociak 14

Jared Piontkowski 6

Wyoming Seminary

Dmitri Gnall 21

Todd Phillips 14

Nick Ganter 4

Jeremy Callahan 7

Ethan Meuser 2

Big Shot propels Trojans to the District Final

The last few years, the Trojans have come up short in making the District Title Game. In 2017, it was an overtime loss to Scranton Prep. 2018, it was a semifinal loss to Valley View on the same court as these Trojans played on this Saturday evening. Colby Butczynski would be sure to not make it a third straight year as he would sink a three pointer with 3.4 seconds to go as the Trojans would advance to the District 2 4A Title game.

The Tigers would build a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Tunkhannock would get a five point lead until Nanticoke would go on an 11-0 run as the Trojans would take a 24-20 lead into halftime. The Trojans would hold a six point lead but Tunkhannock would go on an 8-0 run for a 30-28 lead and would lead 36-34 after three quarters. The fourth quarter would be a back and forth affair. The Trojans would take a 44-41 lead with a three point play by Butczynski and a basket by Jake Krupinski. After an Avery Billings basket, the Trojans would stall the ball and the Tigers would foul until they hit the 1 and 1. The Trojans would miss the front end of the 1 and 1 and Jack Chilson would hit a bucket for a 45-44 lead. Nate Kreitzer would answer with a basket of his own with 52.8 seconds to go. After the timeout, Ryan Harder would give the Tigers the lead with a three pointer and a 48-46 lead with 20.6 with the Trojans calling a timeout. Butczynski would have his heroic moment as he would sink a three pointer with 3.4 to go. The Trojans would have to get through another Tigers possession however. The Trojans would commit their sixth team foul with 2.8 seconds to go. On the inbounds pass, the ball would go to Billings who would take the shot and it would fall short. Nate Kreitzer led all scorers with 15 points for Nanticoke. Jake Krupinski and Colby Butczynski each added 12 points for the Trojans. Ryan Harder, Avery Billings and Nick Reposa each had nine points for the Tigers. The Trojans will play Scranton Prep at the Mohegan Sun Arena next Saturday for the District 2 4A title at 4. The Tigers will play Western Wayne for the third spot in the state tournament. 

Thoughts on the game: It was an amazing atmosphere at Scandlon Gymnasium. A really interesting back and forth game with Nanticoke coming out on top. Nate Kreitzer had a great game with 15 points. Colby Butczynski also had a great game with the game-winning three pointer. For Tunkhannock, Avery Billings had a good game with nine points as did Ryan Harder also with nine points.