Wyoming Valley West baseball holds on to beat Scranton in District 2 quarterfinals

By Derek Levarse, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

May 19--KINGSTON -- This one called for a loud exhale at the end.

No, it wasn't quite as dramatic as the last time Wyoming Valley West and Scranton met in the playoffs -- a walk-off double that gave the Spartans the district title last Memorial Day -- but it wasn't far off.

Brandon Reyes hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the bottom of the fifth. Bill Gregory shined on the mound. And a disputed call went the Spartans' way for the final out of a 3-1 victory in the District 2-4 Class 4A quarterfinals Sunday.

"It never comes easy when you play Scranton," Valley West coach John Milius said. "Never. Never. Quality team, and they battle to the end. They're pretty much like us -- tough-nosed kids."

Two similar teams that will take very different memories with them into the summer. The No. 4 Spartans will continue on, as their 11th win in their last 12 games earned them a spot in Wednesday's semifinals against top-seeded Delaware Valley.

Scranton, meanwhile, begins its offseason with some pent-up frustration.

Trailing by two runs and down to their last strike in the seventh, the Knights got a single from star junior Jake McCarthy. Cody Miller followed that up with a sharply hit ball to the left side as McCarthy, one of the quickest players in the district, bolted for second.

Valley West shortstop Larry Anderscavage snagged it and flipped to Chris Lupole for the force at second on a bang-bang play.

Out was the call. Game over.

McCarthy pleaded that he beat Lupole to the bag. The visiting dugout erupted, with Knights coach Jamie Higgins sprinting onto the field to argue that the ball had also been bobbled at second.

"I had a great vantage point of it," Higgins said. "The shortstop threw the ball and the second baseman wasn't even there, first of all -- I thought our guy beat the throw. And besides the fact, (the throw) hit him in the heel of the glove and it bounced up.

"It's a shame for the game to end that way. And who knows? Maybe our next guy gets out, but we did have our No. 3 hitter, our best hitter on the team, up. He puts one in the gap, and the game is tied.

"The umpire, I don't know what he's looking at. I don't know if he had his eyes closed or had somewhere to go. But it's just a shame. You take it out of the kids' hands."

Players on both sides contributed to arguably the most tense contest of any District 2 tournament game in the opening round.

Colin Maldonato's RBI single in the first inning for No. 5 Scranton was answered by a matching RBI single by Gregory in the second. The score remained stuck at 1-1 as Gregory and Knights' starter Kraigen Rasalla stayed ahead of hitters.

Singles by Gregory and Jeremy Sabecky sandwiched around a Logan Zavada walk loaded the bases in the fifth. Milius elected to hold up a courtesy runner at third on Sabecky's single because of a slow jump and the fact that he had the heart of his order coming up.

Reyes delivered, sending an 0-1 offering right back up the middle to bring home the two runs that decided the game.

Gregory had another impressive outing on the mound for the Spartans, going the distance for the win while striking out seven -- one in each inning. Not only did he not walk a batter, but the count only reached three balls three times.

"He was spotting his curveball very, very well," Milius said. "And when they started looking for the curveball, he threw the fastball by them. He was able to hit the spots or handcuff them where they did nothing with the fastball."

Gregory and Sabecky finished with two hits apiece for the Spartans. Ryan Hogan, who drove in the winning run in that championship game last spring, added a double.

Now, despite an 0-4 start to the WVC season, Valley West still has a chance to defend its district crown.

"I'm really proud of them," Milius said. "They could have rolled over easily. (But) here we are."

CLASS 3A

Dallas 2, GAR 0

Some heads-up baserunning allowed the Mountaineers to win their eighth straight, holding off a tough challenge from the 15th-seeded Grenadiers in the first round.

Jordan McCrum turned a stolen base into the game's first run in the bottom of the fourth. The junior swiped second and came all the way around to score when the throw sailed into center and the outfield was slow to get the ball back in. Chad DeBona added an insurance run in the sixth, scoring from third on a ball four in the dirt.

Both Dallas'Domenic Oliveri (8K) and GAR's Kevin Evans went the distance on the mound, allowing just three singles apiece.

The No. 2 Mounts will host Scranton Prep in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

CLASS 2A

Nanticoke 5, Riverside 2

A clutch sixth-inning triple by freshman Kyle Pokrinchak broke a tie and pushed the sixth-seeded Trojans through to the quarterfinals. No. 11 Riverside had tied the game up in the top of the frame before Nanticoke responded to turn back the upset bid.

Ace Joe Olszyk slammed the door in the seventh to polish off a complete-game three-hitter. Alec Norton doubled and had two hits for the Trojans, who will play at Dunmore on Tuesday.

*--

DISTRICT 2 BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

(District champions advance to states)

All games 4:30 p.m. unless noted

CLASS 4A (DISTRICT 2-4 SUBREGIONAL)

Quarterfinals

Sunday's result

Wyoming Valley West 3, Scranton 1

Monday, May 19

--No. 6 Wallenpaupack (4-9) at No. 3 Williamsport (4-2)

Semifinals

Wednesday, May 21

--No. 4 Wyoming Valley West (11-5) at No. 1 Delaware Valley (10-3)

--Williamsport-Paupack winner at No. 2 Hazleton Area (11-4)

Championship

Monday, May 26

--Semifinal winners at PNC Field, 10 a.m.

__________

CLASS 3A

First round

Thursday's results

Valley View 17, Western Wayne 2

Coughlin 7, West Scranton 0

North Pocono 11, Honesdale 3

Scranton Prep 9, Crestwood 0

Saturday's results

Berwick 9, Lake-Lehman 0

Abington Heights 4, Tunkhannock 0

Pittston Area 7, Wyoming Area 3

Sunday's result

Dallas 2, GAR 0

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, May 20

--No. 9 Pittston Area (8-8) at No. 1 Valley View (11-3)

--No. 7 Scranton Prep (8-6) at No. 2 Dallas (9-6)

--No. 6 North Pocono (8-6) at No. 3 Berwick (12-4)

--No. 5 Coughlin (10-6) at No. 4 Abington Heights (10-4)

Semifinals

Thursday, May 22

--Quarterfinal winners at higher seeds

Championship

Monday, May 26

--Semifinal winners at PNC Field, 7 p.m.

__________

CLASS 2A

First round

Thursday's results

Dunmore 10, Carbondale 0

Holy Cross 9, Meyers 1

Lakeland 7, Montrose 4

Northwest 5, Elk Lake 1

Saturday's result

Holy Redeemer 6, Mid Valley 1

Sunday's result

Nanticoke 5, Riverside 2

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, May 20

--No. 8 Northwest (8-5) at No. 1 Hanover Area (12-0)

--No. 10 Lakeland (5-8) at No. 2 Mountain View (11-1)

--No. 6 Nanticoke (10-3) at No. 3 Dunmore (11-2)

--No. 13 Holy Redeemer (4-11) at No. 5 Holy Cross (10-3)

Semifinals

Thursday, May 22

--Quarterfinal winners at higher seeds

Championship

Monday, May 26

--Semifinal winners at PNC Field, 4 p.m.

__________

CLASS A

Quarterfinals

Monday, May 19

--No. 6 Wyoming Seminary (2-10) at No. 3 MMI Prep (6-6)

--No. 5 Blue Ridge (3-9) at No. 4 Forest City (5-7)

Semifinals

Wednesday, May 21

--Forest City-Blue Ridge winner at No. 1 Lackawanna Trail (10-2)

--MMI-Seminary winner at No. 2 Old Forge (6-6)

Championship

Monday, May 26

--Semifinal winners at PNC Field, 1 p.m.

__________

Wyoming Valley West 3, Scranton 1

District 2-4 Class 4A quarterfinals

Scranton'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Jake McCarthy cf'4'1'3'0'0'0'0

Cody Miller rf'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Sean Padden ss'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Colin Maldonato c'3'0'1'1'0'0'0

Shaemus Lunney 3b'3'0'2'0'1'0'0

Matt DeStefano lf'2'0'1'0'0'0'0

Kraigen Rasalla p'0'0'0'0'0'0'0

Charlie Pabst dh'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Colin Davis 2b'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Zach Fiscus 1b'3'0'1'0'0'0'0

Totals'27'1'8'1'1'0'0

Valley West'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Jeremy Sabecky cf'3'0'2'0'0'0'0

Chris Lupole 2b'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Brandon Reyes c'3'0'1'2'0'0'0

Evan McCue 1b'3'1'1'0'0'0'0

Ryan Hogan rf'3'0'1'0'1'0'0

L. Anderscavage ss'2'0'1'0'0'0'0

Bill Gregory p'2'1'2'1'0'0'0

Mark Baran lf'1'0'0'0'0'0'0

Logan Zavada 3b'1'0'0'0'0'0'0

Justin Montalvo pr'0'1'0'0'0'0'0

Totals'21'3'8'3'1'0'0

Scranton'100'000'0'--'1

Valley West'010'020'x'--'3

Scranton'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Rasalla (L, 0-1)'6.0'8'3'3'1'6

Valley West'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Gregory (W, 1-0)'7.0'8'1'0'0'7

Dallas 2, GAR 0

District 2 Class 3A first round</p>

GAR'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Steven Tyson rf'1'0'0'0'0'0'0

W. Rodriguez dh'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

S. Williamson ss'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Zac Faust 3b'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Kevin Evans p'3'0'1'0'0'0'0

Greg Skrepenak 1b'3'0'1'0'0'0'0

Joe O'Day c'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Zach Gonzalez 2b'3'0'1'0'0'0'0

Rich Sickler lf '2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Rashaun Mathis cf'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Totals'22'0'3'0'0'0'0

Dallas'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Chad DeBona rf'2'1'0'0'0'0'0

Nigel Stearns cf'2'0'1'0'0'0'0

Jordan McCrum ss'3'1'0'0'0'0'0

Domenic Oliveri p'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

J. Brojakowski 2b'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Dave Simpson c'2'0'1'0'0'0'0

Sweppenheiser lf'2'0'1'0'0'0'0

Ben Narcum 3b'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Rory Mullin 1b'0'0'0'0'0'0'0

Aaron Yurko dh'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Totals'20'2'3'0'0'0'0

GAR'000'000'0'--'0

Dallas'000'101'x'--'2

GAR'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Evans (L, 0-1)'6.0'3'2'1'3'3

Dallas'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Oliveri (W, 1-0)'7.0'3'0'0'5'8

Nanticoke 5, Riverside 2

District 2 Class 2A first round

Riverside'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Nick Sottile 2b'3'1'1'0'0'0'0

Andrew Panek ss'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Jimmy Muth ph'1'0'0'0'0'0'0

Matt Amaral p-lf'3'0'1'1'0'0'0

Brian Roche 1b'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Joe Orloski 3b'3'0'1'0'0'0'0

Tyler Piccotti lf-p'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Connor Mailen rf'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Mike Spinelli cf'1'1'0'0'0'0'0

Phil Sottile c'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Totals'23'2'3'2'0'0'0

Nanticoke'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR

Kyle Rosick ss'3'1'0'0'0'0'0

Tyler Myers 2b'3'0'0'0'0'0'0

Mike Malshefski cf'3'0'0'1'0'0'0

Joe Olszyk p'2'1'0'0'0'0'0

Kyle Pokrinchak 1b'3'1'1'1'0'1'0

Alec Norton 3b'3'1'2'0'1'0'0

Nick Bukofski pr'0'1'0'0'0'0'0

Kyle Sorber lf'0'0'0'0'0'0'0

M. Romanowski dh'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

F. Marcinkowski c'2'0'0'0'0'0'0

Steven Kreitzer rf'3'0'1'1'0'0'0

Totals'24'5'4'3'1'1'0

Riverside'000'002'0'--'2

Nanticoke'110'003'x'--'5

Riverside'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Amaral (L, 0-1)'5.1'4'5'3'1'3

Piccotti'0.2'0'0'0'0'2

Nanticoke'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Olszyk (W, 1-0)'7.0'3'2'1'2'13

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