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 |
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
"It never comes easy when you play Scranton," Valley West coach
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
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
Valley West shortstop
Out was the call. Game over.
McCarthy pleaded that he beat Lupole to the bag. The visiting dugout erupted, with Knights coach
"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
Singles by Gregory and
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.
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
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.
Both
The No. 2 Mounts will host
CLASS 2A
Nanticoke 5,
A clutch sixth-inning triple by freshman
*--
DISTRICT 2 BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
(District champions advance to states)
All games
CLASS 4A (DISTRICT 2-4 SUBREGIONAL)
Quarterfinals
Sunday's result
Wyoming Valley West 3, Scranton 1
--No. 6 Wallenpaupack (4-9) at No. 3 Williamsport (4-2)
Semifinals
--No. 4 Wyoming Valley West (11-5) at No. 1
--Williamsport-
Championship
--Semifinal winners at PNC Field,
__________
CLASS 3A
First round
Thursday's results
Valley View 17, Western Wayne 2
Coughlin 7, West Scranton 0
North Pocono 11, Honesdale 3
Saturday's results
Berwick 9, Lake-Lehman 0
Abington Heights 4, Tunkhannock 0
Pittston Area 7, Wyoming Area 3
Sunday's result
Quarterfinals
--No. 9 Pittston Area (8-8) at No. 1 Valley View (11-3)
--No. 7
--No. 6
--No. 5 Coughlin (10-6) at No. 4 Abington Heights (10-4)
Semifinals
--Quarterfinal winners at higher seeds
Championship
--Semifinal winners at PNC Field,
__________
CLASS 2A
First round
Thursday's results
Dunmore 10, Carbondale 0
Lakeland 7, Montrose 4
Northwest 5, Elk Lake 1
Saturday's result
Holy Redeemer 6, Mid Valley 1
Sunday's result
Nanticoke 5,
Quarterfinals
--No. 8 Northwest (8-5) at No. 1 Hanover Area (12-0)
--No. 10 Lakeland (5-8) at No. 2
--No. 6 Nanticoke (10-3) at No. 3 Dunmore (11-2)
--No. 13 Holy Redeemer (4-11) at No. 5
Semifinals
--Quarterfinal winners at higher seeds
Championship
--Semifinal winners at PNC Field,
__________
CLASS A
Quarterfinals
--No. 6
--No. 5 Blue Ridge (3-9) at No. 4 Forest City (5-7)
Semifinals
--Forest City-Blue Ridge winner at No.
--
Championship
--Semifinal winners at PNC Field,
__________
Wyoming Valley West 3, Scranton 1
Scranton'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR
Kraigen Rasalla p'0'0'0'0'0'0'0
Totals'27'1'8'1'1'0'0
Valley West'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR
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
District 2 Class 3A first round</p>
GAR'AB'R'H'BI'2B'3B'HR
W. Rodriguez dh'2'0'0'0'0'0'0
S. Williamson ss'2'0'0'0'0'0'0
Totals'22'0'3'0'0'0'0
Sweppenheiser lf'2'0'1'0'0'0'0
Totals'20'2'3'0'0'0'0
GAR'000'000'0'--'0
GAR'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO
Evans (L, 0-1)'6.0'3'2'1'3'3
Oliveri (W, 1-0)'7.0'3'0'0'5'8
Nanticoke 5,
District 2 Class 2A first round
Totals'23'2'3'2'0'0'0
Mike Malshefski cf'3'0'0'1'0'0'0
F. Marcinkowski c'2'0'0'0'0'0'0
Totals'24'5'4'3'1'1'0
Amaral (L, 0-1)'5.1'4'5'3'1'3
Piccotti'0.2'0'0'0'0'2
Olszyk (W, 1-0)'7.0'3'2'1'2'13
___
(c)2014 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
Visit The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at www.timesleader.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
| Wordcount: | 1546 |


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