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H.S. Baseball: Pittston Area rolls past Wyoming Valley West

John Erzar, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·4 min read

Apr. 16—HUGHESTOWN — Put the ball in play and see what happens.

The idea worked well for Pittston Area in the first inning Tuesday and not so well for Wyoming Valley West.

Pittston Area scored four times in the first inning using two hits and three Valley West errors, jumping to a lead in its 11-1 six-inning victory over the Spartans in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 baseball game.

The Patriots (4-0 Div. 1, 7-1 overall) stayed in first place while Valley West slipped to 1-2 in the division and 3-2 overall.

Dom Innamorati and Jake Aftewicz had RBI singles in the first inning, but fielding errors on Drew DeLucca's flyball and Jacoby Harnen's grounder along with a throwing miscue gave the Patriots a 4-1 lead.

"That's all we're looking to do. Put the ball in play and see if the other team can defend what we do," Pittston Area coach Paul Zaffuto said. "Strikeouts and lazy flyballs don't win baseball games. We put the ball in play and see what happens. If the team makes the play, you tip your cap to them."

The Patriots also received solid innings on the mound from two pitchers. Starter TJ Johnson held Valley West without a hit in four innings of work, although he had a few issues with control with accelerated his pitch count. Reliever Logan Laskowski gave up a triple to Johnny Roberts to start the fifth and single to Tanner Ragukas in the seventh, but struck out five in two innings.

Inclement weather that forced numerous postponements has made juggling a pitching staff a difficult task. Tuesday's game was one of four Pittston Area has in a six-day window. Valley West has games Wednesday and Thursday and five consecutive games in May.

"We've averaged three pitchers per game and try to figure things out by the end of the year they are where they need to be," Valley West first-year coach Mike Petroski said. "We haven't pushed on anybody yet, so we feel we're going to be strong and healthy n the back end. We have arms, we just need for guys to step up and get outs on the mound."

Pittston Area boosted its lead to 7-1 in the fourth. DeLucca and Innamorati hit consecutive two-out singles and Silvio Giardina followed with a double into the left-field corner.

A four-run sixth inning where Aftewicz had an RBI double and Beau Widdick had a two-run single ended the game via the 10-run rule.

Valley West scored its only run in the first inning. Dan Escalante was hit by a pitch with two outs. As he was stealing second, Gunner Giza launched a flyball that was dropped, with the sun being the culprit for the error just like Pittston Area would benefit from the bottom of the inning.

Pittston Area 11, Wyoming Valley West 1 (6 inn.)

Valley West'AB'R'H'BI

Ruddy rf'3'0'0'0

Roberts 2b'2'0'1'0

Hospodar 2b'0'0'0'0

Escalante ss'2'1'0'0

Giza 1b'3'0'0'0

Dubaskas lf'2'0'0'0

Harcher dh'2'0'0'0

Klosko c'3'0'0'0

Ragukas 3b'2'0'1'0

Fetko cf'2'0'0'0

Totals'21'1'2'0

Pittston Area'AB'R'H'BI

DeLucca cf'3'3'2'0

Innamorati lf'4'2'3'1

Giardina ss'3'3'2'2

Aftewicz c'3'0'2'2

Widdick 2b'4'0'1'3

Harnen dh'3'0'0'1

Tonte 3b'3'0'1'0

Wardecki 1b'3'0'0'0

Mead rf'3'1'1'0

Barnic cr'0'2'0'0

Totals'29'11'12'9

Wyo. Valley West'100'000 — 1

Pittston Area'400'304 — 11

2B — Giardina, Aftewicz. 3B — Roberts.

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

Klem (L)'4.0'9'7'5'2'1

Shedlock'1.1'0'2'2'1'3

Stevens'0.0'3'2'20'0

Pittston Area'IP'H'R'ER'BB'SO

Johnson (W)'4'0'1'0'4'3

Laskowski'2'2'0'0'0'5