H.S. Baseball/Softball: Nine WVC teams vying for state playoff berths in district finals

May 25—In baseball, Dallas and Holy Redeemer survived huge challenges to make championship games. Hazleton Area and Pittston Area rolled to title shots.

Holy Redeemer survived in softball as well. Hazleton Area, Pittston Area and Tunkhannock had few issues.

And while all that was going on, MMI Prep baseball was just waiting to play a game.

The District 2 playoffs in baseball and softball conclude over the next few days with championship games involving nine Wyoming Valley Conference teams total in baseball and softball.

All the baseball will be at PNC Field in Moosic. The softball is split among Wilkes University and the University of Scranton. Marywood University is hosting games involving Lackawanna League teams.

Tickets are available at piaad2.org through the Hometown Ticketing link. Admission will be $6 plus — you guessed it — a processing fee for all spectators. Senior citizens (over 65) and children below 5 years-old will be admitted free. A baseball ticket is good for all games played that day, but there is no re-entry on the same ticket.

Here's a look at the games involving WVC teams.

District 2 Class 4A Baseball

Dallas (18-4) vs. Scranton Prep (12-8)

6 p.m. Sunday, PNC Field

Dallas edged Wyoming Area 6-5 in the semifinals as JJ Rischawy delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh. Rischawy did the same thing in last year's semifinals against Scranton Prep. The Mountaineers went on to win the district title and play for a state championship.

The Mountaineers were a little shaky defensively and Wyoming Area used that to score runs. Sam Barrouk will likely start on the mound. He missed the early part of the season, but returned to strike out 13 in 9.1 innings.

Prep edged Honesdale 4-3 in its semifinal. Brian Kellogg drove in two runs as the Cavaliers used a three-run fifth inning to take the lead. Sophomore John Petrosky is hitting .436 in a batting order with a lot of experienced hitters.

The winner plays the District 3 runner-up on June 3. The loser gets a shot at the state tournament, playing the District 10 runner-up on Thursday in a play-in game.

District 2 Class A Baseball

MMI Prep (11-8) vs. Susquehanna (8-9)

noon Monday, PNC Field

MMI Prep will be taking the field for the first time in 11 days. The Preppers received a bye in the three-team D2-A playoffs.

MMI is a veteran bunch. The Preppers have three seniors who've done the bulk of the pitching. Andy Burns has been the best of the trio and seems likely to get the start. John Drobnock and Heath Williams are the others. Burns also leads the team with a .410 batting average.

MMI won the district title in 2021 and 2022, but was knocked off by Susquehanna last year. The Sabers edged one-win Forest City 5-4 in the semifinals. They've struggled to score runs at times and don't hit for average.

The winner plays the District 12 champion on June 3.

District 2/4 Class 6A Baseball

Hazleton Area (17-4) vs. Williamsport (14-7)

5 p.m. Monday, PNC Field

Hazleton Area defeated Delaware Valley 14-3 in the semifinals, scoring nine runs in the fifth inning to end the game early. Dom Marino had two home runs and six RBI. The batting order is pretty solid top to bottom. Lefty Antonio Doganiero, a Pitt commit, is very likely to get the start. His breaking pitches were incredible in an 8-0 victory over Pittston Area late in the season. The Cougars have won the last five D2/4-6A championships.

Williamsport also used a big inning to defeat Wyoming Valley West 10-0 in its semifinal game. Wyatt Bair threw a one-hitter, but wasn't overpowering. The Millionaires have won five in a row and seven of their last eight games.

The winner plays the District 1 third seed on June 3.

District 2 Class 3A Baseball

Holy Redeemer (17-6) vs. Mid Valley (14-7)

3:30 p.m. Tuesday, PNC Field

Holy Redeemer squeaked by four-win Lakeland 5-4 in eight innings in the quarterfinals and then Cody Quaglia threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Dunmore in the semifinals. Quaglia will be eligible to pitch since he'll have three days rest, but the Royals really need to get the bats going. They had one hit against Dunmore.

Redeemer last won a district championship in 2017. Mid Valley's drought has been much longer, dating back to 1985 when the PIAA had just two classifications for baseball.

Mid Valley held off a Riverside rally attempt for a 7-6 semifinal win. Sophomore Nick Mills homered and had four RBI. He is hitting over .500 and four others are hitting better than .300. The Spartans have three reliable pitchers, although junior Lorenzo Hernandez is the only one with impressive strikeouts-to-innings ratio.

The winner will play the District 4 champion on June 3.

District 2/4 Class 5A Baseball

Pittston Area (18-4) vs. Selinsgrove (19-2)

6 p.m. Tuesday, PNC Field

District 4's Selinsgrove could have joined the aforementioned WVC teams in the close-call files. The Seals rallied late for a 5-4 victory over three-win Shikellamy in the quarterfinals. Things went smoother in the semifinals with a 10-3 win over Wallenpaupack.

Selinsgrove has a potent batting order led by power hitters Ben Gearhart, Caleb Hicks, Mason Richter and Tucker Teets. All are seniors. Geahart and Joshua Domaracki have put up impressive strikeout numbers on the mound.

Pittston Area rolled North Pocono 15-3 and Abington Heights 10-0 in the tournament. A couple players back from injury have made an impact. Sophomore Elijah Barr, a 6-foot-5 righty, shut down North Pocono. He was sidelined most of the season with a leg injury. Chase Montigney returned from Tommy John surgery and had six RBI in those two games, including a grand slam.

The winner plays the District 3 third seed on June 3.

District 2 Class 5A Softball

Pittston Area (17-1) vs. Abington Heights (17-5)

3 p.m. Tuesday, Wilkes University

Pittston Area lost to Abington Heights in last year's championship game. The Patriots' issue last season was hitting. They've improved it somewhat, but probably not to the level they would like. There is nothing wrong with the pitching where Gianna Adams has 229 strikeouts in 104 innings. She has 748 career strikeouts, which just might be the WVC all-time mark.

Abington Heights has the hitters to present a challenge. Riley Knott, Isabelle Wilmont, Lindsey Tasker and Lauren Stalica are all hitting over .400. Stalica also strikes out batters at a high clip.

The winner plays the D12 runner-up — if it shows up — on June 3. The D12 runner-up forfeited to Abington Heights last year.

District 2/4 Class 6A Softball

Hazleton Area (10-11) vs. Williamsport (8-12)

6 p.m. Tuesday, Wilkes University

The matchup isn't surprising because every year it seems to come down to Hazleton Area and Williamsport. The difference is neither team is as strong as in the past.

Hazleton Area defeated Wyoming Valley West 14-4 in the semifinals. The Cougars have some strong hitters like Olivia Williams, Nanci Major and Marissa Hoffman, but the offense doesn't have that depth as past teams which won all six D2-6A crowns.

Williamsport defeated Wilkes-Barre Area 21-3 in the semifinals, scoring 12 runs in the seventh inning. The Millionaires remain a very good offensive team, but unlike past teams the pitching hasn't been as strong.

The winner plays the District 1 fourth seed on June 3.

District 2 Class 3A Softball

Holy Redeemer (14-8) vs. Mid Valley (20-1)

2:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Scranton

Holy Redeemer is back in the title game and seeking its first championship since 2017. The Royals got there by knocking off Lake-Lehman once again in the semifinals, this time 7-5. Lehman won both regular-season games on the way to the WVC Division 2 championship.

Pitcher Anne Carter has steadily improved as the season wore on. So has the offense led by Bella Boylan and Abby Williams. The batting order has been shuffled a bit with good results.

Mid Valley has some big hammers in the lineup, with four players with three home runs. Jordan Carroll and Chiara Zavislak each had one in a 5-3 semifinal win against Riverside. Freshman Ava Hazelton has taken over the pitching duties and recorded a lot of strikeouts. The Spartans, who won the state championship in 2023, are going for their fifth consecutive D2-3A championship.

The winner plays the District 4 runner-up on June 3.

District 2 Class 4A Softball

Tunkhannock (17-5) vs. Valley View (19-3)

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Scranton

Valley View ended Tunkhannock's two-year reign last season, but there aren't many Tigers remaining to seek revenge.

Aside from now-pitcher McKenzie Hannon, third baseman Erin Van Ness and outfielder Emily Patton, Tunkhannock is pretty much a new group. Sophomore Lucy Karp joins Hannon and Van Ness as .400-plus hitters. The Tigers advanced with a 5-0 win over North Pocono in the semifinals.

Valley View had a tough time with Berwick before winning 2-0 in the semifinals. The Cougars hit for average and have some incredible power with Abbi Call with 13 home runs and Kalli Karwowski with nine. Five others have home runs. Call, a sophomore, strikes out over one batter per inning.

The winner plays the District 4 champion on June 3.