Hazleton Area baseball, Pittston Area softball step from state title games

Jun. 9—Hazleton Area baseball and Pittston Area softball were at this point two years ago. Both were on the cusp of playing for PIAA state championships.

Only Pittston Area did so, winning the Class 5A title. Hazleton Area and all its success to that point — winning 22 of 23 games — didn't matter.

The line between winning and losing in the state semifinals can be very thin, as Hazleton Area discovered in 2022.

Hazleton Area had a team in 2022 that was loaded with Division I recruits, including current Penn State starting infielder Bryce Molinaro and current Texas A&M pitcher Brett Antolick. Plus, there was Jatnk Diaz, who was drafted in the eighth round by the Detroit Tigers directly out of high school last year and is a pitcher in the low minors.

But a couple errors allowed Bethlehem Liberty to score three runs in the sixth inning and knock off Hazleton Area 4-2. While that was happening, Pittston Area finally snapped a 4-4 tie with Oxford in the sixth to win 8-4.

Tickets are $8 — plus (of course) a processing fee — and are available only at piaa.org by clicking on the link in either the softball or baseball brackets.

Pittston Area (20-1) vs. South Western (24-0)

Class 5A Softball Semifinals

4 p.m. Monday, Pine Grove H.S.

District 2 champion Pittston Area's path to the 2022 state championship started with a 13-0 win over South Western. However, the District 3 champion Mustangs are a very different team.

First off, South Western presents the biggest challenge thus far for two-time state pitcher of the year Gianna Adams of Pittston Area.

Kinsley Proepper is hitting .620 with nine home runs for South Western. Jayda Koontz is at .577 with five home runs. Olivia Bateman is hitting .521 with four homers. Remi Yates is at .507. Three other regulars are over .400.

Koontz has also been dominant in the circle. She has a 0.79 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 97 innings. She is also a lefty and that adds another wrinkle.

Only Adams can make Koontz's stats look ordinary. Adams has a 0.31 ERA with 251 strikeouts in 114 innings. Her 770 career strikeouts are considered a Wyoming Valley Conference record until someone proves otherwise.

This version of the Patriots doesn't hit as well as the group which won the 2022 state championship. Still, there are some strong numbers headed by Adams (.483), Tori Stephenson (.474), Lili Hintze (.422) and Gabby Gorzkowski (.420).

South Western's previous four trips to states resulted in first-round exits.

The winner plays at 4 p.m. Thursday at Penn State against either D7 runner-up Thomas Jefferson (14-8) or D6 champion Central Mountain (16-5).

Hazleton Area (21-4) vs. La Salle College (22-3)

Class 6A Baseball Semifinals

4 p.m. Monday, DeSales University

Hazleton Area coach Russ Canzler often refers to his team as scrappers. True, this version of the Cougars isn't like the 2022 squad that could change everything with one swing of the bat. There is plenty of talent but just a different way of winning.

Hazleton Area has shut out its two state opponents, with Jonas Aponick and Antonio Doganiero pitching complete games. Doganiero won't have the rest required by the PIAA to pitch on Monday, so Aponick is highly likely to be on the mound. He struck out six and surrendered three hits against CB East.

The caveat is the offense is producing just enough runs, winning 1-0 over Central Bucks East and 2-0 over Neshaminy. The Cougars are 5-for-41 (.122) in two state games and all five hits have been singles. Chris Florentino has two of them.

District 12 champion La Salle College was playing long after Hazleton Area defeated Neshaminy on Friday. The Explorers needed 15 innings to defeat D1 champ Downingtown East 1-0. Aimon Chandler drove in the winning run with a single. Chandler is the Explorers' top hitter with a .419 average. Matt Gannon (.412) and Luke Borgmann (.409) are also in the 400 club.

La Salle used four pitchers. Starter Jake Pye threw a no-hitter for 6.1 innings before departing. No official pitch counts were available, so whether Pye can come back on two days rest (75 of less pitches) is not known.

La Salle won the 6A state championship in 2021 and the Class 4A state crown in 2012 and 2014.

The winner plays for the state championship at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Penn State against either D3 champion Hempfield (20-5) or D1 runner-up Downingtown West (20-5).