Honesdale settles for silver with District 2 finals loss to Dallas
MOOSIC — For the second time in three years, Honesdale’s varsity baseball team advanced all the way to the District 2 championship game.
Sadly for local fans, the result in each of these contests was a lopsided loss.
Back in 2021, the Hornets squared off with Wyoming Area in the Class 4A title tilt and suffered an 11-0 shutout. Unfortunately, it was like deja vu all over again in 2023.
On Tuesday night, the local lads traveled to PNC Field to take on Dallas in this year’s 4A final. There, they dug themselves an early hole and were never able to climb out en route to another 11-0 loss.
“Playoff baseball is no joke and it just snowballed on us,” said Head Coach Ernie Griffis. “We had good swings, but continued to put the ball in the air which isn’t going to get it done in a big game.”
While the Hornets had to settle for silver medals again, they still have one more shot at making the PIAA tournament.
On Thursday afternoon, they’ll meet Mountoursville for a neutral site play-in game with the winner advancing to states. First pitch is slated for 4:30 p.m. at Lake Lehman High School.
Uphill battle
Sam Barrouck drew the starting mound assignment for Dallas.
A hard-throwing righty, Barrouck dominated Honesdale hitters right from the onset. The junior moved the ball up and down, in and out en route to a complete game gem.
Barrouck needed just 90 pitches to blank the Hornets across seven innings. He surrendered only one basehit while striking out five and walking one.
“We didn’t execute early, which we needed to do against the power arm that we saw tonight,” said Coach Griffis.
Peter Modrovsky got the nod for Honesdale, but simply didn’t have his best stuff on this particular night. The junior southpaw worked 4.2 innings and allowed seven runs on 10 hits. He fanned four and walked one before handing the ball off to Bryce Dressler who finished things out.
Dallas tallied one run in the top of the first, but then exploded for six in the fifth, knocking Modrovsky out of the box. The Mounties added two more in each of the sixth and seventh off Dressler.
Joe Peters paced a potent offensive attack. The slugging senior outfielder went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Sophomore third baseman Dylan Geskey enjoyed a big night at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double and two runs scored.
Zach Paczewski, Shane Healey and JJ Rischawy each contributed two hits to the Dallas cause.
Honesdale’s lone bright spot offensively came courtesy of junior catcher Grant Tonkin who lined a clean single to center in the bottom of the third.
Defensively, Max Mickel played his usual Gold Glove centerfield for the Hornets, while Nate Greene made a stellar play at third base to save at least one run.
One last chance
Honesdale’s overall record now stands at 19-5 for the season.
The Hornets will get a shot at redemption Thursday against Mountoursville.
The Warriors will arrive on the scene at Lake Lehman sporting a mark of 16-7. They went 7-3 in Heartland II Conference action, finishing second in the standings behind only Midd-West (18-4, 10-1).
Montoursville competes in District 4. The Warriors made it all the way to the Class 4A finals before suffering a 7-1 loss at the hands of Mifflinburg.
Coach Griffis believes that timely hitting and a solid outing from Joseph Curreri on the hill will be the keys to Hornet success.
“I told the kids that at this point we are 19-5 on the year,” the veteran skipper said. “Yes, we lost a big game, but Dallas was the better team this time.
“We need to bounce back on Thursday and play hard to get into the state tournament with a big win.”
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale falls to Dallas in Class 4A championship game
