SATURDAY'S HS BASEBALL: Extra-inning win clinches tie for Division I title for Abington Heights

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — Evan Gonzalez likely would not have been in the game in the situation. He was pressed into action earlier, however, because of an injury to Abington Heights starting catcher Hunter Pentasuglio.

Gonzalez made the most of his opportunity.

He laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the eighth inning. When the ball was thrown wild past first base, pinch-runner Brock Pentasuglio came all the way around to score the winning run in the host Comets’ 10-9 victory over North Pocono on Saturday afternoon in Lackawanna League Division I baseball.

“I got the sign from coach. With a runner on first and no outs, I just knew I had to get him over so the top of our lineup could drive him in,” Gonzalez said. “They’re really good batters, so I knew they could do it.

“I got it down in a perfect spot where I needed to. They made an overthrow and I saw Brock running around third and I knew we got it.”

Abington Heights (15-3 overall, 9-3 league) clinched a tie for the Division I title.

It capped an eventful game that saw the Comets use eight pitchers, take an early lead, then have to rally twice and force extra innings by scoring the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning on an error.

“A handful of our pitchers kept us in the game and we made a bunch of plays in the outfield and infield,” Abington Heights coach Bill Zalewski said. "And I know how well of a team they (North Pocono) are.

“We’ve talked all year about playing hard to the end. When you do that, sometimes you get fortunate and things go your way.”

The game also featured a pair of injury delays.

First, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Hunter Pentasuglio was hit by a pitch in the shoulder. The ball glanced up and hit him in the mouth, knocking out his tooth.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, North Pocono second baseman Gavin Hall went out into shallow center field and caught a pop up. However, he collided with and tumbled over a teammate and was taken off the field by an ambulance. Trojans coach Brian Jardine said Hall had movement in his extremities and that it was all precautionary.

Mark Nazar had three hits and one RBI for Abington Heights, and Thomas LaCoe had two RBIs.

Mike Paciotti slugged two home runs and finished with three hits and four RBIs for North Pocono (8-11, 6-7).

“When you have a rivalry like this, you throw the records out the window,” Jardine said. “They get the best out of us, and I think we bring the best out of them.

“There was a little of everything. A lot of good, some bad. It came down to us not executing quite the way we wanted to with the bunt coverage and the kid made an aggressive move and scored. It was an emotional game, up and down, kind of telling of our season.”

Cole Dymek’s two-run single in the top of the sixth inning put the Trojans in front, 9-7.

In the bottom of the sixth, LaCoe scored on a throwing error to cut the deficit to 9-8.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jake Lenahan drew a walk and took second on a wild pitch. LaCoe popped out to Hall for the second out on the play in which Hall was injured. When action resumed, Anderson hit a ground ball that was thrown away for an error, enabling Lenahan to score the tying run.

Reese Zalewski almost won the game for the Comets when he hit a sinking line drive to left field. But Anthony Santaniello made a sliding catch to send the game to extra innings.

Lenahan pitched the top of the eighth for Abington Heights and stranded runners on second and third to keep the game tied.

Derek Locker walked to lead off the bottom of the eighth and was replaced by pinch runner Brock Pentasuglio. That set up Gonzalez to capitalize on his chance.

“Credit to them, they did what they had to do,” Jardine said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board. We’ve got one left in the regular season and we’ll be ready to go come playoff time.”

Abington Heights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. North Pocono got one of the runs back in the top of the second on an RBI single by Paciotti, but the Comets restored their three-run lead in the bottom of the inning on a two-out RBI double by LaCoe.

However, the Trojans rallied in the top of the third. They tied the game on an error, an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly. Then, Paciotti hit a 3-1 pitch over the left-centerfield fence for a solo home run that put North Pocono ahead, 5-4.

Next time up, with two outs in the top of the fifth, Paciotti hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot over the right-center field fence to make it 7-4.

"Last couple games, Michael has been swinging the bat really well," Jardine said. "He put himself in good counts and didn't leave the zone at all. He's a big strong kid and he barrelled up a couple baseballs and gave us a good jolt."

Now, it was Abington Heights' turn to rally in the bottom of the fifth. They scored three runs on a bases-loaded hit by a pitch, a wild pitch and an RBI groundout by Nick Bradley to tie the score at 7.

Dymek broke the tie in the top of the sixth with his two-run single.

With two games left in its regular season, Abington Heights has a two-game lead on West Scranton in the division standings. A win Monday against Valley View or Tuesday against the Invaders would give the Comets the crown. West Scranton also has Scranton remaining on its schedule Wednesday.

"It's exciting, especially for this group," coach Zalewski said. "They've worked extremely hard this year. We were really young last year. To watch them come back and grow as young men is really a privilege."

Abington Heights 10, North Pocono 9

North Pocono 014 022 00 — 9

Abington Heights 310 031 11 — 10

WP: Jake Lenahan 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 0SO

LP: Michael Paciotti 3IP, 5H, 6R, 5ER, 4BB, 1SO

2B: Mark Nazar (AH), Josh Staples (NP), Thomas LaCoe (AH), Jake Reese (NP).

HR: Michael Paciotti (NP) 2.

Records: AH 15-3, 9-3; NP 8-11, 6-7.

Old Forge 3, Riverside 2

At Old Forge, Dominick Palma hit a home run, Joe DiStasi hit a triple and the Blue Devils defeated Riverside in Division II play.

TJ DiMattia struck out eight and allowed just two hits and one walk en route to the victory.

Casey O’Brien had Riverside’s two hits.

Old Forge 3, Riverside 2

Riverside 000 110 0 — 2

Old Forge 300 000 x — 3

WP: TJ DiMattia 7IP, 2H, 2R, 0ER, 1BB, 8SO

LP: Nicholas Bohenek 6IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 6SO

2B: Joe DiStasi (OF).

HR: Dominick Palma (OF).

Records: OF 10-8, 8-5; RIV 14-5, 12-2.

Holy Cross 9, Dunmore 8

At Holy Cross, Joe Lalli had the game-winning RBI single as the Crusaders scored three runs in the seventh to rally past Dunmore in a Division II game.

David Jennings had three hits and two RBIs for Holy Cross.

Fred Ceccacci, AJ Piestrak, Lalli, Brayden Sherry and Tyler Musso each had two hits apiece.

Jamie McMynne paced Dunmore with a double and a home run. Max Forgione also added a home run.

Holy Cross 9, Dunmore 8

Dunmore 022 022 0 — 8

Holy Cross 510 000 3 — 9

WP: A.J. Piestrak 2⅔IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 4BB, 3SO

LP: Jackson Cady ⅓IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 1SO

2B: Fred Ceccacci (HC), Jamie McMynne (DUN).

3B: Mason Stets (DUN).

HR: Max Forgione (DUN), Jamie McMynne (DUN).

Records: HC 5-12, 4-9; DUN 9-8, 5-8.

Scranton Prep 6, Wallenpaupack 3

At Connell Park, Johnny Petroski scattered six hits over five innings to notch the win and added two hits and three RBIs to lead Scranton Prep past Wallenpaupack in Division I play.

Brian Kellogg had three hits and Zander Condeelis and Matthew Kalinowski each had two hits for the Cavaliers.

Gannon Decker and Jordan Santiago had two hits apiece for the Buckhorns.

Scranton Prep 6, Wallenpaupack 3

Wallenpaupack 000 000 0 — 3

Scranton Prep 104 100 x — 6

WP: Johnny Petroski 5IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 1SO

LP: Cameron Lynch 3IP, 8H, 6R, 6ER, 1BB, 2SO

2B: Roman Valvano (SP), Jake Holbert (WAL).

Records: WAL 10-9, 7-6; SP 8-8, 7-6.

Mountain View 4, Blue Ridge 0

At Mountain View, Hudson Bain struck out seven as the Eagles defeated Blue Ridge in Division III.

Bronson Kilmer led the offense with a hit and two RBIs.

Brayden Smith logged the lone hit for Blue Ridge.

Mountain View 4, Blue Ridge 0

Blue Ridge 000 000 0 — 0

Mountain View 103 000 x — 4

WP: Hudson Bain 3⅔IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 7SO

LP: Michael Smith 4IP, 3H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 1SO

Records: MTV 11-2, 11-1; BR 2-13, 2-12.

Western Wayne 9, Lakeland 0

At Western Wayne, Damion Glackin recorded a double and a triple as the Wildcats defeated Lakeland in a Division II contest.

Ethan Grodack earned the win, striking out eight in a complete-game shutout.

Kody Miller paced Lakeland with a double.

Western Wayne 9, Lakeland 0

Lakeland 000 000 0 — 0

Western Wayne 430 002 x — 9

WP: Ethan Grodack 7IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 8SO

LP: Justin King ⅓IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 0BB, 0SO

2B: Ethan Lamberton (WW), Kody Miller (LAK), Damion Glackin (WW).

3B: Damion Glackin (WW) 2.

Records: WW 7-13, 4-10; LAK 4-13, 2-11.