MOOSIC – Wyoming Area returned to the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 lead earlier in the week.
For the time being, the Warriors held on to that lead by themselves when they defeated Pittston Area, 4-1, Wednesday night at PNC Field.
As his team celebrated the victory in the annual Andy Ashby Game, Wyoming Area coach Ron Musto did not want to talk to his team or media about trying to win the division title a third straight year. Instead, concentration turned to an achievement that has eluded the program.
“We expect to be back here in 2 ½ weeks playing for the district championship, but we have a lot of IOUs to write coming down the stretch,” Musto said.
Before the week was over, the Warriors slipped back into a three-way tie for the division lead with Berwick and Tunkhannock at 5-5.
Although they don’t figure to go in as highly seeded as the previous two seasons, the Warriors will still take aim at trying to get to their first district championship game – and back to the home of the Triple-A baseball Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Musto said he saw something in his team when it fought back to score in each of the last two innings to pull out a game that had, up to that point, been about missed opportunities.
“They’re tough,” Musto said. “They’re mentally tough kids.”
Josh Kopcza stood out as the toughest.
Kopcza held Pittston Area hitless for the first 5 2/3 innings and earned the Ashby MVP Award, which was presented by the former Major League Baseball pitcher, who sponsors the contest each year.
“I just listened to what coach wanted,” Kopcza said. “I treated it like any other game.”
Kopcza had to leave the game after 6 1/3 when he reached the 100-pitch limit. Although he acknowledged that he would have wanted to finish the game, if rules didn’t forbid it, he understood.
“It has taken me out of one or two games, but it’s good for arms, so I’m in favor of it,” said Kopcza, who finished with one unearned run allowed on one bloop hit while walking three and striking out nine.
The top four spots in the Wyoming Area order accounted for nine of the team’s 10 hits.
Marc Anthony Minichello, who finished 4-for-4, and Anthony Nardell, who went 3-for-4, made sure those hits finally results in runs.
Both players had hits in the sixth inning when Wyoming Area scored once to force a tie and again in the seventh when the Warriors scored three more times.
Nardell led off the sixth with a single and took second on an Aaron Lee sacrifice.
When Minichello ripped an infield single, Pittston Area shortstop Kyle O’Fier made a brilliant diving stop on a backhand play in the hole.
Nardell hesitated on the ball hit in front of him, then broke to third. When O’Fier hurried to try to throw him out, the ball got away, allowing Nardell to score the tying run.
Wyoming Area went to its bench to again combine singles, a bunt and a Pittston Area miscue into the winning runs.
Pinch hitter C.J. Rome singled with one out.
Matt Wright re-entered as a pinch runner and went to second when pinch hitter Tanner Williams got down a sacrifice bunt.
“Not too many high school teams win using 17 players,” Musto said.
Mikey Bonita had nothing to show for singles in his first two at-bats, but his hard-hit groundball in the seventh put Wyoming Area ahead when Wright scored on the ensuing error.
Nardell followed with an infield hit and Lee walked before Minichello delivered a two-run single.
“We played small ball,” Minichello said. “Move people over and get them in.”
Lucas Jurchak took over for Kopcza with one out and one on in the seventh. After Pittston Area loaded the bases on a hit and an error, he got two straight outs, including one by strikeout, to close out the game.
