Wyoming Area junior and starting pitcher Hunter Lawall loses his hat during his delivery against Eastern Lebanon County (ELCO) Raiders on Thursday morning at DeSales University, Center Valley, Pa. Lawall held ELCO to three hits on the way to a 6-4 PIAA AAAA semi-final match up.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area began creating its baseball state tournament history.
And, the Warriors players helped ease their coaches’ disappointment in their own experience in the same setting.
Winning pitcher J.J. Hood had two hits and drove in two runs Monday when Wyoming Area opened the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A baseball tournament with a 5-1 victory over District 4 champion Midd-West at Bowman Field in Williamsport.
At 95 years old, Bowman Field is one of the nation’s oldest professional baseball parks – serving as the home park for minor-league teams in many of those years and, recently, hosting the annual MLB Little League Classic for Major League teams. It was also the site of 3-2, first-round state tournament losses to Jersey Shore and Shikellamy in 2006 and 2007 by Pittston Area when Warriors coach Rob Lemoncelli and assistants Sam Parente and Cody Patton played for the Patriots.
“It’s an incredible field, especially with what they’ve done over the years with having the Little League series there when they bring in Major League teams,” Lemoncelli said. “But, we did talk to our team a little bit about the meaning of that field because the coaches, when we played at Bowman Field as players, we lost at that field twice. We told our players.
“They were pretty fired up about the nostalgia and they wanted to get one for us.”
The Warriors got comfortable in their surroundings early, scoring three runs in the top of the first.
“We had a few days between games to go over strategy and a game plan,” Lemoncelli said. “We wanted to attack right from the get-go. We thought we went there with a real chance to win and thought we were in good shape with our ace on the mound.
“We wanted to get out, strike early and get him a lead.”
The Warriors did just that.
Evan Melberger started the game with a walk and Wyoming Area added three hits and a sacrifice fly in the inning.
Jake Kelleher singled with one out and Hood doubled down the left-field line to score a run.
Hunter Lawall’s sacrifice fly scored Kelleher, then Johnny Morgan’s single to center field scored Matt Little, the courtesy runner for Hood.
“If our leadoff guy gets on, that does wonders for us,” Lemoncelli said. “Usually, when Melberger gets on, we execute the game plan – move him over, get him in.
“ … That’s a good sign for us with the pitching and the defense we have.”
Midd-West managed nine hits, but with Hood walking just one and striking out six, he only yielded one run.
Hood threw 67 of 98 pitches for strikes and got help from a defense that turned a double play and did not commit an error.
Lawall and Hood each drove in their second run later in the game and Kelleher and Melberger each scored for a second time.
Kelleher had two hits.
