Greater Wyoming Area players and coaches celebrate after winning the Section 5 Little League junior baseball championship on Friday at Hanover Area High School. GWA dropped the opener of the best-of-three series against Hanover before winning the next two to claim the title.
John Erzar | Times Leader
HANOVER TWP. — Down six runs after two innings Friday, the Hanover players were reminded there was plenty of baseball left.
Oh boy, was there plenty of baseball left. Even some extra baseball.
And enough baseball to see Hanover take the lead in the sixth, only for Greater Wyoming Area to tie the score in the seventh and win the game in the eighth.
Robbie Yatsko lined a bases-loaded single to left in the bottom of the extra frame, sending GWA to a 10-9 victory and the Section 5 Little League Junior Baseball championship.
GWA won the best-of-three series 2-1 after losing the opener 12-1. The next stop is the state tournament at DuBois Little League from July 25-30.
“I give Hanover credit,” said GWA coach Donnie Ricko, who ran the team in manager Mike Krakosky’s absence. “They kept fighting and fighting and chipping away and chipping away. They kept having professional at-bats against our starter out there Robbie. They worked his pitch count up.”
Nick Little started the bottom of the eighth with a walk and Chris Viadock ran for him. Mike Wassel reached on an error and Prestyn Reeves singled to load the bases. Hanover got two outs and GWA was on the verge of leaving the bases loaded for a fourth time when Yatsko ended the game with his single.
An inning earlier, Yatsko singled with one out and eventually scored on an error to knot the game 9-9 and force the extra inning. GWA got out of a tough situation in the top of the seventh with a unique 2-5-4-3 double play.
Way back in the second inning, GWA scored five times as Reeves’ RBI triple and Yatsko’s two-run double helped give their team a 7-1 lead.
Hanover kept pecking away at the deficit while reliever Jett Kelsall kept the GWA bats quiet. Two runs were tacked on in the third and a four-run fifth — highlighted by Seth Mrak’s two-run double — moved Hanover within 8-7.
Hanover took a 9-8 lead in the sixth when Nate Wright and Spencer Martinez scored on the same wild pitch. Wright scored from third and Martinez from second on an errant throw to get Wright at the plate.
GWA reliever Marco Altavilla took the win, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing one hit.
“He’s a kid that’s going to come out there and not beat himself,” Ricko said. “He’s going to throw the ball over the plate and force the other team to beat him. If you can force a team to get three hits to get a run, I like our chances.”
GWA forced a third game by defeating Hanover 12-7 on Thursday.
SECTION 5 8-10 SOFTBALL
Back Mountain 10,
North Pocono 4
Paige Spudis and the Back Mountain defense came through again to beat host North Pocono and force a final game for the Section 5 title.
Spudis struck out seven for the win and scored three times herself. Mollie Coyne finished with four runs and a single while Camryn Wilson added a single.
The two teams will meet for the championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at North Pocono Dandy Lion Little League.
SECTION 5
9-11 BASEBALL
Mountain Top and Back Mountain both opened the Section 5 tournament with wins as Back Mountain beat Wayne Highlands 13-3 in four innings in the opener and Mountain Top edged Abington 9-6 in the nightcap.
For Mountain Top, Matt Rodgers hit a go-ahead home run, finishing with two hits, two runs and two RBI. Jake Lamoreaux went 3-for-3 with a two runs and two RBI while Caden Hoban and Miles Mets had two hits and two RBI apiece.
Kieran Koons went 3.2 innings and got the win while Jake McLaughlin pitched 2.1 innings for the save.
Back Mountain and Mountain Top will face each other at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Mountain Top in the second game of a doubleheader. Wayne Highlands and Abington will start things off at 5:30 p.m.
Section 5 Junior Baseball Championship
Greater Wyoming Area 10, Hanover 9 (8 inn.)
Hanover`AB`R`H`BI
Kelsall ss`5`1`2`0
Wright p`5`1`2`0
Kratz 1b`4`2`0`1
Martinez c`5`2`2`0
Stavinski 3b`2`1`1`0
Mrak`2`1`1`2
Frazier rf`3`0`1`1
Kablick`1`0`0`0
Peck 2b`3`0`1`1
Kolbicka cf`4`0`0`0
Noe lf`3`0`0`1
Padden rf`0`0`0`0
Totals`36`9`9`5
GWA`AB`R`H`BI
Reeves c`4`2`3`1
Ricko 2b`4`1`1`0
Krakosky ss`6`2`1`0
Yatsko p`5`2`3`3
Rusinchak 1b`5`1`2`1
Pizzano lf`4`0`0`0
Altavilla rf`1`0`0`0
Rowles`3`0`0`0
Little 3b`3`0`0`0
Olmsted`1`0`0`0
Agosto`0`1`0`0
Viadock`0`1`0`0
Wassel`2`0`0`0
Totals`38`10`10`5
Hanover`012`042`00 — 9
GWA`250`100`11 — 10
2B — Kelsall, Mrak, Peck, Yatsko. 3B — Reeves.
Hanover`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Wright`1.0`6`7`4`2`1
Kelsall`4.1`1`1`0`6`6
Mrak L`2.0`3`2`0`2`2
GWA`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Yatsko`4.0`7`6`4`2`3
Reeves`1.1`1`3`1`1`1
Altavilla W`2.2`1`0`0`0`1
