Dominic Innamorati (9) hits a double for Pittston Area at home against Wyoming Area. Innamorati, coming off an injury, scored 4 runs and had 3 RBIs.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Starting Pittston Area pitcher Beau Widdick (2) looks on as teammate Elijah Barr (17) crosses the plate against Wyoming Area as Silvio Giardina slides into 3rd base.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Warrior shortstop Robbie Yatsko is shown tossing the ball to first base against Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area base runner Richard Tonte (3) eventually gets tagged out in a rundown by Warrior catcher Jeremy Layland and third baseman Cody Meade.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Warrior Mitchell Rusinchak (4) is safe ahead of Pittston Area’s shortstop Silvio Giardina’s tag.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area pitcher Beau Widdick was selected and presented the Agolino MVP Trophy of the game against cross-town rival, Wyoming Area. Patriot head coach Paul Zaffuto presented the trophy.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area’s perfect first half of the high school baseball season can be measured in some of the team’s many impressive statistics.
Most obvious are a staggering .406 team batting average and a stingy 1.61 earned run average.
But, as the Patriots showed in their 11-1, five-inning romp over rival Wyoming Area in an April 13 non-league game, their success runs much deeper.
Outstanding baserunning and defense were also on display, allowing another shortened game on the Mercy Rule despite producing a modest total of nine hits – seven singles and two doubles.
The Patriots closed out the win by taking a 10-run lead with one out in the bottom of the fifth. They had just one hit in the inning, but applied pressure on the basepaths to finish off the Warriors.
“We just put the ball in play and force the team to make a play against us,” Patriots coach Paul Zaffuto said. “We’ve been scoring a lot of runs with pressure offense and good approaches at the plate.
“Sometimes, we don’t even need the big hit.”
Richie Tonte drew a leadoff walk with the Warriors already in front 9-1.
Nick Innamorati lined a double to center.
With one out and Elijah Barr at the plate, Innamorati drew a pickoff throw to second and Tonte used that chance to steal home. In the same at bat, Innamorati stole third and came home with the deciding run when the throw got away.
“Our base running is just next level,” Zaffuto said. “Of the nine guys in the lineup, I think I can give seven of them the green light and just say, ‘if you want to go, go ahead. Unless I give you a sign, if you think you’ve got it, go ahead.’
“They take advantage of balls in the dirt and good reads on pitchers. We steal third a lot. You don’t really need a hit.”
The Patriots are 49-for-50 stealing bases this season, including five successes against the Warriors.
They steal runs and don’t give many away.
Through 11 games, Pittston Area has committed just eight errors and allowed just three unearned runs.
Beau Widdick is often a big part of that defense with his play at second base, but against Wyoming Area, he earned the rivalry game’s Most Valuable Player award with n efficient pitching performance. Widdick struck out just two in four innings, but held the Warriors to one run on two hits while walking three.
“I’m just throwing my fastball, hitting my spots in the zone, making my defense make plays for me,” Widdick said. “ … I trust my teammates in everything.”
Pittston Area turned in an error-free performance against Wyoming Area.
“Defense is our strong point,” Zaffuto said, “especially since we’re a veteran team out there. The guys have been around a long time and understand the ways we want them to communicate; how they operate on the field in little situations with run-downs, throw-behinds, cut-offs and positioning.”
Most impressive to Zaffuto is that the team reached that level early in the season and has maintained it despite limiting outdoor practice time with another rough spring in terms of weather.
Widdick also contributed to the offense by joining Nick Innamorati with the only extra-base hits and driving in a run. Innamorati was the only Patriot with two hits.
Silvio Giardina drove in two runs and had a hit.
Dominic Innamorati, who stole two bases, and Barr each scored twice and had hits.
Chase Montigney, Kellen Kroski and Tonte all added a hit, run and RBI to the balanced attack.
T.J. Johnson finished up on the mound, throwing eight of his 10 pitches for strikes while fanning two of the three batters he faced.
Widdick made the most of his first start of the season.
“I found out the day before the game,” Widdick said of the assignment. “It meant a lot because they’re our rivals and we always want to beat them.”
The start was earned by Widdick’s efforts in two earlier relief appearances.
“When you watch him pitch from the dugout, you don’t really get to see what the ball does,” Zaffuto said. “We have the fortunate ability to have so many guys on the team that we can intra-squad (scrimmage) a lot. When we throw Beau and we set up the screen behind him and you get to see he’s got a lot cut on the ball.
“His velocity is sitting right around 82 or 83 (miles per hour) consistently and he throws strikes. He just has the little dive that just makes you miss the barrel. We weren’t going to go to him as much as we have, but we put him in in the Hazleton game and it was the same thing, they were swinging and making contact, but they were missing barrel.”
That all fits the winning Pittston Area formula.
“You put the ball in play against us and we make the play more than we don’t make the play,” Zaffuto said. “We just want him to pitch to contact and hopefully they don’t square it up. Even if they do, they need three or four hits against us.”
