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PSU notebook: Lions prepare for an unusual final spring practice Saturday

C. Vivian Stringer signs 5-year extension with Rutgers

NANTICOKE — A luxury for sure. An embarrassment of riches … probably.

Either describes Lake-Lehman’s ability to go from one Division I pitching recruit to another in the same game.

Like on Wednesday, when Nick Finarelli pitched six innings and Ty Federici got through a shaky seventh as the Black Knights defeated Nanticoke Area 6-5 in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 baseball game.

“It’s a luxury,” Lehman coach Mike Sholtis said. “But with the schedule the way it’s been it’s tough. We played Wyoming Area on Monday and we had to give Ty and Nick a break. It was a great game against Wyoming Area. We came out 10-7, but we just can’t keep running Ty and Nick. We’ve got to get some other kids in there to throw.”

Lehman (4-0 Div. 2, 6-0) kept pace with Holy Redeemer (4-0 Div. 2, 6-0) in the race for the Division 2 title as well as the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs. Redeemer leads the latter by a few percentage points in the power rankings.

Finarelli, who has committed to Virginia Tech, struck out seven and allowed five hits as he pitched to one batter in the seventh. That batter, Owen Brown, drew a walk to start a Trojan rally attempt from a 6-2 deficit.

Federici, who has committed to LSU, didn’t put out the fire immediately but was able to extinguish a dangerous situation with a strikeout to end the game.

Nanticoke Area’s Derek Cease, yet another Division I recruit who will play at Penn State, moved the Trojans within 6-5 with two outs by ripping a pitch into the left-center gap. Cease made a daring baserunning maneuver and was barely able to beat the throw to third for a triple.

Federici, though, got the strikeout to end the game and walked off the field more like an animated WWE wrestler than a pitcher who just wiggled out of trouble.

The loss was the second in two days for Nanticoke Area (1-2 Div. 2, 4-3) to WVC Division 2 frontrunners. They fell to Redeemer on Tuesday in a game that was originally postponed from Monday.

“We don’t have anything to do with making the schedule,” Nanticoke Area coach Joe Yudichak said, “but we just go out and play them. It’s tough on a pitching staff. We got rained out Monday and that hurt us.”

Finarelli also contributed at the plate and on the basepaths. He was 2-for-3 with two RBI, including a run-scoring double in Lehman’s three-run fifth inning. He also stole home on a double steal with cousin Graeson Finarelli in the fifth.

Perhaps the biggest contribution in Lehman’s three-run fifth inning came from an unlikely source, Ethan Leone. Leone replaced Luke Spencer in the lineup in the third after Lehman’s No. 3 hitter strained a hamstring scoring on Finarelli’s sacrifice fly. Spencer had an RBI double to score the Black Knights’ first run in the first inning.

After Max Paczewski doubled to lead off the fifth and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cole Kaiser, Leone dropped down another bunt. The ball rolled straight toward the mound, but either too far or not far enough for any fielder to make a play. Paczewski scored easily to make it 3-1.

“Ethan Leone with the suicide squeeze,” Sholtis said. “Cold off the bench with a suicide squeeze and then makes a nice catch out in right field in the seventh inning to get us the second out there.”

Leone had to roam well into foul territory deep down the line to secure the catch. While Nanticoke Area scored on the play as Brown tagged up from third, it also moved Lehman within an out from victory.

Lake-Lehman 6, Nanticoke Area 5

Lehman`AB`R`H`BI

Paczewski 3b`4`2`2`1

Kaiser cf`3`0`0`0

L.Spencer ss`2`1`2`1

Leone lf-rf`1`1`1`1

Federici 1b-p`4`0`1`0

Wallace pr`0`0`0`0

N.Finerelli p-lf`3`1`2`2

G.Finarelli c`4`0`0`0

Sholtis 2b`3`0`0`0

Bean lf-3b`2`1`1`0

Morio rf-1b`2`0`0`0

Totals`28`6`9`5

Nanticoke`AB`R`H`BI

Myers 2b`3`0`1`1

Krupinski 3b`3`1`1`1

Cease ss`4`1`2`1

Matson cf-p`3`0`1`1

J.Spencer p-dh`3`0`0`0

Bielecki cf`0`0`0`0

Sura lf`3`1`1`0

Brown rf`2`1`1`0

Egenski c`3`1`1`0

Piestrak 1b`3`0`0`0

Totals`28`5`8`4

Lake-Lehman`101`031`0 — 6

Nanticoke Area`010`001`3 — 5

2B — Finarelli, Paczewski 2, L.Spencer, Sura. 3B — Cease.

Lehman`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

N.Finarelli W`6.0`5`3`2`2`7

Federici`1.0`3`2`2`0`2

Nanticoke`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

J.Spencer L`4.1`8`5`4`0`4

Matson`2.2`1`1`1`1`3

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H.S. Baseball: Lake-Lehman holds off Nanticoke Area’s seventh-inning rally to win