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Nanticoke softball cools off Dallas

Wyoming Area baseball tops Valley West in 10 to stay unbeaten

KINGSTON &#8212; Jeremy Zezza kept peering out the window at school. All the Wyoming Area pitcher could think about was stepping on the bump later in the day.Yet, with snow falling, he just didn&#8217;t know.&#8220;All I wanted to do was pitch against Wyoming Valley West,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I saw the weather, and couldn&#8217;t believe our game might be canceled by snow this close to May.&#8221;The game wasn&#8217;t called, and Zezza showed how pumped up he was.Zezza and sophomore Josh Kopcza combined on a 10-inning eight-hitter, holding Wyoming Valley West to just two runs.And Wyoming Area&#8217;s offense provided timely hits as Tyler Mitchell&#8217;s RBI on a fielder&#8217;s choice in the top of the 10th was the game-winner as the Warriors won 3-2 in a classic battle of unbeatens in Wyoming Valley Conference baseball. Both teams had entered the day at 6-0 in league play.&#8220;We just stuck together,&#8221; Zezza said. &#8220;From the beginning of the season, we said that we had a good team and we were going to have some really tough games. We just kept fighting. This is one of the biggest games we will play all season. We were pumped from the beginning to the end.&#8221;Clutch pitching. That&#8217;s what Ron Musto got from his two hurlers.Any time Valley West put the pressure on, Zezza and Kopcza responded.Two left on base in the second. Two more in the fourth. The winning run left standing on second in the bottom of the seventh.And that was just Zezza&#8217;s day.&#8220;I just trust my teammates on the field,&#8221; Zezza said. &#8220;I know that they are going to make the play behind me. I have complete confidence in them, and in this coaching staff. That&#8217;s how I pitch.&#8221;Each inning, Kopcza had to battle through trouble.No spot was bigger than the eight when an infield single by Ryan Hogan and a one-out intentional walk to Bill Gregory put two on and just one out. But Kopcza coaxed a pop-up to right and rolled a ground ball to third for the final two outs.&#8220;My adrenaline was rushing, so it was pretty tough to keep calm,&#8221; the sophomore said. &#8220;I just tried to get outs, and get in the zone. I just focused on the glove, and trusted my teammates. When it was crunch time, I went after it more.&#8221;The Spartans also left a runner on second in the ninth, and the game-tying run on first in the 10th.&#8220;We just couldn&#8217;t come up with that big hit,&#8221; Spartans coach John Milius said. &#8220;The first five games, we were able to come up with that big hit. Today, we hit the ball, but right at somebody or they would run it down. Sometimes, baseball is a funny game.&#8221;Musto, after promising his team they would score after coming off the field in the ninth, proved to be better than Nostradamus.An errant throw on Cory Lescavage&#8217;s infield roller got him to second base to start off the 10th. Kopcza, the next batter, laid down a nice bunt down the first-base line. The ball was fielded cleanly, but no one covered first base as the Warriors were in business with runners on the corners and no outs.That&#8217;s when Mitchell delivered his second RBI of the game, a fielder&#8217;s choice to short.Sacrifice flies by Zach Lopatka and Mitchell gave Wyoming Area a 2-0 lead in the fourth before the Spartans responded with a Chris Lupole RBI single and Hogan knocking him in with a triple to tie it up.&#8220;We are fortunate that we were able to hang in here, and get this victory,&#8221; Musto said. &#8220;I love coaching Wyoming Area baseball. I just love it. I&#8217;m so proud of these kids. We are so excited because of the respect we have for that Valley West program.&#8220;To be 7-0, we are happy. We have another tough one with Hazleton coming up, and they are a tough Quad-A team.&#8221;Northwest 4, Nanticoke 2Northwest (5-2) scored three runs in the top of the seventh to rally past Nanticoke on the road. Eric Evans drove home two runs and scored another while Rangers reliever Scott Ungvarsky shut down Nanticoke over five hitless innings to pick up the victory.Nanticoke starter Josh Benscoter went the distance with seven strikeouts. Alec Norton doubled twice for the Trojans (4-4).GAR 6, Holy Redeemer 2The Grenadiers (1-6) built a 5-0 lead and held off a late charge by the Royals to earn their first WVC win of the season. Austin Yelland went 2-for-3 with a double and picked up the win in relief.Jason Hoggarth finished 3-for-3 for the Royals (4-3). Tim Cavanaugh was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.MMI Prep 9,Wyoming Seminary 6Freshman George Palermo finished 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI as the Preppers (4-1) won their fourth straight league game. Jared Dasher added two hits with a double and two RBI.Michael Oravic topped the Blue Knights (3-6), going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI.Hazleton Area 5,Lake-Lehman 0Ryan Heller pitched a three-hit shutout, striking out six for the Cougars (4-1). Jordi Arias (double) and Dave Klein each had two hits and an RBI.Zach Brucher, Tommy Williams and Nick Eury singled for the Black Knights (1-6).Wyoming Valley West 6,Tunkhannock 0In a game played Wednesday, Tyler Yankosky threw a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 12 without issuing a walk.Ryan Hogan finished 4-for-4 and broke the game open in the sixth with a three-run homer.Wyoming Area 3, Valley West 2Wyoming Area`AB`R`H`BILopatka cf`3`0`1`1Nardell lf`0`1`0`0Bonita lf`0`0`0`0Gavenonis dh`4`0`1`0Lescavage ss`5`1`0`0Zezza p`4`0`1`0Kopcza p`1`0`1`0Mitchell 1b`3`0`0`2Charney pr`0`0`0`0Gushka 3b`4`1`1`0Dougherty 2b`5`0`1`0EMusto c`4`0`0`0Michaels rf`3`0`0`0Totals`36`3`6`3Valley West `AB`R`H`BIMontalvo cf`5`0`3`0Lupole ss`5`0`1`1Hogan c-p`3`0`2`1Raitter rf`0`0`0`0Vought dh`4`0`0`0Gregory p-2b`4`0`2`0Yankosky 1b`3`0`0`0Techmanski ph`1`0`0`0Bayo ph`1`0`0`0Baron lf`4`0`0`0Popson 2b`2`0`0`0Hospador c`2`0`0`0Zavada 3b`4`0`0`0Totals`38`2`8`2Wyo. Area`010`010`000`1`&#8211;`3Valley West`000`020`000 `0`&#8211;`23B &#8212; HoganWyo. Area`IP `H`R`ER`BB`KZezza`7.0`6`2`2`1`7Kopcza (W, 2-0)`3.0`2`0`0`2`3Valley West `IP`H`R`ER`BB`KGregory`6.0`5`2`2`4`6Hogan (L, 0-1)`4.0`1`1`0`0`6Northwest 4, Nanticoke 2Northwest`AB`R`H`BIReno 2b`4`1`2`0Long cf`2`1`1`0Evans ss`4`1`1`2Womelsdorf 3b`4`0`1`1Boberick c`3`0`0`0THarrison 1b`3`0`0`0BHarrison rf`2`0`0`0Ungvarsky lf-p`0`0`0`0Hardiman p-dh`1`0`0`0Campbell dh`1`0`0`0Godfrey lf`3`1`1`0Totals`27`4`6`3Nanitcoke`AB`R`H`BIRosick ss`3`0`0`0SKreitzer rf`4`1`1`0Pokrinchak cf`2`1`0`0Norton 3b`2`0`2`1AKreitzer pr`0`0`0`0Olszyk 1b`1`0`0`0Romanowski c`2`0`0`0Benscoter p`2`0`0`1Labenski lf`1`0`0`0Kotch dh`2`0`0`0NBukofski 2b`3`0`0`0Totals`22`2`3`2Northwest`001`000`3`&#8212;`4Nanticoke`101`000`0`&#8212;`22B &#8212; Norton 2Northwest`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KGodfrey`2.0`3`2`2`5`3Ungvsky (W, 2-0)`5.0`0`0`0`1`6Nanticoke`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KBnsctr (L, 0-3)`7.0`6`4`2`4`7GAR 6, Holy Redeemer 2Redeemer`AB`R`H`BIHoggarth cf`3`0`3`0Cavanaugh 2b`4`0`2`1Dacey 1b`3`1`1`0Dolan p`3`0`0`0Choman p`1`0`0`0Staskiel ss`0`0`0`0Semanek dh`3`0`0`0Renfer c`3`0`1`1Flanley 3b`3`0`0`0McClay rf`2`1`1`0Moleski lf`2`0`0`0Totals`27`2`8`2GAR`AB`R`H`BIShinal c`4`0`0`0Peter 2b`1`2`0`0Willmsn ss-p`1`1`1`1Skrepenak 1b`1`1`1`0Marte cf`2`1`1`1Edwards p-rf`3`0`1`0Yellnd rf-p-ss`3`1`2`0Kolativa 3b`3`0`0`0Peralta lf`3`0`0`0Totals`21`6`6`2Redeemer`000`001`1`&#8212;`2GAR`101`031`x`&#8212;`62B &#8212; Cavanaugh, Dacey, Renfer, YellandRedeemer`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KDolan (L, 3-1)`4.0`5`2`1`1`3McAndrew`0.1`0`3`1`3`0Molitoris`0.2`0`0`0`1`0Choman`1.0`1`1`1`0`0GAR`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KEdwards`3.0`3`0`0`2`0Yellnd (W, 1-0)`3.0`3`1`0`0`1Williamson`1.0`2`1`1`2`1MMI Prep 9, Wyoming Seminary 6Seminary`AB`R`H`BISabourin p`4`2`2`0Kehl 2b`5`1`2`0Phillips lf`3`1`0`1Oravic ss`3`1`2`3Thomas c`3`1`0`1Jerome 3b`3`0`0`0Sweitzer rf`4`0`0`0Negron 1b`4`0`1`0SOlsen cf`4`1`3`0Totals`33`6`11`5MMI Prep`AB`R`H`BIRogers ss`4`2`2`1Young 2b`0`3`0`1Dasher cf`4`0`2`2Harman c`3`0`1`2Herbener p`3`0`0`0Stish rf`4`0`2`0Patel lf`4`1`1`0Bains 1b`3`1`0`0Palermo 1b`4`2`3`1Totals`29`9`11`7Seminary`100`005`0`&#8212;`6MMI Prep`040`140`x`&#8212;`92B &#8212; Oravic, Dasher, Harman, Stish, PalermoSeminary`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KSabrn (L, 2-2)`4.0`6`5`2`5`3Rosentel`1.0`4`4`4`1`0Phillips`1.0`1`0`0`0`0MMI Prep`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KHrbnr (W, 1-0)`5.1`8`5`5`5`4Rogers`1.2`3`1`1`0`5Hazleton Area 5, Lake-Lehman 0Lehman`AB`R`H`BICarey 2b`2`0`0`0Weston 3b`3`0`0`0Kolb ss`3`0`0`0Brucher 1b`3`0`1`0Simmonette p`0`0`0`0TWilliams dh`3`0`1`0Gorski lf`2`0`0`0Sikora c`3`0`0`0Tomolonis rf`2`0`0`0Eury cf`1`0`1`0Spencer cf`1`0`0`0Totals`23`0`3`0Hazleton`AB`R`H`BIKlein cf`3`1`2`1Panzarella ss`2`1`1`0Biasi 1b`3`0`1`1John c`3`0`0`0Rogers rf`2`0`0`0Budgeon lf`2`0`1`0Heller p`0`0`0`0Cara dh`1`1`0`0Pineda dh`1`0`0`0Arias 3b`2`2`2`1Porpiglia 2b`2`0`0`0Totals`21`5`7`3Lehman`000`000`0`&#8212;`0Hazleton`040`100`x`&#8212;`52B &#8212; AriasLehman`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KSimntte (L, 0-3)`6.0`7`5`3`5`2Hazleton`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KHeller (W, 2-1)`7.0`3`0`0`2`6