Letter to the Editor: Flat tax proposal called ‘stinker of the first magnitude’

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Property owners urged to attend meeting on law to reduce school propery taxes

HAZLETON &#8212; At one point, it began too much for the Scranton High School student section to bear.The cackling, traveling Knights that spent the good portion of three innings jawing at Hazleton Area left fielder Jeremy Budgeon. But after the nine-run monstrosity that was the bottom of the third inning, the boisterous bunch packed themselves into a graceful exit into silent oblivion.It was just that kind of inning for the Knights. And just that kind of day for Hazleton Area starter Dante Biasi.Biasi quieted Scranton for five innings with a no-hitter in Hazleton Area&#8217;s 10-0 victory over Scranton Wednesday in the District 2 Class 4A semifinal. Hazleton Area will play Wyoming Valley West, 14-0 winners over Wallenpaupack for the district championship on Monday at PNC Field.Biasi fanned three batters and allowed just two walks before the game was halted due to the 10-run rule. The Hazleton Area junior hurler forced a pair of double plays to end threats in the first and second innings.&#8220;It was exactly what we expected,&#8221; Hazleton Area coach Gino Cara said. &#8220;He&#8217;s one of the best in the state. He showed it again. He wants the baseball in big spots. He got it. He&#8217;s got great stuff and the right attitude on the mound.&#8221;Biasi&#8217;s gem was largely overshadowed by a nine-run third inning that magically converted a one-run nailbiter to a 10-run rout. Scranton dropped three pop flies that each brought in runs, each one a bigger bungle than the last. By inning&#8217;s end, only one of the nine runs was earned and just one by way of an RBI base hit.&#8220;About three weeks ago, the same thing happened to us against Central Dauphin,&#8221; Cara said. &#8220;You have to remember it&#8217;s high school baseball. It just happens. It fell apart on them. It can happen to anybody at any time. I mean, that&#8217;s a heck of a team we beat.&#8221;Hazleton Area scored one run in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Robert John.The Cougars&#8217; win ends a three-game postseason slide to the Knights. Prior to last year&#8217;s district championship, Hazleton Area&#8217;s three previous district tournament runs were ended by Scranton.&#8220;It&#8217;s a big reason that they&#8217;ve been a thorn in our side. Coach Higgins runs a classy, classy program,&#8221; Cara said. &#8220;The three times they beat us they deserved to win the game. This one feels good. I can&#8217;t hide it. It feels good.&#8221;Joseph Baran led the Cougars with a 3 for 3 performance at the plate with three runs scored and an RBI. John and Kyle Rogers both had a pair of RBIs. Budgeon finished with a pair of hits.Despite all of the runs, Hazleton Area did not have an extra base hit.District 2 Class 4A SemifinalHazleton Area 10, Scranton 0, 5 inn.Scranton`AB`R`H`BIJake McCarthy cf`2`0`0`0Josh Olfano 2b`0`0`0`0Dom Torres ss`2`0`0`0Colin Mullen dh`2`0`0`0Jack Kelly p`0`0`0`0Colin Maldonato c`1`0`0`0Cory Lynch 1b`1`0`0`0Cody Miller rf`2`0`0`0Matt DeStefano p-3b`2`0`0`0Josh Shields lf`1`0`0`0Totals`13`0`0`0Hazleton Area`AB`R`H`BIDavid Klein rf`4`1`2`1Joseph Baran cf`3`3`3`1Dante Biasi p`2`0`1`0Jose Reynoso pr`0`2`0`0Robert John c`2`0`2`2Edwards Landron pr`0`1`0`0Kyle Rogers 1b`1`1`0`2Chris Panzarella ss`2`0`0`1Jeremy Budgeon lf`2`0`2`0Dominic Cara dh`2`1`0`0Seth Porpiglia 2b`0`0`0`0Jordi Arias 3b`3`1`0`0Totals`9`10`10`5Scranton`000`00`&#8212;`0Hazleton Area`109`0X`&#8212;`10Scranton`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SODeStafano (L)`2.2`7`8`2`1`2Kelly`1.1`3`3`0`0`0Hazleton Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOBiasi (W)`5`0`0`0`2`3

Dante Biasi throws no-hitter in Hazleton Area’s win