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Wyoming Area baseball falls in district semifinal nailbiter

TUNKHANNOCK &#8212; Pittston Area took a two-run lead on Tunkhannock twice in the final three innings and both times the Tigers&#8217; bats came through to keep the game going.The lone run Pittston Area pushed across in the top of the ninth proved to be the difference as the sixth-seeded Patriots defeated Tunkhannock, 8-7, in a District 2 Class 3A semifinal game on Thursday.Pittston Area (12-6) will play the winner of Friday&#8217;s semifinal between Abington Heights and Nanticoke for the district title on June 1.Abbey Bradigan led off the inning with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Shayla Williams. The next batter, Julie Silinskie, reached base on an infield single and Lexi Felinski, a freshman, drove in Bradigan for the winning run on a sacrifice fly to center field.Despite her youth, Pittston Area head coach Vito Quaglia was confident with Felinski in the batters box during a key moment in the game.&#8220;She has the poise and maturity at the plate of an upperclassmen,&#8221; Quaglia said. &#8220;She swings at good pitches and goes deep into counts. She&#8217;s the spark plug to our engine.&#8221;After both teams were scoreless over the first two innings, Felinski led off the bottom of the third with a solo home run over the fence in left-center field.&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever been in a game like this one,&#8221; Felinski said. &#8220;I was just trying to hit line drives and it&#8217;s amazing to get this win for the seniors.&#8221;Second-seeded Tunkhannock (13-4) countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning on RBIs from Kendra Schultz, Jenna Simmons and Kailey Reposa.Hope Jones started the inning with a double and pitch runner Jenn Bulford later came around to score on a sacrifice bunt from Schultz. Faith Jones singled and scored on a Simmons double.After Tunkhannock took the 2-1 lead, Quaglia made a pitching change, with a runner on second and one out, replacing ace Taylor Baloga with Nina Cencetti.Reposa doubled to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead, but after walking the next batter, Paige Mokychic, Cencetti retired the next two batters.&#8220;We had a tough game yesterday against North Pocono in the heat and to come right back and pitch here against a great team, I didn&#8217;t want to put too much pressure on (Baloga),&#8221; Quaglia said of the switch. &#8220;Nina is a different type of pitcher and I knew that would give them a little bit of a different look.&#8221;Mindina Lieback drove in Silinski, who walked to start the top of the fifth inning, with a single into right field, cutting the Patriots deficit to one run.Pittston Area took a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning after Baloga and Cencetti scored on a wild pitch and Taryn Ashby doubled to score Silinski.With its season on the line, Tunkhannock came through with two runs, on a two-out double from Simmons to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.Pittston Area regained the lead in the top of the eighth when Lieback lined a double to drive in Silinskie and Felinski, who each singled.Once again, Tunkhannock responded.Erin Dunn, Sydney Faux and Danielle Krispen each singled to start the inning and Hope Jones followed with a ground rule double down the left field line to tie the game, 7-7.&#8220;When they get behind, they battle back,&#8221; Tunkhannock head coach Bob Hegedty said. &#8220;They&#8217;ve been like that all year. They believe in themselves and believe they can get it done.&#8221;Cencetti induced two consecutive pop outs to escape the jam and send the game to a ninth inning.After Pittston Area took the lead in the top of the inning, Cencetti retired the Tunkhannock side in order to seal the win.&#8220;She doesn&#8217;t have a conscience on the mound,&#8221; Quaglia said. &#8220;If she gives up a hit, she moves on to the next pitch and doesn&#8217;t get shaken. I can&#8217;t say enough about her effort.&#8221;Pittston Area 8, Tunkhannock 7Pittston Area`001`013`0`2&#8217;1&#8212;`8Tunkhannock`003`000`2`2&#8217;0&#8212;`72B &#8212; PA, Taryn Ashby, Taylor Baloga, Mindina Lieback. TUNK &#8212; Hope Jones (2), Jenna Simmons, Kailey Reposa. 3B &#8212; TUNK, Reposa.Top hitters &#8212; PA, Lieback 3-4 3 RBI; TUNK, Hope Jones 2-4 2 RBI.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_SOFTBALL-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Robert Tomkavagertomkavage@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Rob Tomkavage at 570-704-3941 or on Twitter @rtomkavage.</shirttailMeta></div>

Pittston Area edges Tunkhannock in 9 innings to reach District 2 Class 3A softball title game