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Tommy Van Scoy remembers being touched by “The Greatest”

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Higashioka homers twice to power RailRiders past Columbus

Both Holy Redeemer and Hazleton Area are looking to reach State College and the PIAA softball championships.On Friday, the pair of District 2 champions got the details of their final step before reaching the state&#8217;s biggest stage.The PIAA semifinals will be held Monday. In Class 4A, Hazleton Area will open the day by playing District 1 runner-up Avon Grove at noon at Lyons Park in Lyons, roughly halfway between Allentown and Reading.In Class 2A, Holy Redeemer will be right back at the site of their quarterfinal victory &#8212; Patriot Park in Allentown &#8212; for a 5 p.m. game against District 11 champion Pine Grove.The Royals beat Kutztown 7-1 on Thursday at Patriot Park, where they also won in the semifinals last season en route to the school&#8217;s first state championship.If Redeemer wins again Monday, it would be back to the finals to face the winner of the other semifinal between Chambersburg and Hempfield.The Hazleton Area-Avon Grove winner will take on either Moniteau or South Park in the finals.Fellow District 2 squad Abington Heights is playing in the Class 3A semifinals against Lampeter Strasburg at 7 p.m. Monday, also at Patriot Park.All four state championship games will be held June 16 at Penn State&#8217;s Nittany Lion Softball Park. The Class 2A game is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the 4A game at 5:30 p.m.On the baseball side, the lone District 2 team left standing is North Pocono. The Trojans are in the 3A semifinals against Susquehanna Township at 4 p.m. Monday in Pottsville.Cougars earn ECAC honorsTwo Misericordia athletes &#8212; baseball standout D.J. Navoczynski and women&#8217;s lacrosse freshman Brianna Ladner &#8212; have been named ECAC South All-Stars.Navoczynski was a first-team selection, leading the Cougars with 49 RBI, one of the top marks in program history. The outfielder hit .323 with three home runs.Ladner made the second team as a defender, finishing second with the Cougars with 30 turnovers forced and 33 draw controls.LEGION BASEBALLNanticoke 5, Tunkhannock 2Nanticoke scored four runs in the top of the second to pull ahead for the road win.Kevin Rimmer and Brian Hardiman combined on a three-hitter with Rimmer going six innings for the win and Hardiman taking the seventh for the save. Cody Piestrak doubled and drove in two runs.Brett Soltysiak homered for Tunkhannock.Nanticoke 5, Tunkhannock 2Nanticoke`AB`R`H`BIMorgan cf`4`1`1`1Windt 2b`4`0`0`0Pokrinchak 1b`4`0`0`1Rimmer p`3`0`0`0Hardiman p`1`0`1`0Reno 3b`4`0`0`0Rynkiewicz c`2`1`1`0Labenski rf`1`1`1`0Piscotty lf`2`1`0`0Piestrak ss`2`1`1`2Shatley ss`0`0`0`0Totals`27`3`5`4Tunkhannock`AB`R`H`BITFaux 2b`3`0`0`0DFaux ph`1`0`0`0Goodwin 3b`2`0`0`0CBrown ss`4`1`0`0Soltysiak rf`2`1`1`1Munley p`0`0`0`0Gregory p`0`0`0`0Hulslander dh`3`0`1`1Gilpin lf`3`0`0`0Fenwick c`1`0`0`0Ceccarelli c`2`0`1`0Hughes 1b`1`0`0`0BBrown ph`1`0`0`0Muckin cf`2`0`0`0Totals`25`2`3`2Nanticoke`140`000`0`&#8212;`5Tunkhannock`100`001`0`&#8212;`22B &#8212; Piestrak, Ceccarelli; HR &#8212; SoltysiakNanticoke`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KRimmer (W)`6.0`2`2`2`2`3Hardimn (S)`1.0`1`0`0`2`1Tunkhannock`IP`H`R`ER`BB`KMunley (L)`1.1`1`4`4`3`0Gregory`5.2`4`1`1`3`2<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/2016/06/web1_clip-soft.jpg</photo0><caption0>Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

PIAA softball semifinals finalized