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Gilbert still opposes giving Wilkes-Barre accounts to DeNaples-linked bank

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Teen welcomed by Kingston/Forty Fort Fire Department

RICE TWP. &#8211; Brian Muckin hadn&#8217;t hit a home run in an actual game in years.The senior-to-be at Tunkhannock admitted that he probably hasn&#8217;t gone deep in a game since Little League. He sure picked a great time to hit his first career long ball while in high school.The center fielder crushed a three-run, walk-off homer on Tuesday, leading Tunkhannock to a 7-4 victory over Nanticoke and to its first-ever Wyoming Valley American Legion League Tournament championship.The win also advances Tunkhannock to the Region 5 Tournament for just the second time in team history. The regional event begins on Saturday in Scranton. The only other time Tunkhannock reached the regional was in 2012 as the No. 2 seed from the Wyoming Valley. The team will again be the second seed from the Valley because unbeaten Swoyersville got a bye to regionals for finishing the season undefeated.&#8220;Oh my God that&#8217;s probably the coolest thing that&#8217;s ever happened in my baseball career,&#8221; Tunkhannock winning pitcher Cody Brown said about the way his team won the championship. &#8220;I&#8217;m never gonna forget that.&#8221;It&#8217;s likely every one of his teammates will never forget it either.With one run in and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Muckin batted with two runners on against Kyle Pokrinchak. Muckin belted a 1-1 fastball that was middle in over the fence in left field to give Tunkhannock the victory and eliminate the two-time defending league champion, the reigning regional champ and the team that finished third in the state last year.&#8220;It&#8217;s pretty exciting. Glad to be a part of that. It&#8217;s been a great team this year and the coaches have done really well,&#8221; Muckin said.For a little bit in the seventh it didn&#8217;t even seem like Muckin would get a chance to hit. Nanticoke took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh and Cody Brown led off with a double. But the next two batters were retired. The fourth batter of the inning reached base on a grounder that was overthrown to first, allowing Brown to score the tying run. A fielder&#8217;s choice where the runner and batter were safe followed to set up Muckin&#8217;s heroics.&#8220;It was right in my spot, a little inside where I like it and just turned on it,&#8221; Muckin said. &#8220;I knew I had to hit it hard somewhere and I didn&#8217;t want to pop up or ground out.&#8220;I just didn&#8217;t want to get out. I didn&#8217;t want to be the last out for our team.&#8221;Brown got the start on the mound for manager Scott Zaner, and finished the game as well without hesitation.But early on, the right-hander, who will attend Northampton Community College in the fall and pitch for the baseball team, struggled.Nanticoke got three runs in the top of the first inning on five hits, including three run-scoring singles by Kevin Rimmer (1 for 4), Mike Piscotty (2 for 4, run RBI) and Chris Rynkiewicz (2 for 3) as the defending champs took a 3-0 lead.Brown allowed five hits in the first inning and just five more the final six innings as he settled down considerably. He walked three and struck out four.&#8220;I was a little worried (in the first inning). I didn&#8217;t have my best stuff today,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;I was a little worried that I wouldn&#8217;t get through it. But I just threw strikes and tried to get through it.&#8221;Tunkhannock, which had to lose twice to not claim its first tournament title, started to battle back. It got a run in the third inning on a bases-loaded walk and tied it up 3-3 in the fourth on an RBI single by Bobby Gilpin and an RBI groundout from Lane Ceccarelli.Nanticoke regained the lead 4-3 in the sixth on a pinch-hit single by John Morgan, but the team left a pair of runners in scoring position after getting there with no outs. Nanticoke also had a runner thrown out at home on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh.&#8220;We have just played so well the last 10 days and this week in the tournament so hopefully we can stay hot,&#8221; Zaner said.Tunkhannock 7, Nanticoke 4Nanticoke `AB`R`H`BIReno 3b`4`0`2`0Windt 2b` 4`0`0`0Pokrinchak cf/p`3`1`1`0Rimmer 1b`4`1`1`1Piscotty rf`4`1`2`1Peters c`2`1`1`0Shatley p`0`0`0`0Rynkiewicz dh`2`0`2`1Lubenski lf`2`0`0`0Morgan ph`1`0`1`1Piestrak ss`3`0`0`0Totals`29`4`10`4Tunkhannock`AB`R`H`BIGoodwin ss`2`0`1`0Gilpin lf`4`0`1`1Brown p`3`1`1`0Soltysiak rf`3`1`0`0DeMarco 2b`0`0`0`0Huslander dh`4`0`1`0Hughes 1b`3`2`1`0Fenwick 3b`4`1`0`0Muckin cf`3`2`2`3Ceccorelli c`3`1`1`1Totals`27`7`8`5Nanticoke`300`001`0`&#8212;`4Tunkhannock`001`200`4` &#8212; `7Nanticoke `IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOShatley` 3.0+`3`2`2`4`1Kurkoski ` 0.2`2`1`1`2`0Pokrinchak (L)` 3.0`3`4`0`0`1Tunkhannock`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SOBrown (W)`7.0`10`4`4`3`4<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Mike Piscotty slides head first into home, beating the tag by Tunkhannock catcher Lane Ceccarelli in Tuesday&#8217;s Wyoming Valley American Legion playoff game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_legionbaseball01-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nanticoke&#8217;s Mike Piscotty slides head first into home, beating the tag by Tunkhannock catcher Lane Ceccarelli in Tuesday&#8217;s Wyoming Valley American Legion playoff game. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_legionbaseball02-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tunkhannock&#8217;s Lane Ceccarelli lays down a sacrifice bunt that scores a run in the fourth inning in Tuesday&#8217;s Wyoming Valley American Legion playoff game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_legionbaseball02-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tunkhannock&#8217;s Lane Ceccarelli lays down a sacrifice bunt that scores a run in the fourth inning in Tuesday&#8217;s Wyoming Valley American Legion playoff game. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave RosengrantFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Muckin blasts Tunkhannock to Legion title