WEST PITTSTON — The beginning of Wyoming Area's baseball season resembled the previous year. And that was not a positive thing.
After a poor start with five losses, the Warriors rebounded and continued their winning streak against MMI Prep on Friday.
Wyoming Area managed to score 12 times in two innings to secure a 12-1 triumph over the Preppers in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game. The Warriors also executed a triple play in the fourth inning.
Wyoming Area (7-2 Div. 2, 9-7 overall) stayed close to first-place Holy Redeemer (9-2 Div. 2, 13-3). They will face off on Tuesday at Wyoming Area. The Warriors have emerged victorious in seven of their last eight games.
“As a staff, we anticipated that,” commented Wyoming Area coach Rob Lemoncelli about the slow start. “We introduced several freshmen and a few sophomores who were playing for the first time, so it took a while to find the right combination that worked well for us.”
First came the outstanding defensive play, followed by their resourceful offense.
In the fourth inning, MMI Prep loaded the bases with no outs, but Wyoming Area shortstop Brady Noone managed to turn a rare triple play by catching a low liner near his ankles, tagging second for the second out, and throwing to third for the third out.
Turning to the offensive play.
Wyoming Area scored its 12 runs through a combination of hits, walks, hit batters, wild pitches, errors, and smart base running.
Wyoming Area's nine-run second inning was filled with action, with 13 batters coming to the plate. The scoring included a two-run single by David Fath, bases-loaded walks by Matt Rusinchak and Tom Carlin, and Alex Vacula being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Additionally, several runs were scored due to throwing errors and wild pitches as Mitchell Rusinchak and Jacob Snyder were at bat. Carlin and Mitchell Rusinchak started the inning with singles in the middle.
MMI initially took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Zach Yenchko hit a home run to left-center field. Wyoming Area responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning, with Noone driving in two runs with an infield single.
MMI (3-4 Div. 1, 6-6) won't have much time to dwell on the loss, as they are scheduled to host Wyoming Area at 11 a.m. on Saturday, a game that was previously postponed due to rain on April 3.
“We always talk about enjoying a victory for only a little bit,” Lemoncelli said. “I told the guys to enjoy this one until 6:30, but don’t worry (MMI) is going to come ready to play tomorrow. Nobody likes to get their butt handed to them on the road, so I’m sure when we go up there they will be ready to play and give us a really tough game.”
Wyoming Area 12, MMI Prep 1 (5 inn.)
MMI Prep`AB`R`H`BI
Burns ss`3`0`0`0
Skuba rf-p`2`0`0`0
Radzwich rf`0`0`0`0
Yenchko lf`1`1`1`1
Lopez-Rodriguez lf`1`0`0`0
Williams p-rf`2`0`1`0
Drobnock 1b`1`0`0`0
Pantages cf`2`0`1`0
Pesotine 3b`1`0`0`0
Lispi p`1`0`0`0
Horvat 2b`1`0`0`0
Lutz ph`1`0`0`0
Totals`18`1`4`1
Wyoming Area`AB`R`H`BI
Snyder cf`0`2`0`0
Donati lf`0`0`0`0
Ma.Rusinchak lf`1`1`0`1
Vacula dh`0`2`0`1
Yatsko 3b`0`0`0`0
Fath 2b`2`2`1`2
Noone ss`3`0`1`2
Layland c`1`0`1`1
Spiecher 1b`3`0`0`0
Carlin p`2`0`1`1
Mi.Rusinchak rf`1`2`1`0
Calvey rf`1`2`0`0
Krogulski 3b`0`1`0`0
Dymond cr`0`0`0`0
Totals`14`12`5`8
MMI Prep`100`00 — 1
Wyoming Area`390`0x — 12
HR — Yenchko.
MMI Prep`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Williams (L)`1.0`5`9`9`3`0
Skuba`0.2`0`3`1`2`1
Lispi`1.1`0`0`0`1`0
Frask`1.0`0`0`0`0`1
Wyoming Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Carlin (W)`5`4`1`1`1`5
