HS BASEBALL: Killino's hit lifts Old Forge over Honesdale
May 9—OLD FORGE — Old Forge had the right player at the plate for the situation.
With two on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning of a tie game, leadoff batter Nico Killino laced a single that brought home the go-ahead run and the Blue Devils went on to a 5-3 win over Honesdale in a Lackawanna League Division II baseball thriller Monday at Pagnotti Park.
It was Killino's third hit and RBI of the game and enabled Old Forge (10-5 overall, 9-2 league) to take a one-half game lead over Honesdale (11-4, 8-2) in the division standings.
"He's a tough out for teams," Old Forge coach Tony DiMattia said of Killino. "At the top of our lineup, with his speed, any kind of a bobble or anything that happens, he's pretty much safe at first base. He makes contact the majority of the time. He's probably one of the two or three guys you want up in that spot because you know you're going to get a good at-bat. He came through today."
Andrew Bartnikowski started the decisive sixth inning for Old Forge with a walk off Honesdale reliever Bryce Dressler. The Hornets retired the next two batters on fielder's choices. But Jake Iacavazzi hit a blooper into shallow center field that dropped in for a single, putting Blue Devils runners at the corners.
Killino followed with his single to score Dominick Palma and make it 4-3.
"Two outs, just got to do a job. It's as simple as that," Killino said. "It was a fastball down the middle. It was huge that we had runners on before me. The guys at the bottom of the lineup got on and let me do my job."
TJ DiMattia followed with a single to score Iacavazzi with an insurance run.
In the top of the seventh, Max Mickel led off with a single for Honesdale. But Old Forge reliever Ryan Kissolovege got two strikeouts and a ground out to end the game.
Honesdale had runners on base in every inning. But each time the Hornets threatened, Old Forge starter Angelo Fumanti and Kissolovege escaped.
"We didn't do a very good job pushing runners across in scoring position," Honesdale coach Ernie Griffis said. "We didn't need the big hit. We needed a pop fly or a ground ball up the middle and that's exactly what they did there in the (sixth) inning to win the game. Good teams do that. Hopefully we can get back to the drawing board and figure that out before playoffs."
Consecutive doubles by Nathan Hugaboom and Peter Modrovsky to open the game gave the Hornets a quick 1-0 lead. But Fumanti limited the damage by striking out the next three batters.
In the top of the second, Honesdale had runners at second and third with one out. But Fumanti got a strikeout and a fly out to squash that threat. Again in the fourth, there were Hornets on second and third with one out. Again, Fumanti wriggled out of the jam, getting a pop-up and a strikeout.
"They had a lot of traffic in each of my five innings," Fumanti said. "I trust my fielders behind me and I trust my stuff. I was trying to attack first-pitch strike and get ahead of each batter. I wasn't able to do that, but I kept battling back in each count and found ways to get out of each inning."
Old Forge answered in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double by Josh Spindler to tie the game at 1. A second runner trying to score on the play was cut down on a nice relay from the outfield by the Hornets.
Killino gave the Blue Devils a 3-1 lead with a two-out, two-run double to left in the bottom of the second. But Honesdale responded in the top of the third, tying the game at 3 on Nate Greene's two-run single.
It stayed tied until the sixth thanks to Fumanti and Honesdale starter Jared Ahern, who also dodged Old Forge scoring threats in the third and fourth innings.
"We had opportunities, but they're a good team," Killino said. "We knew what we were going up against. We had to battle and we did it and thankfully we came out on top in the end."
Old Forge 5, Honesdale 3
Honesdale 102 000 0 — 3
Old Forge 120 002 x — 5
WP: Ryan Kissolovege 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2SO
LP: Bryce Dressler 2IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 1SO
2B: Josh Spindler (OF), Nico Killino (OF), Nathan Hugaboom (HON), Peter Modrovsky (HON).
Mid Valley 14, Lakeland 2
At Lakeland, Lorenzo Hernandez had a single and a double, two runs and three RBIs to lead Mid Valley.
Jake Bondy also drove in three runs and scored twice for the Spartans.
Michael Igneri had a two-run double for Lakeland.
Mid Valley 14, Lakeland 2
Mid Valley 000 68 — 14
Lakeland 000 02 — 2
WP: David Magliocchi 4IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 4SO
LP: Alex Woodward 3 2/3IP, 7H, 6R, 6ER, 1BB, 3SO
2B: Michael Igneri (LAK), Lorenzo Hernandez (MV), Jake Bondy (MV), Nicholas Mills (MV), Kaesean Wearing (MV).
Riverside 16, Dunmore 1
At Taylor, winning pitcher Casey O'Brien had three hits, including a double and a home run, scored three runs and drove in two to lead Riverside.
Jimmy Decker went 3 for 3 with a double, two runs and an RBI for the Vikings.
Max Forgione tripled and scored for Dunmore.
Riverside 16, Dunmore 1
Dunmore 100 0 — 1
Riverside 510 (10) — 16
WP: Casey O'Brien 4IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 7SO
LP: Christian Jaramillo 3 2/3IP, 8H, 11R, 7ER, 2BB, 1SO
2B: Jimmy Decker (RIV), Casey O'Brien (RIV), Joey Kulikowski (RIV). 3B: Max Forgione (DUN). HR: Casey O'Brien (RIV).
Holy Cross 12, Western Wayne 2
At Schautz Stadium, Nic Borgia had three hits, two runs and four RBIs to lead Holy Cross.
Winning pitcher Brayden Sherry singled, scored a run and drove in two for the Crusaders.
Luke Janiszewski singled and drove in a run for Western Wayne.
Holy Cross 12, Western Wayne 2
Western Wayne 011 000 0 — 2
Holy Cross 082 200 x — 12
WP: Brayden Sherry 5IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 6BB, 4SO
LP: Lance Maiocco 1 1/3IP, 6H, 8R, 8ER, 2BB, 0SO
2B: Joshua Lentowski (HC).
North Pocono 9, Wallenpaupack 3
At North Pocono, Aidan DeLucy had a double and a home run and drove in three to lead the Trojans to a Division I win.
Tim Zasada also homered and drove in two runs for North Pocono and Gavin Chillot struck out 13 over six innings to earn the win.
Thomas Kiersted singled and drove in three runs for Wallenpaupack.
North Pocono 9, Wallenpaupack 3
Wallenpaupack 000 102 0 — 3
North Pocono 100 026 x — 9
WP: Gavin Chillot 6IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 13SO
LP: Mark Nilsen 1IP, 4H, 6R, 6ER, 2BB, 2SO
2B: Gavin Chillot (NP), Aidan DeLucy (NP). HR: Aidan DeLucy (NP), Tim Zasada (NP).
Scranton 6, Delaware Valley 5
At Scranton, Dylan Labukas had a triple and a home run and drove in three to lead the Knights.
Ryan Yevitz doubled and drove in two runs for Scranton.
Jesse Hawke had two hits, including a triple, a run and two RBIs for Delaware Valley.
Scranton 6, Delaware Valley 5
Delaware Valley 120 020 0 — 5
Scranton 400 020 x — 6
WP: Ethan Scotch 3IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 2SO
LP: Keaton Phillips 2IP, 2H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 1SO
2B: Luke Kraszewski (DV), Ryan Yevitz (SCR). 3B: Dylan Labukas (SCR), Jesse Hawke (DV). HR: Dylan Labukas (SCR).
Scranton Prep 10, Valley View 0
At Valley View, Brian Walsh threw a three-hitter with six strikeouts to lead Scranton Prep to its sixth straight win.
Brian Kellogg had two hits and three RBIs for the Cavaliers and Luke Pica had a single and two doubles and scored a run.
Scranton Prep 10, Valley View 0
Scranton Prep 400 24 — 10
Valley View 000 00 — 0
WP: Brian Walsh 5IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 6SO
LP: Zach Cwalinski 3 2/3IP, 10H, 6R, 6ER, 3BB, 2SO
2B: Luke Pica (SP) 2, Zander Condeelis (SP), Roman Valvano (SP).
Abington Heights 9, West Scranton 0
At Abington Heights, Charlie Hamm and Zach Brister combined on a three-hitter to lead the Comets.
Mark Nazar had two doubles, three runs and an RBI for Abington Heights.
Abington Heights 9, West Scranton 0
West Scranton 000 000 0 — 0
Abington Heights 201 420 x — 9
WP: Charlie Hamm 5IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 5BB, 3SO
LP: T.J. Giannetti 3 1/3IP, 5H, 6R, 2ER, 2BB, 3SO
2B: Garrett Pietryka (AH), Mark Nazar (AH) 2.
Mountain View 10, Montrose 9
At Mountain View, Bronson Kilmer hit two home runs and drove in four to lead the Eagles to a Division III win.
Carter Bain had three hits and an RBI for Mountain View.
Andrew Dovin homered twice and drove in three for Montrose.
Mountain View 10, Montrose 9
Montrose 211 032 0 — 9
Mountain View 202 015 x — 10
WP: Hudson Bain 2/3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO
LP: CJ McGee 1/3IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 0SO
2B: Alex Warriner (MON), Troy Hegedus (MON), Conner Flynn (MON). HR: Bronson Kilmer (MV) 2, Andrew Dovin (MON) 2.
Elk Lake 4, Lackawanna Trail 3
At Lackawanna Trail, winning pitcher Brayden McMicken had a double and an RBI to lead Elk Lake.
Alden Felker had a single and a double and scored a run for the Warriors.
Gavin June had a single and a double and a run for Lackawanna Trail.
Elk Lake 4, Lackawanna Trail 3
Elk Lake 110 011 0 — 4
Lackawanna Trail 010 000 2 — 3
WP: Brayden McMicken 7IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 5SO
LP: Tucker Kinney 7IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 3SO
2B: Brayden McMicken (EL), Gavin June (LT), Alden Felker (EL).
Blue Ridge 11, Susquehanna 0
At Susquehanna, Gehrig Dibble threw a one-hitter with nine strikeouts and also had three hits, including a double, two runs and two RBIs to lead Blue Ridge.
Brendan Marvin went 3 for 3 with a double, a run and three RBIs for the Raiders and Noah Martin had a single and two doubles and scored three runs.
Tyler Rockwell had the hit for Susquehanna.
Blue Ridge 11, Susquehanna 0
Blue Ridge 400 61 — 11
Susquehanna 000 00 — 0
WP: Gehrig Dibble 5IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 9SO
LP: Travis Rooney 3 2/3IP, 13H, 10R, 10ER, 1BB, 6SO
2B: Noah Martin (BR) 2, Gehrig Dibble (BR), Brendan Marvin (BR). HR: James Barbour (BR).
Carbondale Area 11, Forest City 1
At Carbondale, Liam Shenise doubled and drove in three runs to lead the Chargers.
Preston Casey had a single and a double and scored three runs for Carbondale Area.
Max Urbas scored the run for Forest City.
Carbondale Area 11, Forest City 1
Forest City 000 01 — 1
Carbondale Area 104 51 — 11
WP: Nick Sopko 5IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 7SO
LP: Max Urbas 3 2/3IP, 9H, 10R, 10ER, 4BB, 4SO
2B: Vincent DePalma (CAR), DJ Heath (FC), Preston Casey (CAR), Liam Shenise (CAR).
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