DISTRICT 2 BASEBALL: Mid Valley headed back to Class 4A final

THROOP - An early offensive outburst plus the pitching of Cooper Lukasavage added up to another trip to a district championship game for Mid Valley.

The Spartans scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning and the senior pitcher took it from there in a 12-4 victory over Crestwood in the District 2 Class 4A baseball semifinals Friday night at Mid Valley High School.

Joe Romanosky reached base five times with four singles and a walk and scored four runs to pace the attack for second-seeded Mid Valley (17-5), which advances to the Class 4A final against No. 1 Wyoming Area on May 29 at Wilkes University at 4:30 p.m. Wyoming Area beat Hanover Area, 6-2, in the other semifinal Friday. Both Wyoming Area and Mid Valley qualified for the PIAA Class 4A tournament, which begins June 1.

"Our bats were hot coming out," Romanosky said. "We knew we had to get on them early. Our dugout kept the energy up and a lot of our guys produced. We were able to get some nice hits and RBIs. We had a great defense, too."

Pitching on two days rest after throwing 54 pitches in five innings in Tuesday's quarterfinals against Berwick, Lukasavage allowed four runs on six hits in six innings with two walks and five strikeouts Friday. He threw 95 pitches, 59 for strikes.

"We wanted to have Cooper for whatever team we faced in the semifinals, so we were cognizant of the pitch count the other day, making sure he could come back only having two days," Mid Valley coach Ryan Kropa said. "He was ready to go. He's a bulldog for us. He wants the ball in his hand. He did an amazing job today. He's our guy right now. Groundball pitcher, can locate all his pitches. He's a pitcher not a thrower. He controls the run game well. The right kind of pitcher to have success against a good Crestwood team."

Only one inning did Lukasavage run into a bit of trouble and that was the top of the third inning. He surrendered a leadoff home run to Miles McShea. After retiring the next two batters, he allowed a single to Jack Rodgers and a two-run home run to Jaxson Fedak.

"I left a few up, left a few middle," Lukasavage said. "Mistake pitches. Mistakes happen. It happens to everybody. Just shake it off, go back and keep pounding the strike zone."

His teammates' offensive support gave Lukasavage plenty of margin for error.

Mid Valley sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the second inning and scored six of them. Jake Bondy started it with the first of his four walks in the game. Spencer Kalinoski singled and Lukasavage put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Aaron Merrifield was hit by a pitch and so was Jeremy Cali to force in one run. A passed ball allowed Kalinoski to score and make it 2-0.

After Brett Yanoski walked to reload the bases, Romanosky singled to score Merrifield and when the throw from the outfield went into the Crestwood dugout, Cali scored on the error. Nick Hricenak then capped the inning with a two-run single with two outs.

"Unfortunately, we didn't hit the strike zone. We got behind in the counts, we got into hitters' counts and gave too many free passes," Crestwood coach Sean Foley said. "When you do that, you have to come back with a pitch that you don't want to throw and it gets cranked.

"But I'm proud of my kids, though. They did not quit. We put a charge into a couple of balls and put them over the fence. We got the game into something that looked like it was within reach. But we just ran out of firepower on the mound, that's all."

Crestwood's home runs in the third cut the deficit in half. But the Spartans had a response in the bottom of the third. Walks to Merrifield and Yanoski and a single by Romanosky loaded the bases with one out. Nick Mills had a run-scoring fielder's choice. After Hricenak reached on an error, Bondy walked to force in a run and make it 8-3.

Fedak's RBI single in the top of the fifth got Crestwood within 8-4. But again, Mid Valley responded in the bottom-half of the inning. Romanosky led off with a single. Bondy and Kalinoski walked with two outs to load the bases. Lukasavage then smacked a two-run single on a 1-2 pitch to extend the Spartans lead to 10-4.

"I was just going up there trying to see as many pitches as I can," Lukasavage said. "I was trying to work the count. Got a curveball that he left a little up, so I just tried to poke it out there. It got down and scored two.

"It's such a huge confidence boost for our team. We just know we're going to go up there and swing it well. We're a really good swinging team. We're just very confident."

Mills capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out, two-run home run to center field.

Now, Mid Valley will try to capture its third straight District 2 title. The Spartans claimed the Class 3A crown in 2024 and were Class 4A champs last season.

"It was a nice all-around team win," Kropa said. "We knew Crestwood would come to play and compete. Once we had that lead, we knew we had to keep it up. I kept saying, ‘It's 0-0. Let's keep going to work and doing our thing' and they came through. It's nice to have a third year playing for a district championship and a state playoff berth, too."

Class 2A

At Elk Lake, Brayden Miller knocked in four runs as the host Warriors downed Lackawanna Trail, 8-2, in the District 2 Class 2A semifinals.

Miller had a pair of two-run singles - one in the second inning, the other in the sixth. He also was the winning pitcher, allowing two unearned runs and three hits in six innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

Alden Felker added three hits, including a double, for No. 2 seed Elk Lake (15-7). Stephen Newhart also doubled and Lucas Benscoter had two RBIs as the Warriors avenged a pair of defeats to the Lions during the Lackawanna League Division III season.

Tyler Jervis had two of the three hits for No. 3 Lackawanna Trail (12-8). William Evans had the other with a double.

Elk Lake advances to the Class 2A final May 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field against Wyoming Seminary. The No. 4 Blue Knights rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning to win its semifinal Friday, 6-3, over Holy Redeemer.

Class 4A

At Wallenpaupack, Dallas had only two hits, but they were solo home runs by Peyton VanValkenburgh and Brady Youngblood to give the third-seeded Mountaineers a 2-1 win over the host Buckhorns in the District 2 Class 4A semifinals.

VanValkenburgh homered in the top of the second to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Youngblood then broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh.

That was enough offense for Nick Bednar, who tossed a complete-game five-hitter with two walks 10 strikeouts.

Greg Van Gorder had two hits, including a double, and one RBI for No. 2 seed Wallenpaupack (15-6). Cameron Lynch went 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. Thomas Kiersted came on to get the final out.

Dallas faces Pittston Area in the Class 4A final Thursday at 5 p.m. at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field.

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