Pittston Area third baseman Danielle Budzak throws to first after fielding a bunt in Thursday’s fifth inning.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Pittston Area Little League players celebrate their third straight win at the 8-10 Eastern Regionals after edging Rhode Island champion Cranston Western in Thursday’s winner’s bracket finals.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area shortstop Natalie McAndrew tags out Cranston Western’s Isabella Marcano in the second inning on Thursday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area starting pitcher Ava Thomas struck out 10 in 4.1 innings of work on Thursday to pick up the win.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area second baseman Lydia Luvender makes the throw to first for an out in the final inning to help preserve a one-run lead.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area Little League players celebrate their third straight win at the 8-10 Eastern Regionals after edging Rhode Island champion Cranston Western in Thursday’s winner’s bracket finals.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WRIGHT TWP. — It seemed like Thursday’s winners bracket final between Pittston Area and Rhode Island representative Cranston Western was two different games, separated by a nearly 90-minute rain delay.
What was a pitcher’s duel for the first two-and-a-half innings turned into a bit of a slugfest after the game resumed, with Pittston Area’s five-run third inning holding up for a 5-4 win in the 8-10 softball Eastern Regionals at Mountain Top Little League.
Now 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament, Pittston Area punched a ticket to the championship round on Saturday, where the team will have two chances to win the regional title.
“We haven’t trailed at all in All-Stars, I was a little worried about falling behind,” said Pittston Area head coach Bill Kroski after his team’s win. “But we stayed focused.”
It wasn’t easy for Pittston Area, as the District 16 champs saw their five-run lead whittled down to three runs in the top of the fourth inning — and down to just one in the fifth.
But Ainsley Lear, coming on to pitch in relief of Ava Thomas in the fifth inning, left the tying run stranded on third base to end the fifth and stranded another runner in Cranston’s last at-bats to seal the victory.
“She’s a gamer,” Kroski said of Lear.
Through the first couple of innings Thursday, it seemed as though Thomas and Cranston starting pitcher Olivia Graziano were going to match each other on the scoreboard, zero for zero.
Thomas had six strikeouts through her first three innings of work, and Pittston was just coming to bat in the bottom of the third when a lightning strike sent the game into a delay.
It took about 90 minutes for the weather to clear and the game to resume. But when it did, Pittston Area was ready.
Graziano, who had breezed through her first two innings in the circle for Cranston, had issues with her control coming out of the extended break.
She walked four batters while retiring just one in the bottom of the third, with Pittston scoring its first run on a bases-loaded walk from Lear.
Isabella Marcano came on in relief to try and strand the bases loaded, but Lydia Luvender drove in two runs with a base hit, and Thomas followed two batters later with a base hit of her own to bring home two more.
Suddenly, a scoreless tie became a 5-0 Pittston Area lead that Cranston Western couldn’t fully overcome.
“We just talked about keeping their heads in, keeping their effort at a high level,” Kroski said of his discussions with the team during the delay.
“We knew we would need to come out and manufacture runs against a team this good. … These competitive games make us stronger.”
After she was able to get the last two outs of the third inning, Marcano settled in and pitched a great back half of the ballgame, striking out seven batters in total to keep Cranston alive for a rally.
The Rhode Island state champions got the tying run on base in the sixth inning with a two-out base hit from Gabriella Rossi, but Lear struck out Cranston leadoff hitter Hailee Stinson to win the game and send Pittston Area to the regional final.
Pittston Area will find out its final opponent on Friday. Play begins at 9:30 a.m. between Pennsylvania champ Caln Township and New Jersey champ Toms River. The winner of that game will take on Cranston at noon for the right to face Pittston Area on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
If Pittston Area loses that game, a rematch will be held at 1 p.m. to decide the championship.
Kroski didn’t hesitate when asked about the teams still alive in this tournament that his squad may see.
“I hope the games are good,” he said, “and I’d love to see an all-(Pennsylvania) final.”
Little League 8-10 Eastern Regionals
Pittston Area 5, Cranston Western (R.I.) 4
CW`AB`R`H`BI
Stinson 2b`3`0`0`0
Borges ph`1`0`0`0
Marcano ss-p`3`1`2`0
Lamarre 3b`2`1`2`1
Okolewitcz 1b`3`1`1`1
Graziano p-ss`2`0`0`0
Lopes ph`1`0`0`0
Field lf`3`0`2`0
Speck c`2`0`0`0
Koenig ph`1`0`0`0
Bastia rf`2`0`0`0
Farina ph`1`0`0`0
Rossi cf`2`0`1`0
Fontaine ph`1`1`1`0
Totals`27`4`9`2
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Kroski c`2`1`0`0
McAndrew ss`1`1`0`0
Lear 1b-p`2`1`0`1
Luvender 2b`3`1`1`2
Laudato lf`2`0`0`0
Pesotini ph`1`0`0`0
Thomas p-1b`3`0`1`2
Budzak 3b`1`0`0`0
Karbowski ph`1`0`0`0
Basile rf`0`1`0`0
Distasio ph`1`0`0`0
Fediw cf`1`0`0`0
Bartle ph`1`0`1`0
Totals`19`5`3`5
Cranston Western` `000`220 — 4
Pittston Area` `005`00x — 5
2B — Field.
Cranston Western`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Graziano L`2.1`0`4`4`5`5
Marcano`2.2`3`1`1`0`7
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Thomas W`4.1`6`4`4`1`10
Lear`1.2`3`0`0`0`2