When Back Mountain American opened the District 31 Little League Major Baseball Tournament with a win over Back Mountain National, American manager Mike Luksic said he would not be surprised to see National again.
The only way that was possible is if the two teams claimed the top two spots in the Pool A standings to advance into elimination play and won again.
American and National took care of the first part of that process, finishing first and second in the pool to reach semifinals against different opponents in an attempt to ultimately reach the July 14 final at Pittston Township Little League at 5:30 p.m.
While American completed a 4-0 run through pool play, National came back from the opening loss to win three straight and finish 3-1.
The two Back Mountain teams were scheduled to play the top two teams from Pool B Saturday with a berth in the finals at stake.
American defeated Northwest, 14-0; Swoyersville, 10-0, in four innings; and Swoyersville again, 9-3, to finish unbeaten in the pool.
Zack Luksic got the win in the four-inning game against Swoyersville July 5.
Nick Gashi had a two-run homer, R.J. Wren an RBI double and A.J. Bednar an RBI single to lead the offense.
Winning pitcher Cooper Lewis and Ryan Collins had two hits each in Monday’s 9-3 win.
Sam Leandri and Nick Gashi added RBI doubles.
National got its wins over Swoyersville, 13-3, in five innings; then back-to-back against Northwest, 12-1 and 11-1.
Winning pitcher Luke Spencer and Ty Federici hit three-run homers against Swoyersville.
Zach Holthaus hit a two-run homer to end the game on the 10-run rule.
Michael Rother was 3-for-3 with a run scored. Max Paczewski, who drove in two runs, and Kyle Sincavage, who drove in one, each had a single and double.
Aiden Conrad was 4-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBI in the first win over Northwest.
Connor Morgan had a two-run homer. Paczewski and Federici had two hits each while Holthaus contributed an RBI double.
Rother limited Northwest to one hit for five innings while striking out nine and walking just one in the second meeting between the teams. He also had a two-run homer.
Paczewski had two hits, including a two-run homer. Ty Osipower also homered.
The major division is for players ages 11-12 and advances teams on the path toward Williamsport and the famous Little League World Series.
Section 5 Major Softball
Back Mountain opened sectional play with a shutout win Tuesday, but then suffered a shutout loss Wednesday in the winners’ bracket final of the four-team tournament at Nanticoke.
Sydney Hornlein threw a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in the 5-0 win over North Pocono.
Alison Francis and Riley Wren each had two hits.
Back Mountain put itself in need of three straight wins to claim the title when it lost to Nanticoke, 4-0, Wednesday.
Lyndsey Hornlein had two hits in the loss.
The tournament champion moves on to state play.
Section 5 Junior Softball
Old Forge edged Back Mountain, 8-7, Wednesday in the opening game of the three-team, double-elimination tournament at Nanticoke.
District 31 10-11 Baseball
Back Mountain National destroyed its first three opponents by a total of 45-2, moving into position to likely appear in Monday’s championship game.
All five teams in the district compete in round-robin play, which was scheduled to conclude Saturday, to determine the two finalists.
Back Mountain National opened with a 15-2 romp over Exeter, then needed just four innings to win its next two games by shutout, defeating West Pittston, 10-0, and Northwest, 20-0.
District 31 9-10 Baseball
Back Mountain National rolled over two opponents to improve to 3-0 heading into its final Pool B game, which was scheduled for Thursday.
After handling Wyoming/West Wyoming, 24-5, in five innings July 3, Back Mountain shut out Harveys Lake, 10-0, Monday.
Graedon Finarelli led the win over Harveys Lake. Finarelli had three hits, including a homer and double, and drove in two runs. He also pitched and struck out five.
Brian Osipower was 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.
Shane Healey added three hits and two RBI while Lucas Schultz and Cole Morio each had two hits and an RBI. Cole Kaiser and Joe Shiskowski had a double and an RBI each.
Eli Ropietski had two hits for Harveys Lake.
Back Mountain American was the victim of a four-inning, no-hitter by Kingston/Forty Fort’s Jake Griffin in Wednesday’s 10-0 loss to fall to 2-1 in pool play.
In its previous game, Back Mountain American downed Wyoming/West Wyoming, 5-2.
Zack Paczewski allowed only one run on one hit in four innings while striking out six in the victory.
Brian Kwak, who scored a run, and Cody Delayo each had doubles.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the July 12 semifinals. The championship game is set for July 15.
District 31 Junior Baseball
Back Mountain defeated Greater Wyoming Area, 12-5, Tuesday at Dallas High School in the opening game of the three-team, double-elimination tournament.
The tournament concludes July 13, or July 15 if every team loses at least once and an additional game is needed.
