Dallas coach Mike Viglone congratulates senior center fielder Joe Peters after hitting a home run earlier this season. The Mountaineers are one win away from a return to the state finals.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Times Leader
Come some time Monday either Dallas or Archbishop Wood will know the feeling of falling just short.
Wood knows it all too well as the two teams play at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the PIAA Class 4A baseball semifinals at DeSales University in Center Valley. Tickets are $8 — plus, of course, a processing fee that jacks up the price to $9.51 for a single ticket — and are available only online at piaa.org. No tickets will be sold at the field.
District 12 champion Wood (18-6) lost in last year’s Class 5A state semifinal 2-1 in nine innings to Selinsgrove. The Vikings were reclassified as a 4A team for this season and next.
Four starters are back from last season, including top hitters Brian Klumpp (.443, 2 HRs, 17 RBI) and Daniel Tiburco (.412, 3 HRs, 35 RBI). Both are seniors. Next in line is junior Patrick Gozdan (.411, 4 HRs, 21 RBI). Five others in the batting order are hitting between .360-.381.
Tiburco, Braden Kelly and Logan Piesztrzak led the offensive assault in a 9-1 quarterfinal win over District 4 runner-up Montoursville. The Vikings scored six runs in the fifth to seize control. They used a nine-run first to defeat D1 champ Pope John Paul 15-5 in the first round.
Senior Joey Gale, a St. Joe’s recruit, is Wood’s top pitcher with a 6-0 record and a 1.98 ERA. He started the state opener while sophomore Mason Burlingame started the quarterfinals. Burlingame threw just 68 pitches in five innings. The entire staff will be eligible per PIAA pitching rules.
Dallas (17-7) will also have everyone available. Junior Sam Barrouk threw 106 pitches in the 6-0 quarterfinal win over D3 runner-up Hanover. The Mountaineers also have a couple of very capable senior hurlers in Dusty Shaver and Gary Weaver.
The offense is led mainly by the top of the order — Gavin Adamski, Zach Paczewski, Joe Peters and Dylan Geskey — although Dallas has solid hitters one through nine. There are a couple concerns, perhaps minor but concerns nonetheless.
First, Dallas was on the verge of blowing open the game against Hanover. But after scoring three times in the first, the Mountaineers managed single runs in innings two through four. They stranded eight runners in scoring position.
Secondly, Dallas hasn’t faced an opponent’s No. 1 pitcher since the District 2 title game nearly two weeks ago. First-round opponent Nueva Esperanza didn’t have a quality pitcher (Wood defeated Esperanza 22-0 in the D12 title game). Hanover had to use its No. 2 pitcher after its ace was needed to get out of the first round.
The winner moves to the state championship game against the winner of the game between D6 champion Bellefonte (18-5) and D7 champ Hopewell (14-11). The title game is 1:30 p.m. Friday at Penn State.
SOFTBALL UPDATE
Two District 2 teams will be playing in semifinal games Monday.
District 2 Class 5A champion Abington Heights (19-7) faces District 3 champ Northern York (22-4) at 6 p.m. at Patriots Park in Allentown.
District 2 Class 3A champion Mid Valley (21-2) plays District 11 champion Palisades (24-2) at 4 p.m. at Bloomsburg University.
