H.S. Baseball: Wyoming Area routs MMI, pulls off triple play in win

WEST PITTSTON — The start of Wyoming Area’s baseball season looked a lot like 2023. And that wasn’t a good thing.

The Warriors, coming off a 4-16 record and no postseason, lost their first five games. Since then, they’ve been on a roll and it continued Friday against MMI Prep.

Wyoming Area used all resources available to scored 12 times in two innings on the way to a 12-1 five-inning win over the Preppers in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game. The Warriors also had a triple play in the fourth inning.

Wyoming Area (7-2 Div. 2, 9-7 overall) kept pace with first-place Holy Redeemer (9-2 Div. 2, 13-3). The teams play Tuesday at Wyoming Area. The Warriors have won seven of their last eight games.

“As a staff, we kind expected that,” Wyoming Area coach Rob Lemoncelli said of the slow start. “We brought up a bunch of freshmen. We have a couple sophomores out there roaming around for the first time and we had to get a combination down that worked for us, that worked to our strong suits.”

First the defensive gem before the offensive resourcefulness.

MMI Prep loaded the bases in the fourth with no outs on two singles and a walk. Wyoming Area shortstop Brady Noone then speared a low liner near his ankles. He then tagged second for the second out and threw to third for the third out.

Now on to the offense.

Wyoming Area scored its 12 runs using five hits, five walks, five hit batters, a couple wild pitches, a couple errors and some alert base running.

There was a lot of unpack in a nine-run second inning as Wyoming Area sent 13 batters to the plate. David Fath had a two-run single, Matt Rusinchak and Tom Carlin drew a bases-loaded walks and Alex Vacula was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Four more runs scored when Mitchell Rusinchak and Jacob Snyder were batting on either throwing errors or wild pitches. Carlin and Mitchell Rusinchak started the inning with singles up the middle.

MMI took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Zach Yenchko crushed a home run to left-center field. Wyoming Area scored three times in the bottom of the frame with Noone knocking in two runs with an infield single.

MMI (3-4 Div. 1, 6-6) won’t have much time to dwell on the loss. The Preppers host Wyoming Area at 11 a.m. Saturday in a game that was rained out April 3.

“We always talk about enjoying a victory for only a little bit,” Lemoncelli said. “I told the guys to enjoy this one until 6:30, but don’t worry (MMI) is going to come ready to play tomorrow. Nobody likes to get their butt handed to them on the road, so I’m sure when we go up there they will be ready to play and give us a really tough game.”

Wyoming Area 12, MMI Prep 1 (5 inn.)

MMI Prep`AB`R`H`BI

Burns ss`3`0`0`0

Skuba rf-p`2`0`0`0

Radzwich rf`0`0`0`0

Yenchko lf`1`1`1`1

Lopez-Rodriguez lf`1`0`0`0

Williams p-rf`2`0`1`0

Drobnock 1b`1`0`0`0

Pantages cf`2`0`1`0

Pesotine 3b`1`0`0`0

Lispi p`1`0`0`0

Horvat 2b`1`0`0`0

Lutz ph`1`0`0`0

Totals`18`1`4`1

Wyoming Area`AB`R`H`BI

Snyder cf`0`2`0`0

Donati lf`0`0`0`0

Ma.Rusinchak lf`1`1`0`1

Vacula dh`0`2`0`1

Yatsko 3b`0`0`0`0

Fath 2b`2`2`1`2

Noone ss`3`0`1`2

Layland c`1`0`1`1

Spiecher 1b`3`0`0`0

Carlin p`2`0`1`1

Mi.Rusinchak rf`1`2`1`0

Calvey rf`1`2`0`0

Krogulski 3b`0`1`0`0

Dymond cr`0`0`0`0

Totals`14`12`5`8

MMI Prep`100`00 — 1

Wyoming Area`390`0x — 12

HR — Yenchko.

MMI Prep`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Williams (L)`1.0`5`9`9`3`0

Skuba`0.2`0`3`1`2`1

Lispi`1.1`0`0`0`1`0

Frask`1.0`0`0`0`0`1

Wyoming Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO

Carlin (W)`5`4`1`1`1`5