Abington Heights put together a four-game winning streak in the middle of April, allowing the Comets to enter the final 2½ weeks of the regular season within range of the top teams in both the Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2-4 Class 5A Subregional baseball.
The Comets entered May with a 6-2 division record, behind only North Pocono. The teams are scheduled to meet in the May 17 regular-season finale at North Pocono where the Comets will try to avenge a 5-2, home loss to the Trojans.
North Pocono (8-0 in the division, 11-1 overall) is also leading the race for the top seed in the subregional.
Abington Heights is 8-4 overall and trailing two other teams in the subregional ratings race. Pittston Area is 11-2 and District 4’s Selinsgrove is 11-3.
The Comets are likely to land a home field in at least the subregional quarterfinals as long as they hold off three teams that began May one game below .500.
Comets coach Bill Zalewski would like his team to be aiming higher than that.
“There’s a lot of good teams in 5A,” Zalewski said in a preseason interview. “We’ll compete all year and hope to get hot at the end of the year.”
Jake Lenahan has led both the offense and the pitching staff.
Lenahan has the team’s highest batting average (.424), on-base percentage (.556) and slugging percentage (.606). He is also 2-1 with a save, 42 strikeouts in 32 innings and an 0.66 earned run average.
The team’s top three pitchers all have well over a strikeout per inning with ERAs below 3.00.
Brodie Robertson is 3-1 with a save, 30 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. Conner Griffin is 2-2 with 19 strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA in 16 innings.
Griffin, who has 12 RBI, and Tate Pentasuglio, who has 12 runs scored and seven stolen bases, are both batting .375.
Mark Nazar leads the team with 13 RBI.
Garrett Pietryka leads with two triples and shares the lead of three doubles.
Recap
Pentasuglio went 3-for-3 with two runs scored while Robertson struck out five while finishing up with three hitless, scoreless innings in a 6-4 win over Scranton April 26 in the team’s most recent outing. … The winning streak was all within Division 1, giving the Comets a chance to tie for the division lead when they faced North Pocono the first time. The wins came 4-0 over Scranton Prep, 13-1 over West Scranton, 5-2 over Wallenpaupack and 15-4 over Delaware Valley. … Lenahan threw a three-hit shutout with a walk and 10 strikeouts against Scranton Prep. … An eight-run fifth inning ended the West Scranton game there with Robertson and Charlie Hamm combining on a one-hitter. … Lenahan struck out 12 and did not allow an earned run in a three-hitter against Wallenpaupack when the Comets rallied after facing a 2-0 deficit through 2½ innings. … Nazar and Pentasuglio each drove in three runs against Delaware Valley when the Comets followed up five runs in the fourth with four each in the fifth and sixth to win early on the 10-run rule.
