GLENBURN TWP. — Abington used its District 17 championship to land the host role for the 9-11-year-old Section 5 Little League Baseball Tournament.
The hosts went 1-2 July 7-10 to finish third in the four-team, double-elimination event that was won by Back Mountain.
Abington won the Section 5 opener to reach the winners’ bracket final, but then lost twice in a row, falling 15-2 to Carbino Club and 10-2 to Back Mountain.
Abington 13, Greater Pittston Area 3
Winning pitcher Evan Ross led a 13-hit attack with a triple, single and two runs scored in the July 7 Section 5 opener.
Ross limited GPA to one hit in four scoreless innings. He struck out two without walking a batter.
The game was scoreless until Abington came up with a run in the third, followed by four in the fourth, two in the fifth and six in the sixth.
Trailing 13-0, GPA had four of its six hits while scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Murphy Lyle had a two-run triple in the fourth and finished with three RBI.
Vincie Pricci, Billy Dempsey and Aiden Duffy joined Ross with two hits each. Dempsey, Ross, Peter Adair and Grayden Kane scored twice each.
Carbino Club 15, Abington 2
Carbino Club won the winners’ bracket final July 8 in five innings.
Evan Ross doubled for Abington’s only extra-base hit.
Billy Dempsey led off the bottom of the third with a single and scored Abington’s first run.
Bradley McDonald singled and drove in the second run.
Carbino Club took a 9-0 lead with six runs in the third and finished it off early on the 10-run rule with the help of five runs in the fifth.
Kody Malinoski doubled, scored three times and drove in three runs for the winners.
Back Mountain 10, Abington 2
Abington’s season ended July 10 with its second straight loss in the Section 5 Tournament.
Peter Adair and Caleb Engerman. Each had a hit and a run scored in the loss. Adair’s hit was a double.
Evan Ross struck out four while not allowing an earned run in three innings of relief.
Abington 5, South Scranton 3
Abington won the District 17 title July 1 with a 5-3 victory over South Scranton in the third meeting of the district’s top two teams, who had split the previous two games.
Vincie Pricci put out the fire early and kept the South Scranton offense from ever reigniting.
South Scranton had already scored in each of the first two innings when Pricci came on in relief with Abington trailing 2-0 and facing a bases-loaded situation with one out. He allowed only one of the inherited runners to score then shut out South Scranton the rest of the way.
Pricci worked 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and holding South Scranton to two runs and three walks. Abington ended the top of the fifth inning with a double play and Pricci worked a 1-2-3 sixth.
Abington won with a four-run third inning, started by an Evan Ross leadoff home run.
Bradley McDonald singled and scored. Murphy Lyle singled in the tying run and two runs scored on fielder’s choices.
McDonald singled again to drive in the last run in the third. Carson Walsh tripled in the first inning, then reached on an error to start the third and scored on McDonald’s hit.
