Abington National swept South Scranton in a best-of-3 series to win the District 17 Junior League baseball championship.
“I’m very impressed with our team; we truly have hitters from top to bottom,” Abington National manager Ryan Mitvalsky said. “This may be one of the most sound teams I’ve coached. Our defense is tough and all of our players are hitting the ball hard.”
Abington National defeated South Scranton, 18-1, in Game 1 July 6 at Ackerly Fields in Glenburn Township.
Michael Stanton had two singles and a double, and Dominic Selvenis, Camden Vaughn and Cole Vida each had a single and double for Abington to back winning pitcher Brodie Robertson.
Paul Gammaitoni had a single for South.
Abington National topped South Scranton, 15-2, in Game 2 July 9 at Ackerly Fields.
Winning pitcher Noah O’Malley struck out three batters and had two hits at the plate. Colin Davis came in to finish the game on the mound and also had two singles for Abington. Gavin Myers and Cole Vida each had a double, Gavin Lacoe had a triple, and Andrew Albright, Xander Davis, and Dominic Selvenis each had a single for National.
Gordon Kopa had two singles and Paul Gammatori had a double for South Scranton.
Mitvalsky also coached the 2017 Abington Junior League All-Star team that lost in the championship game to Back Mountain Little League.
“We are hoping to get back to the Section 5 championship game and, of course, hope for a better result this year,” Mitvalsky said.
Abington National scored 31 runs during the district tournament, while only allowing three.
“Our boys are having fun and playing relaxed,” Mitvalsky said. “Our goal, at this point, is to win our sectional tournament.”
Next up for Abington National is the Section 5 Tournament which will be played in the Wyoming Valley area. National will get started at 3 p.m. July 18 against the District 16 winner. The winner of the Section 5 double-elimination tournament will head toward Pittsburgh for the Pennsylvania State Tournament at the end of July.