THROOP — Dickson City defeated Abington, 5-1, in the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game July 16 at Joseph F. Merva Field at Washington Street Park.

Brendan Kucharski’s RBI single gave Dickson City a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Dickson City struck for three runs in the bottom of the third.

Craig Mercanti and JJ Glinsky led off the inning with doubles and R.J. Gouldsbury was walked intentionally to load the bases.

Runs scored when Corey Pezak was hit by a pitch and Kucharski walked with the bases loaded. John Mandarano followed with an RBI single.

Ryan Burke led off the top of the fourth inning with a single for Abington’s first hit, and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Vinny Vaccaro.

Dan Habeeb reached on an error and T.J. Lacey singled during the fourth, but both were left started on second and third as Dickson City pitcher Anthony Colvin worked out of a jam.

Colvin allowed just four hits while striking out five batters over seven innings of work to earn the win.

“He’s our ace and he knows how to pitch through those things,” Dickson City manager Scott Donlin said. “He’s our number one for a reason; that’s why we threw him out there.”

Dickson City tacked on its final run in the bottom of the fifth when Gouldsbury advanced to third base on a hard hit ball to center field and scored on an RBI single by Pezak.

“R.J., Pezak and Brendan are our big dogs,” Donlin said. “They carry us and they did it again today.”

Abington manager Vincent Vaccaro believes a grueling scheduling took its toll on the squad.

“We’ve played a lot of tough games the past couple weeks,” he said. “Every single game and every single inning was hard fought. We seemed to run out of gas.”

Abington will play Swoyersville in the opening game of the Region 5 Tournament at 1 p.m. July 20 at Washington Street Park.

“We’re going to rest a couple of days, and try to regroup and put a strong performance out like we’ve been doing all year,” Vaccaro said. “We’ve been pitching well and playing defense, and that’s what we’ll need to do in the next round.”

Abington’s Nick Termini takes a swing during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game July 16. Dickson City won the game, 5-1.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_ABJ-Legion-baseball-1.jpg.optimal.jpgAbington’s Nick Termini takes a swing during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game July 16. Dickson City won the game, 5-1. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Abington’s Vinny Vaccaro delivers a pitch during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game against Dickson City July 16.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_ABJ-Legion-baseball-2.jpg.optimal.jpgAbington’s Vinny Vaccaro delivers a pitch during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game against Dickson City July 16. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

Abington’s Conor Newman squares up to bunt during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game July 16. Dickson City won, 5-1.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_ABJ-Legion-baseball-3.jpg.optimal.jpgAbington’s Conor Newman squares up to bunt during the District 11 American Legion baseball championship game July 16. Dickson City won, 5-1. Robert Tomkavage | Abington Journal

By Robert Tomkavage

rtomkavage@timesleader.com

Reach Robert Tomkavage at 570-704-3941 or on Twitter @rtomkavage.