Pittston Area starter Elijah Barr pitched a complete game as the Patriots advanced to the District 2 Class 5A championship game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area second baseman Zack Budzak (11) tosses to Gavin Wardecki (23) to get Abington Heights’ Noah Kayal out at first base.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Abington Heights catcher Cooper Cottell fights the wind before running down a popup in foul territory.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area third baseman Alex Rosencrance short hops the ball before tossing out Abington Heights’ Cody Brown in the sixth inning.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area shortstop Beau Widdick throws to first after fielding a grounder.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Beau Widdick was 2-for-4 at the plate and scored a run.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
HUGHESTOWN — A pitching matchup of two Division I recruits anticipated all season never materialized Friday afternoon.
Instead, Pittston Area’s Elijah Barr performed as a soloist.
Barr shut down Abington Heights for all but one inning and the Patriots cobbled together more than enough offense to defeat Abington Heights 6-2 in a District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
Barr, a Pitt recruit, needed just 83 pitches for the complete-game win. He struck out five and surrendered two hits, both coming in the fourth when Abington scored its two runs.
“It’s the same thing going on. Going out there and doing what I could,” Barr said before he and his teammates bolted to get ready for the prom Friday night. “I let all the work I put in take over and I trust my guys behind me.”
Top-seeded Pittston Area (18-3) will play third-seeded Dallas (16-6) for the championship on Thursday at a time and site to be determined. Pittston Area won the regular-season matchups 11-1 and 4-3.
Hopes were that Barr would be matched up against Abington pitcher Nick Bradley, who is headed to Auburn. The two faced each other in the D2-5A championship game a year ago. Bradley, though, pitched in the quarterfinals and was ineligible to throw, so the Comets turned elsewhere.
Pittston Area had some early troubles against Abington starter Grayson Locker. The Patriots received an RBI single from Nick Innamorati in the second inning before an RBI double by Zach Budzak in the fourth knotted the score at 2-2.
The Pittston Area bats came alive in the fifth. Elijah Barr and Jacoby Harnen opened with singles. Joshua Barr then brought home a run on a groundout. Dom Salvo and Gavin Wardecki followed with singles, with Wardecki’s hit up the middle giving the Patriots a 4-2 lead. Wardecki finished 3-for-3.
The Patriots tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Beau Widdick doubled and scored on two botched pickoff attempts. Harnen singled in the other run.
The bottom half of the batting order produced three of Pittston Area’s five RBI and two of three doubles.
“I love every part of our order, to be honest with you,” Pittston Area coach Paul Zaffuto said. “I don’t think there’s a weakness. When they try to go to sleep on our six-through-nine, our six-through-nine guys can make you hurt just like anybody else.”
Barr retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and 10 of the last 11, with both streaks interrupted by walks.
“He’s phenomenal on the mound,” Abington coach Bill Zalewski said. “He gets a lot of groundballs and they are very good defensively.”
District 2 Class 5A Semifinals
Pittston Area 6, Abington Heights 2
Abington Hts.`AB`R`H`BI
Brown 2b`3`0`0`0
Bradley 3b`3`1`1`0
Gonzalez cf`2`1`0`0
Cottell c`3`0`0`0
Goldberg rf`2`0`1`1
Kayal lf`3`0`0`0
Patel 1b`3`0`0`0
Dougherty dh`2`0`0`0
Locker p`0`0`0`0
Moran cf`0`0`0`0
O’Malley p`0`0`0`0
Zalewski ss`2`0`0`0
Totals`23`2`2`1
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Widdick ss`4`1`2`0
E.Barr p`2`0`1`0
Tonte cr`0`2`0`0
Harnen c`4`0`2`1
Bernardi cr`0`1`0`0
J.Barr dh`2`0`0`1
Rosencrance 3b`0`0`0`0
Salvo lf`4`0`1`0
Wardecki 1b`3`1`3`1
Bartorillo pr`0`1`0`0
Bradley rf`3`0`0`0
Budzak 2b`3`0`1`1
Innamorati 2b`3`0`1`1
Totals`28`6`11`5
Abington Heights`000`200`0 — 2
Pittston Area`010`122`x — 6
2B — Widdick, Wardecki, Budzak.
Abington Hts.`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Locker (L)`4.1`9`4`4`0`2
Gonzalez`1.1`2`2`1`1`0
O’Malley`0.2`0`0`0`1`0
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Barr (W)`7`2`2`0`2`5
