Sports

h.s. baseball

By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
Derek Levarse on Facebook   |   TLdlevarse on Twitter

WEST PITTSTON — Twice, the right fielder raced back. The wind was playing tricks with fly balls all afternoon, and it was worth a shot.

Twice, the ball carried over the fence anyway.

With first place in Division I of the Wyoming Valley Conference on the line, Mike Papi and Tunkhannock made a powerful statement. Papi hit two home runs and collected four RBI in the Tigers’ 9-4 win over Wyoming Area in a battle of unbeatens on Monday at Atlas Field.

The Tunkhannock junior hit a solo shot to get things started in the top of the first, and then delivered a backbreaking three-run blast in the sixth to put the Warriors away.

“Papi’s just a solid all-around player,” Tunkhannock coach Gary Custer said. “I expect great things from Mike, as I do a lot of these guys. But he’s stepping up. He’s batting in the three-hole, and he’s gonna hit. That’s why he’s there.”

He also came on the mound in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the final three outs of the game with two runners on.

But while Papi may have had the highlights, the Tigers (4-0) got a strong effort up and down the lineup, racking up 15 hits on the day.

Kyle Custer (3-for-5), Kyle Cavany (two doubles, RBI), Jason Strohl (3-for-4, double, two RBI) and Ryan Goodwin (2-for-4, RBI) all came through at the plate against three Wyoming Area pitchers.

Just as important as the quantity of the hits was the timeliness.

The Warriors (3-1) had surprised the Tigers in the fourth inning, as a deep line drive to left by Warriors catcher Kody Nowicki kept carrying and went out of the park for a two-out, three-run homer that tied the game at 3-3.

Tunkhannock answered immediately.

A two-run double by Strohl keyed a three-run top of the fifth for the Tigers to go back up by three. Corey Furman cut the lead to 6-4 with an RBI double in the home half of the fifth, but Papi answered with his second homer of the day in the sixth.

“Today was a breakout day for us, I thought,” Gary Custer said. “We strung it together today.”

Louis Sick earned the win on the mound, pitching six-plus innings and scattering seven hits. Chris Murphy took the loss for Wyoming Area.

It was the first time in four league games this season that an opponent forced the Warriors to go to their bullpen.

“They were the better team today. There’s no doubt about that,” Wyoming Area coach Chick Andrewscavage said. “They hit the ball well, they were very patient and they got the big hits. … They’re a very, very good team, Tunkhannock.”

2B – Cavany 2, Strohl, Furman; HR – Papi 2, Nowicki