Gina Chieffalo delivers during the District 2 AAA championship last June.

File photo

The Scranton baseball and Valley View softball teams have the distinction of being defending champions on both the division and district level.

The Knights and Cougars also enter the season with the advantage of having several of the key players in those championship runs returning.

Scranton returns almost all of its pitching, along with two of the league’s most feared hitters.

Valley View lost almost half its lineup, but remains strong up the middle, including returning the pitcher from a state semifinalist team.

Lackawanna County has three other defending champion teams in baseball.

Valley View won Division 2 and Lackawanna Trail Division 3 of the Lackawanna League last year before Old Forge claimed the District 2 Class A title.

Old Forge also won a District 2 title in softball.

The Lackawanna League is set to begin baseball and softball play Monday with a schedule that features Scranton at Scranton Prep and Abington Heights at Delaware Valley in Division I, Valley View at Lakeland in Division 2, and Lackawanna Trail at Elk Lake in Division 3 in both sports.

BASEBALL

Scranton has won the last two Lackawanna Division 1 titles and the last two District 2 Class AAAA championships. The Knights, however, fell short of the state tournament last season when they lost to Williamsport in the combined District 2-4 Class AAAA final.

Division 1 produced state champions in Delaware Valley on the AAAA level in 2007 and Abington Heights on the AAA level in 2009.

“The first goal is you want to win the league you’re playing in,” Scranton coach Jamie Higgins said. “We have a pretty tough league, going back five or six years with Delaware Valley winning the state title and pushing the bar up for everyone, and since then Abington.

“There are good teams in our division, so to win that is the first goal. We also want to do well in districts and try to get back to where we were two years ago – get past districts into the state tournament.”

Leading that quest is center fielder/pitcher Joe McCarthy, a four-year starter who has already committed to play at the University of Virginia, one of the nation’s top programs.

“He’ll be in the same role as last year,” Higgins said. “He was our go-to guy, hitting in the three hole, where the best hitter bats, playing center field and helping us on the mound.”

D.J. Navoczynski will move from shortstop to join McCarthy in the outfield and will also pitch. Navoczynski plans to play in the outfield at Lackawanna College.

Tanner Schmidt, Mike Miller, and McCarthy were the team’s top pitchers last year.

Catcher John Tizur, second baseman Matt Harte, first baseman/outfielder Noah Laske, and outfielder Eric Pabst also return.

North Pocono and Delaware Valley appear to be the top threats to the Knights.

North Pocono returns four of the top five hitters in the order from a .500 team last year.

Shortstop Joe Runco, who has committed to Division I Fordham, is back along with Billy Nelson, Joe Kaspar, and Joey Graspy. Nelson and Kaspar were the top two pitchers.

Infielder/pitcher Tim Knesnik leads the way for Delaware Valley.

Abington Heights, which finished third, and West Scranton, which lost a playoff game to Scranton for the division title, could be the best of the rest.

Abington Heights returns just three starters in Robbie Ayre, Kevin Elwell, and Dante Pasqualichio, but has a total of 10 seniors on the roster, many with some experience. All three returning starters can help the team on the mound.

Dan Repshis, an outfielder who is headed to Lackawanna, and infielder/pitcher Mike Zaccheo are the top returnees for West Scranton.

George Roskos takes over as the new head coach.

The pitching of Jordan Meyer could give Honesdale an edge over the division’s other teams, Scranton Prep and Wallenpaupack.

Valley View returns just about its entire lineup – other than pitching – from the team that went 13-1 and beat Old Forge by two games for the Division 2 title.

“We’ll have all new pitching,” Cougars coach Jason Munley said. “We have only seven innings of varsity experience among our pitchers.”

Senior shortstop Brian Lalli returns after leading the team in hitting.

If the Cougars can solve the pitching questions, they could be set up for the long haul. Four juniors and three sophomores already have starting experience from last year. First baseman John Kranick, second baseman Liam Callejas, outfielder Billy Williams, designated hitter/first baseman Matt Staback, catcher Rob Nardelli, third baseman Colin Freeman, and center fielder Connor Kranick all return.

Old Forge has a different look. The Blue Devils lost some starters around the field but return Dave Chromey, Derek Drasba, and Ian Nemetz, who combined to go 7-1 as pitchers.

Dave Argust is back after leading the team in hitting.

Mid Valley and Lakeland could be particularly tough when their top pitchers Nick Demian and Eric Grabowski are on the mound.

Tyler Brady, one of five starters back for Lakeland, returns to catcher from the outfield. He played catcher for the Chiefs as a freshman.

Riverside, Dunmore, Holy Cross, and Carbondale complete the division.

Lackawanna Trail returns senior pitcher/first baseman Stephen Miller, senior outfielder Matt Aten, senior catcher Ben Lehman, junior outfielder Vic Rosa, and sophomore pitcher/first baseman/outfielder Matt Flynn from the starting lineup of its championship team.

The threats to the Lions could come from Mountain View, , Montrose, Blue Ridge, or Western Wayne.

Elk Lake, Susquehanna, and Forest City complete the division.

SOFTBALL

Valley View went unbeaten into the state Class AAA semifinal last year before losing, 1-0, to Manheim Central.

Junior pitcher Gina Chieffalo is back along with shortstop Liz Aniska, second baseman MollyAnn Mecca, and catcher Anna McElroy. Aniska and Mecca are the top two returning hitters.

Lakeland lost just three starters and has seven seniors in key roles as it tries to move into contention.

Casey Pearce had a strong freshman season at third base.

Old Forge went from seventh in the division to winning its fourth straight district title.

The Lady Devils were hit hard by graduation for the second straight year but do return junior center Chelsea Cadwalder and sophomore outfielders Lauren Casey and Taylor Nemetz.

Kim Regan is back after spending half of last season as the pitcher.

Riverside and Dunmore joined Valley View and Lakeland with winning records in Division 2 last season.

Carbondale, Holy Cross, and Mid Valley round out the division.

Scranton Prep and Abington Heights were second and third last season behind Wallenpaupack, which won the Division 1 title and a District 2 Class AAAA championship.

North Pocono, Delaware Valley, West Scranton, Honesdale, and Scranton complete the division.

Lackawanna Trail has catcher Molly Van Duzer back after missing last season with an injury. She joins six other players with starting experience to potentially move the Lady Lions up through the standings.

Perennial powers Elk Lake and Blue Ridge figure to be the favorites in Division 3.

Montrose could also be a factor in the title race.

Mountain View, Forest City, Western Wayne, and Susquehanna are the rest of the Division 3 teams.