PIttston Area pitcher Gianna Adams, right, gets a hug from her catcher Julia Cocco before getting mobbed by her teammates after Adams fired a no-hit game against South Western on Monday at Pine Grove High School to catapult the Patriots into the PIAA 5A final for the second time in three years.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Patriot shortstop Sam Herbert scoops up South Western’s Riley Crowl’s grounder for an out Monday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Right fielder Gabby Roman made an extra-base saving catch off of South Western’s Riley Crowl.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Patriot Gabby Gorzkowski had a hot bat getting two hits on the day against South Western in PIAA 5A semifinal at Pine Grove on Monday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Patriots’ Julia Long is safe as she slides on the outside of home plate getting by the tag from South Western catcher Kinsley Proepper scoring the first run for Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area second baseman Julia Long snags a ground ball before tossing South Western’s Remi Yates out at first base.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Lili Hintze led off the game in the first inning for the Patriots with a double. Hintze had two hits in the victory over South Western on Monday in Pine Grove.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
PIttston Area pitcher Gianna Adams pitched her way back at a chance for another PIAA 5A State title game after downing an undefeated South Western team at Pine Grove by tossing another season no hitter.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
PINE GROVE — Excellence has become the norm for Gianna Adams, so much so that Pittston Area’s senior ace didn’t even realize until after Monday’s game that she had added another no-hitter to her long, decorated resume.
But with a trip to the state title game on the line, against a loaded South Western lineup, Adams did exactly that — no hits, just a handful of walks, and 10 strikeouts to pitch her Patriots back to Penn State.
Pittston Area punched their ticket to the Class 5A state championship with a 2-0 win over the District 3 champs South Western at Pine Grove High School, handing the Mustangs their first and only loss of the year in the process.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, this is what we’ve been planning toward and striving toward,” Adams said. “I’m so glad that we’re going back (to the state finals).”
Critical to the success of Adams, and Pittston’s success as a whole, was a great defensive effort by the Patriots, with several key plays made around the diamond to preserve the no-hitter and, in a close game, keep South Western from getting back in the game.
The loudest of those plays came in the fifth inning, with the Patriots leading 2-0. Remi Yates led off the inning for the Mustangs with a leadoff walk, and moved to second on a sac bunt.
With one out, Riley Crowl roped one-out drive to right field, a run-scoring double for sure — if not for a fantastic catch by Gabby Roman, making the over-the-shoulder grab and having the presence of mind to keep the runner from even advancing to third, let alone scoring.
“You just have to turn and burn, and run. … That’s what I did,” Roman said. “I kind of read it wrong, I ran in and then I sprinted back.”
The defensive effort looked even more impressive when compared to South Western, who made six errors that allowed both Pittston Area runs to score off of Mustangs pitcher Jayda Koontz.
Both of those runs were scored by freshman second baseman Julia Long, one in the third inning and one in the fifth.
In the third, Long reached on an error by the South Western second baseman, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lili Hintze and scored when a hard-hit grounder from Adams got through the legs of Mustangs first baseman Kelsey Smith.
Long would reach again to lead off the fifth inning on another South Western error, and scored all the way from first after a bad throw sailed past Smith and into right field, the sixth and final Mustang error of the day.
“I just wanted to make contact, make sure that the ball goes into play. … They may make mistakes, you never know,” Long said.
The Patriots only had five hits on the day — including two each from Hintze and Gabby Gorzkowski — but took advantage of the South Western miscues to full effect.
“The at-bats were great. … If you put the ball in play, they have to make the plays,” Pittston Area head coach Frank Parente said. “I was proud of the girls putting the ball in play so much today.”
The second run came in after a fourth inning that saw South Western load the bases on three walks with just one out, as Adams’ command seemed to get a bit shaky on her.
After a rare mound visit from Parente, Adams got right back to work. She stranded all three runners with a strikeout and a flyout to center.
In total, Adams issued five free passes — the only way Mustang hitters could find their way aboard on Monday.
“Gianna wasn’t her best today, that’s how special she is,” Parente said. “She threw a no-hitter in the state semifinal, and she didn’t have her best stuff. … The kid is amazing.”
On Thursday, Pittston Area will head back to the same field where they won the state championship in 2022 and try to do it again. The Patriots will play District 7’s Thomas Jefferson, after Jefferson beat Central Mountain in the other Class 5A semifinal.
The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at Nittany Lion Softball Park on the campus of Penn State University.
PIAA Class 5A Semifinals
Pittston Area 2, South Western 0
Pittston Area`AB`R`H`BI
Hintze cf`4`0`2`0
Adams p`4`0`0`0
Ta. Stephenson cr`0`0`0`0
Herbert ss`4`0`0`0
Antal lf`4`0`0`0
Mehal dp`3`0`0`0
Gorzkowski 1b`3`0`2`0
To. Stephenson 3b`3`0`1`0
Haas ph`0`0`0`0
Roman rf`3`0`0`0
Long 2b`3`2`0`0
Totals`31`2`5`0
South Western`AB`R`H`BI
Bateman cf`2`0`0`0
Gonzalez dp`2`0`0`0
El. Baney ph`1`0`0`0
Proepper c`2`0`0`0
Koontz p`2`0`0`0
Yates lf`2`0`0`0
Harden 3b`3`0`0`0
Smith 1b`2`0`0`0
Fair pr`0`0`0`0
Em. Baney 2b`3`0`0`0
Crowl ss`2`0`0`0
Totals`21`0`0`0
Pittston Area`001`010`0 — 2
South Western`000`000`0 — 0
2B — Hintze.
Pittston Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Adams (W)`7`0`0`0`5`10
South Western`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Koontz (L)`7`5`2`0`0`6