Caleb Pavinski’s clutch pitching performance extended the most successful season in Greater Pittston Senior American Legion Baseball by at least one more day.
Pavinski worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the seventh inning to finish off a two-hit shutout in which he struck out five and walked three while leading Greater Pittston past Maryland state champion Funkstown 5-0 in an elimination game at the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Worcester, Mass.
“Giving up two hits to a team that went 5-0 in its state tournament is pretty impressive,” Greater Pittston manager Steve Homza said in a phone interview. “He just kept them off balance all game and got ahead of hitters.
“Going into the last inning, he threw just 65 pitches.”
With the Maryland and Connecticut champions out, just four teams remain in contention for a spot at nationals in North Carolina.
If Greater Pittston wins its first game Saturday against the Kingston/Saugerties team from New York, it will play again Saturday night.
Pavinski finished with 57 strikes on 96 pitches.
“We debated on who to throw,” Homza said. “Caleb is a huge reason why we are in this tournament, so I said, ‘Let’s give him a shot.’ We went out with a plan that if he got in trouble, we were going to go to someone else.
“He never got in trouble.”
Greater Pittston scored once in the first, third and fourth innings and two runs in the sixth.
Silvio Giardina scored the first two runs. He was hit by a pitch and scored on an error in the first. Giardina then led off the third with a double and scored on a Gavin Wardecki sacrifice fly.
Prestyn Reeves, one of three Greater Pittston batters to be hit by pitches in the fourth inning, scored on a passed ball.
The first four Greater Pittston batters reached in the sixth.
Reeves walked and moved up when Zach Budzak and Nick Innamorati singled.
Beau Widdick’s single scored Reeves and Budzak.
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