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HUGHESTOWN — A run here, a break there and the Pittston Area softball team is looking at a bright start to its season.
Instead, the Patriots left Wednesday’s game on the wrong end of another close game and still seeking their first victory.
Meanwhile, Crestwood is off to a better start than last year thanks to its 3-2 victory over Pittston Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game.
Sydney Sobolewski snapped the 2-2 tie with an RBI single to left in the sixth inning as Crestwood improved to 2-1 in the WVC under new coach Adrienne Bannon, who coached Hazleton Area to the District 2 Class 4A championship in 2015 in her only season there. She was Adrienne Rebarchak back then.
“I wasn’t very familiar with last year’s team,” Bannon said. “But from our first game to now — a short week and a half — our defense looks great, we’re putting the ball in play, we don’t have a lot of strikeouts. We still have a mental error or two, but I think getting on the field and playing will get those kinks out.”
Pittston Area entered the season off a magical 2016 where the Patriots posted their first winning record since 2005 and played for the District 2 Class 3A championship. But youth has shown, especially at the plate where the Patriots have produced just four runs in their 0-3 start. The two other runs came in a 3-2 loss to Wyoming Valley West.
“We’re very young, very young,” Pittston Area coach Vito Quaglia said. “We’re not playing error free right now. And if you’re not playing error free and scoring only two runs, then you’re not going to do much.”
A Pittston Area error helped produce the winning run. Sarah Macko led off the sixth with a single to right. She was able to go from first to third on an error on Mady Heller’s sacrifice bunt. From there, Macko had an easy trot home when Sobolewski singled to left.
Luck wasn’t on Pittston Area’s side in the third when Crestwood scored twice.
With one out, Katie Thomas lifted a weak pop just over Pittston Area pitcher Nina Cencetti. The ball died in the no-man’s land behind Cencetti and the second-base bag, preventing the middle infielders from making a play. Thomas went to third on a single to right by Kayla Kulp. Kulp eventually scored when Haley Naperkowski blooped a single to short left just out of the reach of shortstop Lexi Felinski.
“I thought Nina pitched well,” Quaglia said. “A couple of their hits were just in between. They had one that fell just behind second base, one fell behind the pitcher. We had a couple errors. They did enough to win if you only score two runs.”
Pittston Area scored its runs in the sixth on an RBI triple to left by Alexa McHugh and a run-scoring double to center by Madisyn Antal.
Holy Redeemer 11,
Wyoming Area 9
Holy Redeemer rallied from an 8-0 deficit in the fifth inning to defeat Wyoming Area in an exhibition game.
Brittany Hebda homered and knocked in four runs for the Royals, who scored seven times in the fifth and tacked on four more in the sixth. Pitcher Morgan Bienkowski struck out 11.
Gwen Glatz drove in three runs for Wyoming Area.
Hanover Area 10,
MMI Prep 0
Winning pitcher Sarah Tuzinski struck out seven and was 2 for 3 at the plate in Hanover Area’s five-inning win.
Tiffany Eustice and Karly Bennett added three hits each.
Berwick 8,
Northwest 3
Shea Petty had three hits and an RBI in Berwick’s exhibition win over Northwest. Brooke Stout doubled and had an RBI.
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Crestwood 3, Pittston Area 2
Crestwood`AB`R`H`BI
Kulp cf`4`1`2`1
Murphy 3b`3`0`2`1
Naprkwski p`4`0`1`1
Macko ss`4`1`1`0
Heller 3b`2`0`1`0
Sobolwski c`2`0`2`1
Waite dp`2`0`0`0
Traficnte 1b`3`0`0`0
Thomas rf`3`1`1`0
Dow lf`1`0`0`0
Totals`28`3`10`3
Pitt. Area`AB`R`H`BI
Para lf`3`1`1`0
Felinski ss`3`0`2`0
McHugh 1b`3`1`1`1
Cencetti p`3`0`0`0
Antal 3b`3`0`1`1
Ashby cf`2`0`1`0
Kivler rf`3`0`0`0
Quaglia 2b`2`0`0`0
Williams pr`0`0`0`0
Loyack c`3`0`0`0
Totals`25`2`6`2
Crestwood`002`001`0`—`3
Pittston Area`000`002`0`—`2
2B — Sobolewski, Antal. 3B — McHugh.
Crestwood`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Naperkowski (W)`7.0`6`2`2`1`1
Pitt. Area`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Cencetti (L)`7.0`10`3`2`0`6
Hanover Area 10, MMI Prep 0 (5 inn.)
Hanover Area`302`32`—`10
MMI Prep`000`00`—`0
Top hitters: HA, Tiffany Eustice 3-4, 2 runs; Karly Bennett 3-3, 3 runs; Sarah Tuzinski 2-3, double, 2 runs; Lauren Blazaskie 1-3, double, run. MMI: Julia Snyder 1-2, Olivia Minzola 1-2, Katharine Pinto 1-2.
