Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WVALL champ Greater Pittston has won three regional titles since 2002.
Plains’ Ryan Sod loses the ball as Greater Pittston’s Cody Nowicki slides safely into second during the WVALL title series.
Fred adams/for the times leader
The Wyoming Valley American Legion League is on quite a streak when it comes to the Region 5 Tournament.
For the last eight years a team from the WVALL has played in the regional championship game and won the tournament six times.
Today at Mountain Post the team that started the streak in 2002, Greater Pittston, and Mountain Post will try to keep the streak going. Greater Pittston (20-4), the league champion, opens its regional title quest at 10 a.m. against Valley View. Greater Pittston won the Region 5 title from 2002-04 and made it to the finals in 2005.
The host team, Mountain Post (9-10), which is participating in the event for the third time in four years, begins tournament play today at 4:30 p.m. against Bradford League champion Canton. Both WVALL teams are trying to advance to Wednesday’s championship game. The regional champion moves to the state tournament in Boyertown July 27-31.
By finishing seventh in the league, Mountain Post did not qualify for the WVALL playoffs and has not played a game since the beginning of the month.
But the team has one of the WVALL’s top pitchers in University of Pittsburgh recruit Matt Wotherspoon. The Crestwood graduate is expected to start today against Canton. His legion season was highlighted by a 17-strikeout, complete-game shutout against Plymouth last month. During the high school season for Crestwood, while throwing 36 innings, Wotherspoon struck out 53 and posted a 1.94 ERA and a 3-1 record.
On its roster, Mountain Post has four 2009 high school graduates who saw time in the postseason for the team in previous years. Derik Ermish, a pitcher and infielder from past teams, gives the team another consistent pitcher after Wotherspoon. Outfielder Mike Wrenn, pitcher Stephen Dotzel and outfielder Chris Sweeney were also part of last year’s WVALL championship team.
Recent Holy Redeemer grad, infielder Shaun Murray, joins Wotherspoon as participants in the East-West All-Star Showcase Game next weekend in Harrisburg.
Greater Pittston, which entered the league’s double-elimination tournament as the top seed, received contributions from every player on the roster during the event. GP hit over .300 as a team in the playoffs led by Kyle Borino, who hit the tournament’s only home run, and batted .545. Second baseman Randy McDermott (.400), outfielder P.J. Bone (.350) and Bucknell shortstop recruit Corey Furman (.333) all had at least six hits in the five games Greater Pittston played in the league tournament.
The rest of the field
Dunmore, the No. 1 seed from District 11 (Lackawanna County), enters with a 10-3 record and is in the eight-team event for the second straight year. Last year, the team eliminated Mountain Post on Day 2 and several of those players return for another shot at a regional title. If Dunmore and MP both either win or lose today, they will meet on Sunday for the second straight year.
Delaware Valley, the District 15 champion, which consists of players from the high school, is also in the tournament for the second straight year. In 2009, the team was routed by Plymouth, 16-2, in the opening round and didn’t fare well after that defeat. The Warriors have all underclassmen on the team, with no 2009 or 2010 high school grads.
Valley View (9-4) is the second seed from D11 and consists of several players from the high school team, which lost to Coughlin in the District 2 Class 3A semifinals last month.
Danville, the Susquehanna Valley League champion, has a 13-6 record and is in the tournament for the first time since hosting in 2005. The team advanced by knocking off defending league champion Selinsgrove, 10-5, in the championship game earlier in the week.
Jersey Shore, which represents the West Branch, advanced to the Region 5 Tournament for the second time in three years. Jersey Shore (13-4) won the title game against Sunbury/Northumberland, which won four games in four days to get to the championship contest.
Canton, consisting of players from Sayre, Troy and Canton high schools, is the Bradford League champion. In the District 4 Class A title game in the high school season Sayre defeated Canton to advance to the PIAA Championships. Sayre was then defeated by state semifinalist Pius X in the first round of the state tournament. Canton only has two players who have graduated from high school in first baseman Reese Holmes and outfielder Justin Stryker.
Region 5 Playoff Glance
Today
Game 1: Greater Pittston vs. Valley View, 10 a.m.
Game 2: Jersey Shore vs. Dunmore, 1:15 p.m.
Game 3: Danville vs. Delaware Valley, 3 p.m. at Honey Pot
Game 4: Mountain Post vs. Canton, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 3 p.m. at Honey Pot
Game 6: Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 1:15 p.m.
Game 8: Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Note: Double-elimination tournament continues through Wednesday, with all games played at Mountain Post unless noted