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Swoyersville’s Legion squad has never been lacking in motivation. But the “KM” they sported on their hats this week gave the team something extra.
The group polished off an undefeated run in the Pennsylvania tournament by beating Blackhawk 8-5 on Saturday to win the program’s second state championship in three years.
This one felt different.
“Our team set a goal to dedicate this run to Kris Moules,” Swoyersville manager Sean Toole said of the county correctional officer and Larksville native, who died in an on-the-job incident on July 18. “We played with heavy hearts. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Kris had something to do with this. We couldn’t be more comfortable to have a guy like Kris watching over us.
“This state title’s for Kris Moules. We did this for him. That was the extra motivation.”
Toole and Moules were high school teammates at Wyoming Valley West and the two were on the Spartans’ 2007 District 2 championship team when Toole was a senior and Moules was a sophomore.
Beyond that, Moules had also remained involved in local baseball, having coached at MVP Sports Academy in Exeter.
A week after Moules’ death, Swoyersville turned in an inspired performance at the state tournament in Boyertown, going 5-0 in the double-elimination bracket while scoring 37 runs.
Saturday morning was no exception as Swoyersville shook off an early 4-0 deficit by breaking through for six runs in the bottom of the fourth.
“Things were calm,” said Toole, who also led the team to the 2014 state title. “We knew we were going to plug away. We knew we were going to threaten. We knew we were going to attack and just simplify.
“You keep the tempo up, the intensity up, and good things are going to happen.”
As usual, it was catcher Ryan Hogan who provided the spark for Swoyersville, as he did for much of four varsity seasons at Valley West.
The incoming St. John’s freshman blasted a three-run homer to left to put Swoyersville on the board in the fourth. Hogan led the entire field with seven RBI for the week and was named Tournament MVP.
“I’m not sure words can describe” what Hogan has meant to the program, Toole said. “I’ve said it countless times that he’s the best baseball player in the state of Pennsylvania. Tons of heart. He controls the game behind the plate and the bat speaks for itself.”
An error later in the frame allowed the tying run to score before Cade Flanley took home on a double steal to give Swoyersville the lead for good. Dominick Bayo added a two-run single in the seventh for some insurance.
Four Swoyersville pitchers went at least two innings, with Dave Gavlick credited with the win in relief. Tyler Yankosky got the final six outs to clinch the title and was named Pitcher of the Tournament for his efforts. Yankosky allowed just one earned run over 10 innings of work during the week and struck out 12.
The pitching performance highlighted the team’s top-to-bottom effort, which featured different names stepping up each game.
“We have high energy right through the whole lineup,” Toole said. “Everyone played a role this week, and that’s why the title was a little more special this year. It was a total group effort. There was never a time where they panicked this weekend.”
Experience has something to do with that.
Three of Swoyersville’s starters this year — Hogan, Justin Montalvo and Mark Baron — were on the roster for the 2014 Legion championship and also started on Valley West’s 2015 state finalist team.
Up next is a trip to the Mid-Atlantic Regionals. The eight-team, double-elimination bracket begins Wednesday in Purcelville, Virginia, where Swoyersville will open against New Jersey state champion Flemington.
Runner-up Blackhawk will also advance to regionals along with the state champs from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. The eighth team will be tournament host Leesburg.
“(In the 2014 regionals), we did have a great run,” Toole said. “We played tough baseball and we hung around the whole tournament. We have an extremely confident group going into this week. I have no doubt we’re going to be in every single game.”
