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RICE TWP. — The throw from center sailed toward the plate. Tagging up from third, Colin Macko charged home. With how tough the game had been for Crestwood, the Comets weren’t about to take anything for granted.
No hits through four innings. A runner thrown out at the plate. A Wyoming Valley West rally in the top of the seventh.
But it would end right there. Macko beat the throw on Stephen Wegener’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to send the Comets to PNC Field on Sunday.
Crestwood’s 4-3 win over Valley West in Wednesday’s District 2 Class 5A semifinals required contributions from up and down the roster.
“This is the norm,” Comets coach Tony Caladie said of another tense victory for his squad this season. “So I’m not really all bent out of shape about it. I just get a little frustrated — one time you’d like it to be easy. But that’s just the nature of the game. Every game’s close and Valley West’s a really good team and well-coached.”
The second-seeded Comets will face No. 1 Wallenpaupack in Sunday’s title game — the third contest in a championship tripleheader at 6:30 p.m. at PNC Field. The Buckhorns blanked Pittston Area 5-0 in the day’s other semifinal.
It’s Crestwood’s first district finals appearance since 2009. To get there, the Comets needed to knock off two reigning district champions in North Pocono and Valley West, who won the crown in Class 3A and 4A, respectively, last season under the old four-class format.
Against the Spartans, they watched sophomore Stephen Banas deliver a two-out RBI single in the seventh to push the game into extra innings. Valley West came close to taking the lead in the eighth when top hitter Justin Vought slammed one deep to left field, but the wind helped keep it in the park short of the fence.
In the home half, Macko led off with a double. After an out, James Graves drew a walk.
With Wegener batting, Caladie called for a double steal. The throw to third was in time, but the Spartans couldn’t hold onto the ball while going for the tag.
The winning run now 90 feet away, Wegener sent a 1-2 pitch into center to win the game. An hour earlier, the Comets were hoping to scratch out just a hit against Valley West ace Nate Baranski, who finished out an impressive sophomore season with 11 strikeouts in six innings of work.
“Baranski’s going to be really good,” Caladie said. “He’s a hell of a player. We didn’t touch him (until the fifth).”
Pinch hitter Brandon Brozena ended the no-hit bid with one out in the fifth, dropping one into left field despite a strong diving effort from Dom Bayo. After the second out, the Comets then rattled off four straight singles, including RBI singles from Brett Caladie, Macko and Justin Darden.
Bayo threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning and keep the Crestwood lead at 3-2.
Matt Trimmer got the job done on the mound, pitching 4.1 innings of two-hit relief to pick up the win.
Third-seeded Valley West got things started with a quick RBI double from Vought in the game’s second at-bat. Leadoff man Zach Sott scored on that play and also drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to make it 2-0.
But the lead could have been larger. Graves pitched out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the third and Trimmer came on to get the final out of the fourth, leaving the bags full again.
“We had opportunities early and we didn’t bust it open,” Spartans coach John Milius said. “We were content with one run. We had the bases loaded two times and we come up with one run.
“We were young. Inexperienced. We still had a shot (at the end). We had hope. … I’m proud of our kids. They hung in there, they came back, they tied it with two outs. They did everything they could. Just came up a little short.”
Bayo had two hits to lead the Spartans in his final game for the team.
For Crestwood, Macko reached base in all four plate appearances, drawing two walks, driving in a run and twice stealing third base before scoring the winning run.
“That’s just guts,” Caladie said. “You’re just grinding it out, hanging in, keeping it close and then we end up getting them in the end.
“So I’m proud of the guys. That’s the sign of a good team, if you can fight back and just not fold.”
District 2 Class 5A semifinals
Crestwood 4, Wyo. Valley West 3
Valley West`AB`R`H`BI
Sott rf`1`2`1`1
Vought c`3`0`1`1
Bayo lf`4`0`2`0
Banas 3b`3`0`1`1
Packer 1b`4`0`0`0
Sienkiewicz ss`2`0`0`0
Baranski p`3`1`0`0
Davies p`0`0`0`0
Pollick ph`1`0`0`0
Norton pr`0`0`0`0
Kobusky 2b`3`0`0`0
Montalvo cf`3`0`1`0
Totals`27`3`6`3
Crestwood`AB`R`H`BI
Caladie ss`4`1`1`1
Chalk 1b`0`0`0`0
Macko dh`2`1`2`1
Darden 2b`4`0`1`1
Graves p`1`0`0`0
Trimmer p`2`0`0`0
Wegener c`3`0`0`1
Tokach 3b`3`0`0`0
Knapp lf`1`0`0`0
Brozena ph`1`1`1`0
Kindler rf`3`0`0`0
Taleroski cf`3`1`1`0
Totals`27`4`6`4
Valley West`100`100`10`—`3
Crestwood`000`030`01`—`4
2B — Vought, Montalvo, Macko
Valley West`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Baranski`6.0`5`3`3`2`11
Davies`1.0`0`0`0`1`2
Adamski (L)`0.2`1`1`1`1`0
Crestwood`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Graves`3.2`4`2`1`3`2
Trimmer (W)`4.1`2`1`1`1`2