Pittston Area starter Elijah Barr prepares to deliver a pitch against Hazleton Area in Hughestown on Monday, May 5, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Lake-Lehman’s Chris Sholtis attempts to steal second base during a WVC Division 2 baseball game on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
It’s the time of the year when every pitch is magnified. The execution of the fundamentals is critical and even the slightest of mistakes can turn the tide in an instant.
The District 2 baseball playoffs get underway Tuesday. And for as much as coaches are monitoring their pitching staffs the will be monitoring the weather just as much.
A postponement because of inclement weather has the potential to alter even the best of plans. Some games originally scheduled to be played Wednesday have been moved to Tuesday.
Here is a look at how the district playoffs set up. All championship games will be played at neutral sites this year.
Class 6A
Defending champ: Hazleton Area
Favorite: Hazleton Area. Nothing new here. It will take a special effort to knock the Cougars off this throne.
Bracket buster: Wilkes-Barre Area. The key as always is pitching. The Wolfpack has its ace. It will be up to the others on the staff to step forward.
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: Wilkes-Barre Area at Williamsport.
Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament to play the No. 3 seed from District 3.
HAZLETON AREA (15-5): Cougars outscored their opponents 153-65. They are batting .283 as a team. Ryan Racho leads the way at .373, Nick Ledger is hitting .365 while Bryant Diaz is at .333. Ledger leads the team with 28 RBIs. Dom Marino is batting .302 with two home runs. The pitching staff has an ERA of 2.64. The Cougars have struck out 179 and walked 89. Fred Corrado is 4-1 with a 2.46 ERA. Marino is 3-0 with a 3.16 ERA. Chris Peters is 2-1 with three saves.
WILLIAMSPORT (14-6): Comes in on a five-game winning streak having allowed 12 runs during the stretch. Deshaun White is hitting .395 while Gio White is batting .393. The two have combined for 38 RBIs. Camden March is at .347. Ryan Schur is 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA. Cole Deitrick is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA. The Millionaires lost to Dallas on May 2, 8-5 and recently defeated Holy Redeemer, 13-2, in a game that meant nothing regarding seeding for either team.
WILKES-BARRE AREA (12-8): West Chester commit James Bottger is the ace at 3-4 with a 2.86 ERA. He has 84 strikeouts and 23 walks. Nathan Fritz is 4-2 with a 2.50 ERA. Has 43 strikeouts to 29 walks. Jake Howe leads the team in hitting at 3.97. Alex Hufford hits .339 while Bottger is at .333. Omar Jerez is steady in the outfield and is hitting .311 with six doubles and two triples.
SCRANTON (12-8): The Knights own wins over a pair of top seeds: Holy Redeemer (Class 2A) and Mid Valley (Class 4A). Connor Thomas leads the team in batting at .305 (15 for 49). Henry Bartlebaugh is hitting .275 (19 for 69) with 12 RBIs and Thor Kelly makes the team go from the leadoff spot at .266 (17 for 64). Kelly (6-3, 3.04 ERA, 41K) and Bartlebaugh (4-0, 1.23, 11K) are a good 1-2 combo in the mound.
DELAWARE VALLEY (8-9): The Warriors won seven of their last 10 games after a 1-6 start. Trevor Phillips is batting .439 (18 for 41). Liam Onofry is next at .395 (15 for 38) with one home run and 13 RBIs. Nick Jorgenson is hitting .353 (18 for 51).
VALLEY WEST (8-12): Spartans have a team batting average of .238. Tyler Ruddy leads the team at .318. After that nobody on the team is above .300. Staff ERA is 4.31. Gunner Giza proved to be the ace at 5-4 with a 2.52 ERA. He has 66 strikeouts to 18 walks. Of the 122 runs allowed, 79 are earned.
Class 5A
Defending champ: Pittston Area
Favorite: Pittston Area. Patriots get a slight edge here over Abington Heights.
Bracket buster: North Pocono. Depending on how the pitching goes, the Trojans could find themselves in the final
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: North Pocono at Abington Heights.
Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament to play the No. 2 seed from District 3.
PITTSTON AREA (20-0): Hitting .373 as a team. Beau Widdick is batting .438 with 26 RBIs. Dominic Innamorati is hitting .419 while Silvio Giardina is at .418. Jake Aftewicz is at .404 to round out the top hitters. The Patriots have allowed 40 runs, 32 of them earned. Staff ERA is 1.90. Elijah Barr is 6-0 with a 1.50 ERA. TJ Johnson is 5-0 with a 2.20 ERA while Giardina is 2-0 with a 1.62. The staff has walked 50 and struck out 117.
ABINGTON HEIGHTS (16-4): Auburn commit Nick Bradley is 8-0 with a 0.30 ERA and 77 strikeouts. He also is batting .515 (34 for 66) with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and 28 RBIs. Thomas LaCoe his hitting .448 (26 for 58) with one home run and 20 RBIs, while leadoff batter Tate Pentasuglio checks in at .389 (21 for 54).
NORTH POCONO (14-5): The Trojans come into the postseason having won six of seven. Jake Reese leads the team with a .407 average (24 for 59) and ranks second in Lackawanna League with 27 RBIs. Leadoff batter Josh Staples hits .327 (17 for 52). Four of Nick Reese’s (.304) seven hits are home runs and he also is 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Cael Hafner (6-2, 1.90, 78K) is the staff ace.
DALLAS (12-7): Mountaineers make the jump from 4A to 5A. Team is hitting .319 overall. Connor Healey is at .436 while Kaden Coyne is hitting .429 with two homeruns. Dom Zangardi is at .377 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. Brady Youngblood has 24 RBIs. Pitching staff has an ERA of 4.56 with 121 strikeouts and 70 walks. Zangardi is 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA. Aaron Patton is 3-3 with a 4.73 ERA while Nick Bednar is 3-1 with a 4.13 ERA.
WALLENPAUPACK (5-15): J.J. Blaum leads the Buckhorns at .370 (17 for 46). Thomas Kiersted hits .309 (21 for 68) with four doubles and 10 RBIs. Mark Nilsen follows at .305 (18 for 59) with one home run and nine RBIs.
WEST SCRANTON (4-16): Caiden Berardi bats .359 (14 for 39) for the Invaders with seven RBIs. Cameron Cole hits .283 (15 for 53) with 10 RBIs.
Class 4A
Defending champ: Dallas
Favorite: Mid Valley. Made a bump up in classification and did not miss a beat.
Bracket buster: Scranton Prep always seems to string together some wins this time of year. Tough to see that not happening again.
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: Wyoming Area at Crestwood. Crestwood defeated the Warriors back in March.
Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament to play the No. 2 seed from District 3. The runner-up advances to play the No. 1 seed from District 4.
MID VALLEY (16-4): Last year’s 3A champ jumps up to 4A this year. The Spartans boast a deep and potent lineup, led by Nick Mills at .440 (22 for 50) with six doubles, one triple, five home runs and 26 RBIs. Anthony Balashaitis (.328, 20 for 61) and Joey Romanosky (.452, 28 for 62, 16 RBIs) are the table-setters for Mills and Douglas Pua (.364, 24 for 66, 14 RBIs) provide protection behind him. On the mound, Mills is 5-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
CRESTWOOD (11-9): Hitting .316 as a team. Chase Galella is batting .418 while Connor Wagaman is at .379. Jack Rodgers, Zack Savish, Caleb McManus and Dylan Domzalski are each hitting over .300. Comets have 34 extra base hits with 32 of them doubles. Staff ERA is 3.79. Chris Litchkofski is 4-3 with a 1.79 ERA.
WYOMING AREA (11-9): Warriors have the potential to get hot at any moment. Batting .302 as a team. Ale Vacula leads the team in batting at .426 and home runs with two and RBIs with 18. Mitchell Rusinchak is batting .386 while David Fath is at .357 and Ben Rogosh at .345. Jacob Snyder is 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA. He has 32 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. Cody Meade is 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA.
SCRANTON PREP (7-12): The Cavaliers won four of last five entering the playoffs. Paul Rusincovitch leads them at .425 (17 for 40) and is also 5-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Johnny Petrosky hits .377 (20 for 53) with 14 RBIs and is 2-4 with a 2.70 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Michael DeRichie checks in at .375 (21 for 56) with nine RBIs, while Zach Charneski hits .370 (17 for 46) with 12 RBIs.
HONESDALE (8-12): The Hornets are led by Connor Tierney at .269 (18 for 67) with nine RBIs; Trevor Dressler at .267 (16 for 60) with one home run and team-high 16 RBIs.
VALLEY VIEW (7-13): Brayden McConnell leads the Cougars at .338 (22 for 65). Gianni Marino follows at .323 (20 for 62) with two home runs and team-high 14 RBIs.
BERWICK (3-17): Edged out Nanticoke Area for the higher seed. Cole Phillips has the ability to go out and win anytime he gets the ball. He is 2-7 with a 5.39 ERA. Has 40 strikeouts and walked 19. He has made eight starts. Luke Sult leads the team in hitting at .280.
NANTICOKE AREA (3-17): This is always a troublesome time of the year for the Trojans. The district playoffs always coincide with the senior class trip often leaving the team shorthanded and inexperienced. Treyton Mishanski is hitting .322 and is second on the team in RBIs with six.
Class 3A
Defending champ: Mid Valley
Favorite: Dunmore. Bucks have the hitting and pitching to justify the top seed.
Bracket buster: Lake-Lehman. If the Black Knights can pitch and field they will have a chance.
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: Lake-Lehman at Riverside. Lake-Lehman will need to play a clean game in the field and hit.
Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament to play the No. 1 seed from District 4.
DUNMORE (17-3): The Bucks set a single-season record for wins behind a potent offense that has hit 20 home runs. Bobby Hoban is batting .448 (26 for 58) with three home runs and 28 RBIs. Mason Stets checks in at .426 (29 for 68) with two home runs and 15 RBIs and Max Forgione hits .418 (28 for 67) with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. Jamie McMynne (6-0, 1.50 ERA, 46K), Stets (5-0, 1.24, 41K) and Forgione (4-2, 2.28, 34K) make for a solid rotation.
RIVERSIDE (15-5): The Vikings won nine of last 10 entering the postseason. Chase Taddonio leads the way at .486 (34 for 70) with two home runs and 24 RBIs. Jason Posluszny bats .444 (28 for 63) with 19 RBIs and Nick Bohenek hits .439 (25 for 57) with 25 RBIs. Bohenek is also 1-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 45 strikeouts. Ethan Slocum is 5-1 with a 4.27 ERA and 21 strikeouts, while Connor McNally is 4-1 with a 1.79 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
LAKE-LEHMAN (12-8): Black Knights hit .272 as a team. Scott Egbert leads the team at .381. Chris Sholtis is batting .373 with three home runs, seven doubles and 14 RBIs. Will Jenkins is batting .365 with nine extra base hits and 28 RBIs. Sam Finarelli is batting .344 with eight doubles, one triple and two home runs. He has 16 RBIs. Staff ERA is 3.08. Sholtis is 2-2 with a 1.24 ERA. Andrew Morris is 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA. Connor Smigielski is 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA.
MONTROSE (11-9): C.J. McGee leads the Meteors in batting at .458 (27 for 59) with 22 RBIs. He also is 6-3 with a 2.11 ERA and a Lackawanna League-high 85 strikeouts. Lukas Cokely hits .356 (21 for 59) with 13 RBIs and Kasey Carey contributes a .339 average (20 for 59) with 14 RBIs.
LAKELAND (7-13): The Chiefs are led by John Paul Malak at .288 (19 for 66) and also is 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 44 strikeouts. Jackson Pochas follows at .277 (18 for 65), while Kody Miller hits .273 (15 for 55) with one home run and 10 RBIs.
WESTERN WAYNE (6-14): Ethan Lamberton leads the Wildcats with a .382 average (21 for 55) with one home run and 18 RBIs. Jamie Chapman chips in at .371 (23 for 62) with seven RBIs, while Damion Glackin hits .300 (18 for 60) with one home run and 13 RBIs. He also is 3-4 with a 1.97 ERA and 34 strikeouts.
CARBONDALE AREA (4-14): The Chargers are led by Ryan Waters at .311 (14 for 45) with eight RBIs. Krystel Calderon bats .286 (14 for 49) with seven RBIs and is 3-4 with a 4.20 ERA and 57 strikeouts. Parker Smith (.278, 15 for 54) and Johnny Gorel (.245, 12 for 49, 8 RBIs) also contribute to the attack.
Class 2A
Defending champ: Mountain View
Favorite: Holy Redeemer. Royals challenged themselves with nonleague games and now hope it pays off.
Bracket buster: Old Forge. Blue Devils don’t have an easy path but one they are built to navigate.
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: Wyoming Seminary at Holy Redeemer.
Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament to play the No. 1 seed from District 11.
HOLY REDEEMER (16-4): The Royals are hitting .293. Zach Schultz leads the team at .424 while Cody Quaglia is batting .393 and Drew Cisney .333. Schultz leads the team with 19 RBIs while Kayden Stevenson has 14 with Cisney and Noah Hummel each with 10. The pitching staff has an ERA of 2.42. Nick Mazzarella is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA. Quaglia is 3-1 with a 1.81 ERA and Schultz is 3-0 with a 1.54. Cisney is 2-2 and has 33 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.
ELK LAKE (16-4): The Warriors are loaded in the lineup and on the mound. Brayden McMicken lead the way at .467 (28 for 60) with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs and 20 RBIs. Aiden Felker follows at .462 (30 for 65) with 20 RBIs and Noah Gesford is next at .452 (28 for 62) with 11 doubles and 25 RBIs. Dawson Sherman bats .375 (21 for 56) with 15 RBIs and is the staff ace at 6-0 with a 0.20 ERA and 56 strikeouts. McMicken is 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 36 strikeouts and Gesford 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
OLD FORGE (13-7): Jake Iacavazzi leads the Blue Devils at .375 (24 for 64) with one home run and 15 RBIs. T.J. DiMattia bats .362 (21 for 58) with two home runs and 18 RBIs. He also is 3-3 with a 2.17 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Jake Bartnikowski is 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA and 16 strikeouts.
WYOMING SEMINARY (13-6): Blue Knights have a staff ERA of 3.22. Teddy Kraus is 9-2 with a 2.40 ERA. He has five complete games and 69 strikeouts to 14 walks in 70 innings. Antek Evan is batting .393 with seven doubles and two home runs. He also has 29 RBIs. Colin Donovan is batting .386 with six doubles. Leo Nockley is batting .377 with three home runs and 19 RBIs.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (12-8): Ziggy Bradford is the igniter at the leadoff spot for the Eagles at .431 (28 for 65). Josh Miller bats .387 (24 for 62) with 12 RBIs and Jackson Gesford contributes at .373 (22 for 59) with 17 RBIs.
LACKAWANNA TRAIL (9-7): Leading the Lions offense is William Evans at .400 (20 for 50).and eight RBIs. Grady June hits .353 (18 for 51) with 10 RBIs and Sean Dwyer bats .354 (17 for 48) with 10 RBIs.
HOLY CROSS (6-14): The Crusaders are led by Tyler Musso, who is batting .365 (19 for 52) with 15 RBIs and is 3-3 with a 4.53 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Other key offensive contributors include Nick Rusinko (.345, 19 for 55, 8 RBIs); A.J. Piestrak (.278, 15 for 54, 15 RBIs); and Fred Ceccacci (.308, 16 for 52, 5 RBIs).
BLUE RIDGE (4-13): Leading the way for the Raiders are Brendan Marvin, who bats .440 (22 for 50) with six doubles, one home run and 13 RBIs, and Gehrig Dibble, who hits .362 (17 for 47) with three home runs and 13 RBIs.
Class 1A
Defending champ: MMI Prep
Favorite: Susquehanna won the games it needed down the stretch to earn the top seed.
Bracket buster: MMI Prep is hoping Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference served it well this time of year.
Most intriguing potential matchup on the way to the final: Since the top seed gets a bye to the championship game this will have to be the semifinal round between Forest City and MMI Prep.
Moving on: The champion advances to play the No. 1 seed from District 3.
SUSQUEHANNA (9-10): Travis Rooney is batting .426 (26 for 61) with one home run and 22 RBIs. William Marcy blasted a Lackawanna League-high nine home runs while hitting .364 (24 for 66) with seven doubles and 23 RBIs. Matthew Callendar is 6-1 with a 2.07 ERA and 76 strikeouts.
MMI PREP (8-11): Caleb Skuba leads the team at .444. Nick Pantages is hitting .391 while Tommy Horvat is at .345. Skuba leads the team with 17 RBIs and 10 doubles. Josh Witner is 3-4 with a 2.84 ERA. Skuba is 3-1 while Horvat is 2-2.
FOREST CITY (1-15): The Foresters are led by Jeremy Slick, who bats. 431 (22 for 51) from the leadoff spot, and Max Urbas, who hits .360 (18 for 50) with three home runs and seven RBIs.