LOCAL ROUNDUP: Lady Cougars belt Valley West

Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 20—Caitlyn Katchur pitched a seven-inning, five-hit shutout, and was backed by a 10-hit attack as the Hazleton Area girls pounded Wyoming Valley West 9-0 in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 softball play Monday afternoon in Plymouth.

Katchur struck out six, walked two and wrapped up the compete game in 99 pitches for the Lady Cougars (6-2, 4-1 WVC). She helped her cause at the plate with a double, single and two RBIs.

Leading 3-0, Hazleton Area broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning.

Kelsie Peters continued her power surge with a double, triple and two RBIs, as did Gianna Gombeda, whose solo home run was her second round-tripper in as many games.

Julia Mrochko tripled in a pair of runs, Makenna Balay had a run-scoring triple, and Julia Mooney doubled.

The Lady Cougars visit Wilkes-Barre Area on Tuesday.

Haz (6-2, 4-1).......101 015 1 — 9 10 0

WVW....................000 000 0 — 0 5 0

Katchur and Peters; Hoskins and Hardin. W — Katchur. L — Hoskins.

Hits: Hazleton Area — Katchur 2, Peters 2, Wolk, Mrochko, Mooney, Daniels, Balay, Gombeda. Wyoming Valley West — Hand 2, Austra 2, Pepe.

2B — Katchur, Peters, Mooney. 3B — Mrochko, Peters, Balay. HR — Gombeda.

Freshman Baseball Pittston Area 3 Hazleton Area 2

For the Cougars, Dylan Scholl and James Reimold pitched well in the loss.

Marcos Gil Pena and Derek Antolick had two singles apiece, and Brady Mizenko also singled for Hazleton Area.

Little League Valley West McNelis Law 18 Maylath Therapy 4

Ryan Ruggiero tagged a home run for one of his five hits on the day, and also drove home four runs in McNelis' opening-day victory.

Christian Ackerman, George Nenstiel, and Hayden Nenstiel all singled for their first Little League hits.

For Maylath Therapy, Sebastian Dotter singled as did Ethan Ungemach, who notched his first Little League base hit.

Herbener's 17 Valley Athletic 5

Mason Rinker went 4-for-4 with four singles and four runs scored, and Taylor Rinker chipped in with a double and single as Herbener's won on opening day.

Derek Yurkanin pitched well and reached base twice on the day for the winners.

For Valley Athletic, Jack Esposito's pitching kept the game close through four innings, and he also stroked a double.

Nolan Heller went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a single, while Landen Schattie poked a double.