Bellino tosses three-hit shutout for WA
Matt Petrini Dispatch Correspondent
The Wyoming Area Warriors know the importance of a storybook rivalry which dates back more than 40 years - especially when it’s the annual Ashby Game against cross-river rival Pittston Area.
So on Friday afternoon, the Warriors wrote a new chapter in the Wyoming Area-Pittston Area rivalry winning the 13th annual Ashby Game for the first time in four seasons in a rout, 11-0 in five innings, at Atlas Field in West Pittston.
The Ashby Game – named for former Major League Baseball pitcher Andy Ashby who resides in Greater Pittston - has been played between the two teams since 1998 with the Warriors winning seven and the Patriots winning six.
The Warriors wasted little time taking the lead as they scored six runs on seven hits in the first inning.
Kevin Bott, Dave Drahus and Corey Furman led off with three consecutive singles before Randy McDermott blasted a three-run double to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead. One batter later, Kody Nowicki drilled an RBI single which was quickly followed by Anthony Bellino’s two-run double to cap off the six-run first for the Warriors.
In the second inning, McDermott continued his stellar hitting by drilling another RBI double which chased Patriots starting pitcher Jordan Bone. Wyoming Area’s second baseman finished the day going 2-for-3 with four RBI.
Going into the home half of the fourth, Wyoming Area held a comfortable 7-0 lead and went to work on adding more.
Bott led off with a walk and quickly stole second base before Drahus followed with a ground ball which was fumbled by the second basemen. After a Furman walk, the Patriots defense broke down and committed two consecutive errors allowing three runs to score for a 10-0 lead. Andre Harris came off the bench and drilled an RBI single for the Warriors to finish off the scoring for Wyoming Area (5-1).
Furman finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored for WA and Bott, Drahus and McDermott combined to score six runs.
Bellino got the win for Wyoming Area and dominated on the hill, allowing just three hits while striking out four.
Bellino also forced six fly-ball outs and was helped out by shortstop Furman who made a SportCenter Top Ten play on a diving catch to rob Matt Antal of a base hit in the second inning.
Bone was charged with the loss for Pittston Area (2-4), allowing seven runs on nine hits in only 1.1 innings of work.
Drahus finished the day with two hits and Sam Eramo added a two-run single.
Anthony Schwab, PJ Bone and Mike Capone collected the Patriots three singles.
An MVP was not named because Ashby was unable to attend the game after it was rescheduled from May 1 to yesterday.
The veteran Major Leaguer was out of town and will name the game’s MVP and present it at a game next week after consulting with representatives who were at the game when he returns to town.
According to Wyoming Area athletic director Frank Parra, the game was moved after officials at PNC Park in Moosic pulled out of hosting the game early last week, and school officials and coaches decided to play this past week instead of playing four games this coming week.
