NEPA Sports Nation

Dallas, Nanticoke on win streaks

Dallas used a seven-game winning streak to pin down the top seed in the District 2 Class 4A playoffs and make a big jump in this week’s Riverfront Sports Super Six Baseball Power Rankings of District 2 teams.

The new rankings were released Sunday morning, following the completion of games Saturday, the last day in which regular-season records count toward the district seeding process.

Dallas, which climbed three spots, and Old Forge moved up this week while Nanticoke and Lackawanna Trail rejoined the rankings.

The top two spots in both the Big School and Small School rankings remained the same. All four of those positions are occupied by teams that both won division titles and landed top seeds for the district playoffs, which begin Monday.

Hazleton Area, which has the district’s longest winning streak at 18 games and best record at 18-1, is the No. 1 Big School. The Cougars had the only unbeaten league record in District 2, winning Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 while securing the top seed for the District 2-4 Class 6A Subregional playoffs.

Wallenpaupack is the No. 2 Big School. The Buckhorns are Lackawanna League Division 2 champions and District 2-4 Class 5A Subregional top seeds.

Riverside remains No. 1 among Small Schools despite losing a Lackawanna League Division 3 game for the first time since 2019. The Vikings, who are the top seed for the District 2 Class 2A tournament, had already clinched the division title.

Lake-Lehman remains second. The Black Knights, top-seeded in Class 3A, won the WVC Division 2 title Saturday with a 13-11 playoff victory over Wyoming Area.

The Big School rankings include the odd switch of the old No. 3 and 6 teams swapping places while those between them remain the same.

Dallas jumps from sixth to third with the help of wins over the North Pocono, the team it replaces, and Small School No. 2 Lake-Lehman. The Mountaineers have allowed just seven runs in their seven-game winning streak.

Wyoming Area, which lost the playoff to Lake-Lehman and a non-league game against Wallenpaupack, remains fourth.

Pittston Area holds fifth.

North Pocono, which also lost to Wallenpaupack, slips from third to sixth.

Scranton Prep held on to the No. 3 position, but the rest of the Small School rankings changed.

Old Forge, which beat Riverside and lost a one-run game to Scranton Prep, gains one position into fourth.

Nanticoke takes over fifth. The Trojans have won five straight.

Lackawanna Trail won the Lackawanna League Division title and claimed the sixth spot.

Dunmore and Blue Ridge fell from the rankings.

The full baseball rankings, with last week’s rankings and records through Saturday:

RIVERFRONT SPORTS SUPER SIX BASEBALL POWER RANKINGS

Big Schools

RankTeamLast RankRecord
1Hazleton Area118-1
2Wallenpaupack217-2
3Dallas614-4
4Wyoming Area417-4
5Pittston Area515-4
6North Pocono315-4

Small Schools

RankTeamLast RankRecord
1Riverside118-2
2Lake-Lehman215-5
3Scranton Prep38-9
4Old Forge512-8
5NanticokeNR11-8
6Lackawanna TrailNR10-3

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