District 2’s last unbeaten baseball team is also its newest No. 1 team.
The Royals began their week with a 12-11 triumph over former Small School No. 1 Lake-Lehman, then added three more victories.
Those four wins were enough to make Holy Redeemer, now 7-0 overall, the new No. 1 Small School when the latest Riverfront Sports Super Six Baseball Power Rankings of district teams were posted Tuesday morning.
There has been a different No. 1 Small School in each of the three sets of rankings this season.
Riverside opened as No. 1 and was replaced by Lake-Lehman. Each carried lofty credentials from recent seasons. Each has struggled since receiving that No. 1 label.
Many of the candidates for Small School rankings have knocked each other off, resulting in every position in those rankings being different from a week ago.
In the Big Schools, Abington Heights moved up and Honesdale moved into the rankings, but the top four of Hazleton Area, Pittston Area, North Pocono and Dallas held steady.
Holy Redeemer, Mid Valley, Old Forge and Riverside all moved up this week while Dunmore moved into the rankings.
Dunmore helped make Holy Redeemer the final unbeaten in the district by knocking Carbondale off of the list of unbeatens and out of the rankings with a 7-3 victory. The Bucks could not, however, get past Old Forge, falling 2-1 to the Blue Devils, who moved up to No. 3 despite a losing overall record.
Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 leader Holy Redeemer followed the wild win over Lake-Lehman by allowing just three runs total in the victories over Hanover Area, Loyalsock Township and Nanticoke.
The Royals moved from No. 2 to No. 1 while Mid Valley and Old Forge also gained one position each to remain in line right behind Holy Redeemer.
Lackawanna League Division 2 co-leader Mid Valley climbed into second by outscoring Lakeland, Lackawanna Trail and Holy Cross by a total of 39-15.
Old Forge lost to Honesdale, but used the Dunmore win to take third.
Dunmore joined the rankings in fourth. The Bucks started their 2-1 week by beating Riverside, 7-6. The win over then-unbeaten Carbondale was the fourth straight for the Bucks after opening the season with losses to Honesdale and Mid Valley.
The loss to Dunmore was Riverside’s third straight and second in that stretch by one run, but the Vikings bounced back to beat Lakeland, 6-0, and moved up from sixth to fifth.
Lake-Lehman tumbled all the way from first to sixth after a 1-3 week.
The Black Knights recovered from the loss to Holy Redeemer to beat MMI Prep, 7-3, but lost to Honesdale, 2-1, and Wyoming Area, 4-2.
Hazleton Area won a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 Big School showdown from previously unbeaten Pittston Area, 6-2, to begin its week and take sole possession of the WVC Division 1 lead.
Otherwise, the top four of Hazleton Area, Pittston Area, Lackawanna Division 1 leader North Pocono and Dallas was a combined 6-0, averaging more than six runs per game.
Abington Heights defeated West Scranton, 13-1, and Wallenpaupack, 5-2, to go from sixth to fifth.
Lackawanna Division 2 co-leader Honesdale is sixth after beating Old Forge, 8-0; Western Wayne, 12-2; and Lake-Lehman, 2-1.
Valley View, the former No. 5 team, lost all three of its games during the week, scoring just three runs total, to drop from the rankings.
The full baseball rankings, with last week’s ranking and current records:
RIVERFRONT SPORTS SUPER SIX BASEBALL POWER RANKINGS
Big Schools
| Rank | Team | Last Rank | Record |
| 1 | Hazleton Area | 1 | 6-1 |
| 2 | Pittston Area | 2 | 7-1 |
| 3 | North Pocono | 3 | 7-1 |
| 4 | Dallas | 4 | 7-1 |
| 5 | Abington Heights | 6 | 6-2 |
| 6 | Honesdale | NR | 7-1 |
Small Schools
| Rank | Team | Last Rank | 2023 Record |
| 1 | Holy Redeemer | 2 | 7-0 |
| 2 | Mid Valley | 3 | 6-1 |
| 3 | Old Forge | 4 | 3-4 |
| 4 | Dunmore | NR | 4-3 |
| 5 | Riverside | 6 | 4-5 |
| 6 | Lake-Lehman | 1 | 3-4 |
