Riverside recovered from one Wyoming Area comeback, then fought off another Thursday at Atlas Field.
When the Vikings were done, they came away with a 9-6, nine-inning victory in the non-league showdown between defending District 2 baseball champions and current leaders of races for the top seeds in this year’s playoffs.
Anthony Karpinski, Tom Day and Connor McNally all had two hits and two RBI for Riverside, a Class 2A team that improved to 12-1 overall. The Lackawanna League Division 3 leaders have won 11 straight.
Day joined Jason Janesko and Trevor Balcerzak in supplying two runs and two hits to Riverside’s 12-hit attack. Karpinski and Balcerzak each had doubles.
Wyoming Area, a Class 4A team, is 8-2 with both losses coming in nine-inning games this week to teams that share their designation as defending champions and current leaders. Lake-Lehman, the defending Class 3A champion, beat the Warriors for first place in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2.
J.J. Hood struck out 10 in 5 innings as Wyoming Area’s starter. He also went 1-for-2 with a double and two walks at the plate.
Hunter Lawall led the Warriors offense with a single and a double.
Wyoming Area trailed 3-0 after 5½ innings, but forced extra innings with two runs each in the sixth and seventh.
Riverside scored five times in the top of the ninth, then withstood Wyoming Area scoring twice in the bottom of the inning.
Day had a two-run single in the inning when Karpinski, McNally and Jimmy Decker all singled in runs.
McNally then came on in relief after the first three Warriors reached base in the bottom of the inning. He entered with a 9-5 lead and two runners in scoring position and, after allowing one inherited runner to score, worked out of a bases-loaded jam to end the game.
Among the other Thursday baseball highlights:
Wyatt Peifer had three hits, including a home run, triple, with five RBI and three runs scored as Wallenpaupack protected District 2’s only perfect record with a 23-9 rout at Pleasant Valley.
The Buckhorns had an eight-run inning and two five-run innings.
Jack Smith, who scored three times and drove in three runs, and Jake Holbert each had four hits.
Jordan Santiago went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBI.
Will Youngman struck out 10 and did not allow a hit in the first 5 2/3 innings of a combined one-hitter as Wyoming Seminary defeated Nanticoke, 2-1, in a WVC Division 2 game.
The Blue Knights pulled out the win with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Chris Sholtis and Ty Federici each went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI as Lake-Lehman defeated Hanover Area, 14-4, in five innings to remain unbeaten in WVC Division 2.
Sholtis had a double.
Cole Kaiser tripled, doubled and drove in two runs.
Kyle Rupp struck out 11 in 5 2/3 innings and Valley View went on to defeat Wyoming Valley West, 3-2, in in eight innings in a non-league game.
