Half of the Susquehanna County teams advanced to the championship games of the District 2 baseball tournament.
The county was guaranteed at least one state qualifier because two of its teams were going head-to-head in the championship day that was scheduled to be played Monday at PNC Field in Moosic. Blue Ridge and Forest City played each other for the Class A title before Montrose faced Hanover Area in Class AA.
All three teams won twice to reach the title games.
Montrose, which earned the top seed and the only first-round bye in the 15-team field by winning Division 4 of the Lackawanna League, lived up to that billing. The Meteors shut out Holy Cross, 6-0, May 19 then routed Nanticoke, 12-2, in a game shortened to six innings by the 10-run rule.
Matt Benninger threw a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in the quarterfinal game with Holy Cross. Benninger also had a double.
Ethan Stankiewicz, Hunter Traver and Andreas Mittman had two hits each. Stankiewicz scored twice.
The top four batters in the lineup all had multiple hits when the Meteors roughed up Nanticoke.
Montrose carried a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning. After the Trojans scored twice in the top of the inning, the Meteors scored six runs.
Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth ended the game early.
Winning pitcher Kyle Watkins went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
R.J. Arnold had two hits, two RBI and a run. He also finished up on the mound.
Traver had a single and double while scoring twice.
Benninger led the way, going 3-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI from the clean-up position.
Mittman drove in two runs while Mike Vanness scored twice.
Watkins worked five innings without issuing a walk. He gave up two runs on six hits while striking out one.
Arnold struck out one in a hitless, scoreless inning.
Blue Ridge knocked out the first seed on the way to the final where it faced second-seeded Forest City, which took out the defending champions.
Blue Ridge beat Old Forge, 6-4, in the May 18 quarterfinals then upset top-seeded Lackawanna Trail, 7-4, Wednesday.
The Raiders scored five times in the bottom of the fifth to rally past Old Forge.
Evan Aldrich, who had two hits, and Jordan Goff drove in two runs each.
Blue Ridge’s Jake Decker went the distance in the win over Lackawanna Trail while Trey Hillard had two runs, hits and RBI.
Derek Stento had a single, double and two runs scored.
Forest City opened with a 5-3 win over Elk Lake then edged defending champion MMI Prep, 2-1.
Jordan Hicks-Cook, who drove in two runs, and Alex O’Neill each had two hits against Elk Lake.
Mitchell Blake and John DeEsch combined on a one-hitter against MMI. Blake struck out six in 5 1/3 innings before DeEsch struck out three in 1 2/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief.
Elk Lake, Susquehanna and Mountain View all lost in their first district games.
Susquehanna lost at MMI, 9-5, May 18.
Mountain View had lost earlier when the Class AA tournament opened May 15.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Mountain View advanced to the District 2 Class A softball championship game by ending Old Forge’s two-year title run with a 10-0 rout in five innings Thursday.
The Lady Eagles, who were the top seeds after winning the Lackawanna League Division 4 title, had a bye into the semifinals. Mountain View was scheduled to face Lackawanna Trail in Tuesday’s district final.
Samantha Krisa threw a three-hit shutout with four strikeouts against Old Forge.
Krisa had three hits and drove in two runs. Samantha Jones also had three hits while Lucy Adams and Rebekah Tiffany also drove in two runs.
Old Forge had won six of the previous seven titles.
Blue Ridge and Elk Lake each won once before being eliminated.
Blue Ridge defeated Susquehanna, 9-2, May 19.
Lackawanna Trail then knocked out Blue Ridge, 12-1, in five innings in Thursday’s Class A semifinal.
Blue Ridge, the sixth seed, trailed third-seeded Susquehanna, 2-0, before scoring three runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth.
Viktoria Layton had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored for the Lady Raiders.
Elk Lake won a game in Class AA, shutting out Wyoming Seminary, 6-0, in the May 18 first round before losing, 16-1, in five innings to Lakeland Wednesday.
Whitney Tyler threw a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts for Elk Lake.
Forest City fell to Lackawanna Trail, 4-2, in the May 19 Class A quarterfinals.
Montrose lost to Mid Valley, 8-1, in the first round of the Class AA tournament May 19.
In professional baseball, Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees threw three scoreless innings as a starter Thursday in an injury rehabilitation assignment for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, who defeated the Durham Bulls, 4-3, in a 10-inning International League game.
Tanaka threw 41 pitches, including 25 strikes. He gave up two hits and struck out.
After signing a seven-year, $155 million contract with the Yankees, Tanaka was 12-4 with a 2.51 earned run average in 2014, his rookie season, before being done for the year in July with an elbow injury.
Tanaka went 2-1 with a 3.22 ERA in four starts this season before again being sidelined by injury.
Rob Refsnyder of the RailRiders was named IL Batter of the Week for May 11-17.
Refsnyder, a second baseman, hit .400 for the week with six extra-base hits.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association baseball and softball tournaments open Monday, June 1.
The District 2 champions in Class A in both sports will play the District 4 champions in the first round.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Because of early deadlines with the holiday weekend, results from the PIAA Track and Field Championships are not included in this edition.
For coverage of the state track and field championships, as well as District 2 baseball and softball finals, see next week’s Susquehanna County Transcript.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
FIVE NEW HOF INDUCTEES NAMED
Curtis Turner, 2016 NASCAR HOF Inductee. Gerald Hodges collection
NASCAR has announced the five new inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The five-person group consists of Curtis Turner, Bruton Smith, Terry Labonte, Bobby Isaac, and Jerry Cook.
Curtis Turner was among the fastest and most colorful competitors in the early years of NASCAR racing. Born April 12, 1924, he had much success in racing, but he also made and lost several fortunes in business.
Turner competed in NASCAR’s first "Strictly Stock" race in 1949 in Charlotte and was the only driver to win a major race in a Nash. He posted his first of 17 career victories in only his fourth start on Sept. 11, 1949, at Langhorne (Pennsylvania) Speedway. Although many of Turner’s victories came on short tracks and dirt ovals – much of his career pre-dated the sport’s superspeedway era – he won the 1956 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the first American 500 at Rockingham Speedway in 1965. He remains the only series driver to win two consecutive races from the pole leading every lap. He also won 38 of 79 races in which he competed in the Convertible Division.
Being able to see the racing industry from the business end, he developed a feeling that drivers deserved a better deal for their role in the sport. Together with Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock, he attempted to organize a union for them in 1961. Since NASCAR frowns on unions, they suspended him for five years.
The Charlotte Motor Speedway was Turner’s idea, but he ran out of money; the project went way over budget, causing him to go bankrupt. The speedway was built and the first race was the World 600, held on June 19, 1960. Eventually, Bruton Smith was able to gain control of the facility.
Turner died in an airplane crash, shortly after takeoff near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on October 4, 1970, on the way to Roanoke, Virginia.
Bruton Smith, executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., promoted his first stock car race in Midland, North Carolina at the age of 18. Smith’s early endeavors included operating the National Stock Car Racing Association – seen as an early competitor to NASCAR – and building Charlotte Motor Speedway. CMS became the foundation of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which currently owns eight tracks hosting 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, the Sprint All-Star Race and additional high-profile motorsports activities. Smith took SMI public in 1995, the first motorsports company to be traded at the New York Stock Exchange. He was inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame and National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame, both in 2006; and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Terry Labonte is a two-nickname NASCAR champion. Early in his career he was known as the "Iceman" for his coolness under pressure. But his demeanor belied his determination. Later in his career he became known as the sport’s "Iron Man" thanks to 655 consecutive starts, a record which stood until 2002. Winning two premier series championships, in 1984 and ’96, is impressive; the 12-year gap distinguishes Labonte further. No other driver has won his first two championships that far apart and Labonte is one of only six drivers with championships in two decades. Labonte’s career is tucked between perfect bookends – his two Southern 500 wins, in 1980 and 2003. His 361 top-10 finishes ranks 10th all time.
Bobby Isaac’s uncanny skill at drawing speed from a race car puts him on a short list of NASCAR legends. His 49 career poles ranks 10th all time. Isaac captured 19 poles in 1969, which still stands as the record for poles in a single season. He began racing in 1961.
In 1966, Isaac ran just nine races, collecting six DNFs. But in the other three races, he finished seventh or better in each race, which caught the eye of car owner Nord Krauskopf, who signed Isaac for 1967, pairing him with legendary crew chief Harry Hyde.
In '67, Isaac went winless in a limited 12-race schedule. But from there he exploded onto the ranks of the NASCAR elite, winning three races in 1968, and finishing runner-up in the series standings behind NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson
During the '69 season, Isaac won 19 poles and 17 wins on the way to a sixth-place finish.
Although he didn't win as many races in 1970, Isaac won his first and only championship, amassing 11 victories, 32 top-five finishes and 13 poles.
His 37 race wins, ranks him 19th on the all-time list.
Jerry Cook made his name in modifieds, winning six NASCAR Modified championships, including four consecutively from 1974-77. All the while, he was vying with another driver from his hometown of Rome, New York, nine-time champion and Hall of Famer Richie Evans, for supremacy in NASCAR’s open-wheel realm. After retiring from racing in 1982, Cook stayed with the sport and helped shape the series known today as the Whelen Modified Tour. Cook served as the series’ director when it began in 1985 and remains with NASCAR as competition administrator.
The five inductees came from a group of 20 nominees that included, in addition to the five inductees chosen: Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Ray Evernham, Ray Fox, Rick Hendrick, Harry Hyde, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Hershel McGriff, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Larry Phillips, Mike Stefanik and Robert Yates.
In addition, NASCAR announced that Harold Brasington won the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Next year’s Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22, 2016.
Weekend Racing: All three of NASCAR’s major series will be at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.
Fri., May 29; Truck Series race 6 of 23; Starting time: 5:30 pm ET; TV: Foxsports1.
Sat., May 30; Xfinity Series race 12 of 33; Starting time: 2:30 pm ET; TV: Fox.
Sun., May 31; Sprint Cup Series race 13 of 36; Starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: Foxsports1.
Racing Trivia Question: How many Cup teams does Roush Fenway Racing field in 2015?
Last Week’s Question: Kyle Busch is returning, and NASCAR has ruled that he is Chase eligible as long as he stays in the top-30 and wins a race. Is this the right call for a driver who has missed 11 races, nearly a third of the season? Give us your thoughts. If we use your opinion in our column, we’ll send you an 8X10 photo of your favorite driver. Answer. “Personally, I don’t think it’s fair to the other drivers, but NASCAR is the one calling the shots, so it’s their decision.” L.B….Greensboro, NC. “If he is able to win a race and finish within NASCAR’s guidelines, then I say more power to him.” A.M……Cincinnatti, OH.
You may contact the Racing Reporter at: www.hodges@race500.com
