Blue Ridge’s Jake Decker pitches in the ninth inning of the Lackawanna League’s win in the Field of Dreams Game (Tom Robinson photo).

MOOSIC – When North Pocono’s Brian Jardine arrived at PNC Field to coach the Lackawanna League in the June 25 Field of Dreams Game, he took inventory of available pitching arms.

Jardine got a surprise boost to his game plan when he found out Blue Ridge’s Jake Decker felt strong enough to throw in the game.

Decker helped the Lackawanna League build a lead with his offense before closing out the 6-2 victory over the Wyoming Valley Conference in the fifth annual baseball all-star game for recent high school graduates.

“I talked to a few kids,” Jardine said. “When I got here, I asked him if he was available and he said, ‘I can go’.”

Decker, one of four Susquehanna County players who contributed to the win, got the first two outs, walked a batter, then struck out leadoff hitter J.D. Barrett from state Class 4A champion Dallas to close out the win.

“He wasn’t in my original plans,” Jardine said of Decker, one of the league’s most productive pitchers before throwing just limited innings in his senior year. “I had a couple kids who also weren’t available so when he said he could go, it helped. I knew a little bit of his history and background and he had some elbow issues early this year.

“I figured we’d give him a whirl to finish up and he came in and did a great job for us.”

Decker joined Blue Ridge teammate Derek Stento in the game, sharing third base duties. Zach Groover from Elk Lake was also part of the offensive production while R.J. Kuruts rom Forest City helped in the pitching chores.

The Lackawanna League scored two runs each in the first and second innings and never trailed.

Decker walked as the game’s second hitter and scored for a 2-0 lead. His single drove in the third and fourth runs for a 4-1 lead. The WVC never got any closer.

Stento went 0-for-2.

Groover singled with one out in the sixth inning and scored the game’s final run.

Kuruts gave up one run while pitching the fifth inning. He gave up two singles and struck out a batter.

Scranton Prep’s Kyler McAllister singled in a run in the first inning, then led off the third with a double before scoring on a single by West Scranton’s Griffin Loureiro.

North Pocono’s Pat Kravitz singled to score Groover.

“You have a plan going in,” Jardine said. “Obviously, the most important thing in a game like this is to make sure everyone plays as much as they can. I think we accomplished that.

“Everyone had at least two at-bats and played 4 ½ innings, which was my ultimate goal here, but of course, every time you cross the white lines, you want to win games. The kids did a great job.”

McAllister, Sottile and Wyoming Valley West’s Richard Sott, who played for the WVC, were the only players with two hits in the game.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Montrose football will have its third head coach in three seasons.

Steve Miller has been hired as the interim coach, handling the program for at least the 2017 season, following the resignation of Eric Nichols.

The Meteors went 1-9 in their only season under Nichols.

Miller coached the school’s freshman team last season. He was a high school assistant in Rhode Island for one season and has coached youth football in Vestal, N.Y.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had outfielder Dustin Fowler and pitcher Caleb Smith selected to represent the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game July 12 in Tacoma, Wash.

Fowler will not be able to play in the game. He was promoted to the New York Yankees where he suffered a serious knee injury in his Major League Baseball debut, leading to season-ending surgery. He led the RailRiders with 13 homers and 43 RBI while leading the league with eight triples.

Smith is 7-0 to share the IL lead in pitching wins while ranking second with a 2.20 earned run average.

Al Pedrique from the RailRiders was selected earlier to manage the IL team.

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.

“FAST” STENHOUSE WINS AGAIN

"Fast" Stenhouse Wins Again (Furnished by NASCAR)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.--Many racing fans thought Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s win at Talladega in May might be a fluke. But last Saturday night at Daytyona, Stenhouse made a believer out of those who doubted his ability to win restrictor-plate races.

Basically, Stenhouse powered his way to victory lane in the crash-filled race. He passed 17 cars in the final 10 laps of the Coke Zero 400. He took over the lead with two laps remaining and never looked back en route to his second victory of the 2017 season.

“I was really having to lift a lot to keep from running over the cars in front of us,” Stenhouse said. “Even when I was leading, I could run not-full-throttle and be able to keep them at a certain distance. We won the ‘Firecracker 400!’ This is awesome! I have been coming here since 2008. I actually came in 2006 one time with Bobby Hamilton Jr. and it is cool to put it in victory lane and get our second win this year. I love it! Thank you to the fans for coming out here. Everyone at NASCAR. What a great weekend.”

Clint Bowyer, who finished second even admitted how fast Stenhouse's No. 17 Ford was.

“He was the fastest car right then,” Bowyer said. “He did a good job getting it to the front, and set sail. He does a good job of blocking. He's learned a lot. He's become a good [restrictor-]plate racer.

“Wow, what a night. A fun race. I got shuffled out on that second stage, and that bummed me out. I wanted those stage points. It wasn’t that big of a deal because I knew that we had a hot rod to get back up front. Man, it’s just every man for himself. You’re beating and banging both sides of the car. It was a good night. These bridesmaid finishes suck. I want to win. We’re in this business to win. That’s what Tony (Stewart) and Gene (Haas) pay me to do. I’m proud of everyone on this team.”

The remaining top-10 finishers: Paul Menard, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Brendan Gaughan, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, and Chris Buescher.

There were 14 caution periods for a total of 51 laps. Most of the wrecks were major ones which took out many of the big guns, including both of the Penske cars, driven by Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Danica Patrick, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. were some of the others involved.

There was no victory celebration for Dale Earnhardt Jr. who had won the pole for the race. He finished 32nd after a wreck on lap 106. Earnhardt was running fifth behind Kevin Harvick when the right front tire on Harvick's car blew out, causing him to hit the outside wall. Earnhardt had no place to go, and ran into the back of him.

“We went a lap down, then worked our way back, but I don't know what happened with the 4-car,” said Earnhardt. “Hopefully, we can still get some good finishes and turn the season around.”

Chase Elliott showed his driving skills on lap 98, when another car cut down on him. He was running fourth at the time, and managed to keep his car under control while skidding on the wet infield grass. His team made repairs to his car and he was able to finish the race in the 22nd position.

Brad Keselowski won Stage One, while Matt Kenseth took Stage Two.

Top-10 leaders after 17 of 36: 1. Larson-667, 2. Truex-649, 3. Kyle Busch-559, 4. Harvick-557, 5. Keselowski-535, 6. Elliott-524, 7. Johnson-516, 8. McMurray-501, 9. Hamlin-499, 10. Bowyer-469.

BYRON SURVIVES DAYTONA CRASHFEST

There were only eight cars that finished the weekend Daytona Xfinity race without major damage. William Byron, winner of last week's Iowa race was one of them.

The 100-lap race was originally set for Friday night, but persistent rain forced NASCAR to reschedule it for Saturday after only 13 laps had been completed.

Byron gained the lead on lap 98, but a 16-car pileup behind him on the next lap brought out another caution and eventual red-flag, which lasted 15 minutes. This forced the race into overtime. The leaders on the restart were: Byron, Erik Jones, and Elliott Sadler.

Byron got off to a good start. and was leading the race down the backstretch, when there was another wreck behind the leaders. The race's last caution came out, but since the leaders had crossed the overtime line, it was ruled as a completed race.

“This was awesome,” said the 19-year-old Byron. “It's great to be able to win here. Before the race I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to get to victory lane. We're extremely blessed to be here.”

The Xfinity Series points leader Elliott Sadler finished as the runner-up.

“We really had a good car,” said Sadler. “It could have been a winning car, but we just couldn't get to where we needed to be near the end of the race.”

Dakoda Armstrong was third, followed by Jeb Burton, David Starr, Brennan Poole, Joey Logano, Joey Gase, Brendan Gaughan, and B.J. McCleod.

There were five big wrecks involving 32 cars. The “big one” on lap 99 took out 11 cars of the 16 that got caught up in it. 

Top-10 leaders after 15 of 33: 1. Sadler-553, 2. Byron-494, 3. Allgaier-484, 4. B. Poole-379, 5. Hemric-368, 6. Reed-353, 7. Custer-338, 8. Tifft-335, 9. Wallace Jr.-321, 10. Armstrong-318.

ELLIOTT SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION

Chase Elliott of Dawsonville, Georgia will remain at Hendrick Motorsports until at least 2022.

Hendrick and Elliott have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year with the No. 24 Chevrolet team through the end of the 2022 racing season.

Elliott, who signed with Hendrick Motorsports in February 2011 as a 15-year-old high school freshman, has emerged as one of NASCAR's rising stars. In 2016, he earned a Cup playoff berth and was the series' top rookie after posting 10 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and two pole positions, including the season-opening Daytona 500. Through 16 points races of his sophomore season, he is sixth in the Cup standings.

“It means the world to me to be a part of this organization, and I couldn't be happier (about the extension),” said Elliott. “I wouldn't want to drive for anybody else but Hendrick Motorsports. I am very proud to be where I am, and I definitely take it upon myself to work hard and make sure I do my part for the company as we move forward.”

In addition to his performance on the track, Elliott has been voted by fans as most popular driver four times across two NASCAR divisions: K&N Series East (2011 and 2012) and Xfinity Series (2014 and 2015). Fans voted him into the NASCAR All-Star Race in each of the last two seasons (2016 and 2017).

“As both a driver and a person, where Chase is today at 21 years old is unbelievable,” said Rick Hendrick. “With all the expectations and pressure, he's stayed focused on being himself and working as hard as he can. The pure driving talent has always been obvious, and he's doing so many great things off the track. He'll be a big part of our organization and our sport for many years. I'm looking forward to watching him continue to grow with us.”

Weekend Racing: All three of NASCAR's major series will be at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway for three night's of racing.

Thurs., July 6; Truck Series race 10 of 23; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: Foxsports1.

Fri., July 7; Xfinity Series race 16 of 33; Starting time: 8 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.

Sat., July 8; Cup Series race 18 of 36; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.

Racing Trivia Question: Where does the 10-race Chase for the Championship begin?

Last Week's Question: Which Cup team is rookie Erik Jones running for?  Answer. He drives a second car for Front Row Motorsports. His teammate is Martin Truex Jr.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.