Sports

The Lackawanna League thrived on the state level in softball this season.

League members, including Division 3 champion Montrose, went a combined 13-4 in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament, producing a champion, three finalists and four semifinalists as all five representatives won at least once each.

That success was reflected in the all-state team released last week by the Pennsylvania High School Softball Coaches Association.

League members captured three of the 12 major awards and were found all over the all-state selections for the six classifications.

Sisters MycKenna Kublo and Kyleise Kublo made the first team in Class 2A for their roles in leading Montrose to a District 2 title and a state tournament win which put the Lady Meteors in the PIAA quarterfinals.

MycKenna Kublo was a junior catcher and Kyleise Kublo was a sophomore outfielder.

Elk Lake landed three players on the Class 2A teams.

Senior outfielder Brynn Warriner made the first team while sophomore catcher Lydia Howell and senior second baseman Celeste Clark made the second team.

The Kublos helped make Montrose strong up the middle defensively in a season that included the Lady Meteors going 14-0 in the league. They were also big parts of the offense.

MycKenna Kublo batted .554 with a .578 on-base percentage and .892 slugging percentage. She had eight doubles, four triples, three home runs, 41 hits, 37 runs scored, 34 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Kyleise Kublo batted .462 with a .494 on-base percentage and .897 slugging percentage. She had eight doubles, a triple, eight homers, 36 hits, 35 runs, 35 RBI and 14 stolen bases.

Elk Lake finished second to Montrose in Lackawanna Division 3 and reached the district quarterfinals before running into the top seed and eventual champion Lady Meteors.

Warriner batted .492 with a .554 on-base percentage and .877 slugging percentage. She had four doubles, three triples, five home runs, 30 RBI, 30 runs scored and seven stolen bases.

Howell hit .472 with a .506 on-base percentage and .847 slugging percentage. She had four doubles, seven triples, three homers and 23 RBI.

Clark batted .361 with a .494 on-base percentage and .754 slugging percentage. She had two doubles, two triples, six homers, 28 RBI, 21 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

The other Lackawanna selections were highlighted by Abbi Call taking Player of the Year honors for state champion Valley View in Class 4A and the Abington Heights combination of Avary Brister and Adrianna Condrad sweeping Player and Pitcher of the Year in Class 5A after leading the Lady Comets to the final.

Other first-team players from the Lackawanna League were Abington Heights second baseman Eva Kane in Class 5A; Mid Valley pitcher Ava Hazelton and third baseman Parker Bennett in 4A; and Holy Cross pitcher Ava Schmidt, catcher Peyton Graboske, second baseman Lila Kolcharno and outfielder Claire Helring in Class A.

Holy Cross was the league’s other state finalist while Mid Valley advanced to the semifinals.

A total of 13 Lackawanna League players received second-team recognition.

District 2 had two other award winners with Lake-Lehman’s Hannah Chippego named Class 3A Pitcher of the Year and Tunkhannock’s Michaela Howell named Class 4A Pitcher of the Year from the Wyoming Valley Conference.

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.