It was only fitting that three seniors played key roles in Honesdale’s varsity baseball victory on Monday.

Bob Kinsman, Matt Gravel and Wade Rickard led the charge as the Hornets handed visiting Delaware Valley a 4-3 Lackawanna League loss. Kinsman drew the mound assignment and earned the decision. He received offensive support from Gravel, who homered, and from Rickard, who ripped a pair of key singles.

All three of these performances came on a cold, windy Senior Day...a day on which local fans bid farewell to 10 graduating Hornets.

“We’re definitely going to miss these kids,” Coach Mike Modrovsky told TWI Sports. “They’ve meant alot to the program. Some of them have been with us since junior high and some of them just came out for the team as seniors. But, they’ve all played a big part in what we’ve accomplished this year.”

The win was Honesdale’s second straight in Division One action as the Hornets look to build momentum for the upcoming District Two tournament. The local lads officially close out their regular season slate this afternoon against Abington Heights.

That contest is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start at Keith Sutton Memorial Field.

Meanwhile, the Lady Hornets were also celebrating Senior Day...but having a much rougher time of it. Honesdale never got untracked in this one and eventually dropped a 9-0 decision to DV.

Jenn Edsall, Korilynn Grady, Leslie Smith and Staci DeLuca were honored in pre-game ceremonies. All four will graduate from the program in June.

“It’s going to be very hard to say goodbye to these girls,” Coach Dave Patrisso said. “We ask an awful lot of them and they’ve never let us down. Jenn, Leslie, Staci and Korilynn have been excellent leaders for us. They’ve set a great example for the younger girls.”

With the loss, Honesdale fell to 9-4 on the year. The Lady Hornets will play their final regular season home game this afternoon against Abington Heights.

A Solid Win
The Hornets wasted very little time getting on the board Monday. Kinsman pitched out of trouble in the top of the first, then sat back and watched as Matt Gravel staked him to a 1-0 lead.

After Mead Sandercock opened the home half of the frame with a flyball out, Gravel hit a much longer flyball that ended up on the other side of the fence. Matt found an 0-1 heater to his liking and blasted it for a solo homer.

Honesdale made it 2-0 in the second thanks to a pair of basehits, a sacrifice and a costly Delaware Valley error.

Erik Sandercock led off with a single, then moved up on a textbook sacrifice bunt by Sean Curran. Jake Schilling reached on an error and Dusty Liptak roped a single to account for the Hornets’ second run.

The Warriors finally broke through against Kinsman in the top of the third. Mike Accardi and eventually came around thanks to a Chris Slonin RBI base knock.

Eric Dubee worked a lead-off walk in the fourth and eventually trotted home on a Hornet fielding miscue. This unearned run was one of DV’s few bright spots on the day. The Warriors simply couldn’t Kinsman’s baffling array of pitches.

Bob authored a complete game victory, working seven innings and allowing just four hits. Honesdale’s senior righty struck out six Warriors and surrendered only one earned run, Joe McNeely’s solo homer in the seventh.

“Bobby pitched a very good game,” said Coach Modrovsky. “But, he’s done that quite a few times this season. We just haven’t gotten him many runs. If we gave him a little better support, he could easily have four or five wins.”

Erik Sandercock and Wade Rickard led the Red & Black offensive attack with two hits each. Schilling and Gravel chipped in with an RBI apiece.

Score by Innings...
DV     0  0  0  1  0  0  1 - 3
HON  1  1  0  0  2  0  x - 4

Whitewashed
The Lady Hornets were never in Monday’s game against Delaware Valley. The visitors from Milford broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the third.

Jenn Edsall toed the rubber in her final regular season home game and suffered the loss. The fireballing righty pitched all seven innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs. She struck out three and walked two.

Offensively, the Red & Black could scratch out just two hits against DV’s Eavan Matz. The  Warriors’ SuperSoph went the distance, fanning six and walking none. Edsall and batterymate Maeghan Almy each singled in defeat for Honesdale.

“This was definitely a tough loss for us, but we have to move on and focus on our next game,” said Coach Patrisso. “We’re probably looking at one home play-off game...and, if we can beat Abington, we might even get two.”

The District Two Class tournament gets underway next Monday at field all over the region. Last spring, the Lady Hornets defeated Pittston Area before falling to eventual Class AAA champion Abington in the quarterfinals.

Score by Innings...
DV     0  0  3  1  1  0  4 - 9
HON  0  0  0  0  0  0  0 - 0