On an afternoon when Mother Nature was less than cooperative, the Buckhorns battled both Abington Heights and the elements in a crucial Lackawanna League baseball game.

Wallenpaupack Area leapt out to an early lead on a misty, unseasonably cool Saturday. Nevertheless, the local lads rode Ryan Loughran’s pitching and Joey DeFebo’s clutch hitting to a 3-0 victory.

With the win, Paupack took a slim half-game lead over West Scranton atop the Division One standings. The Bucks are 9-2 and the Invaders 8-2.

“Once again, we scored just enough to win,” Coach Bob McGinnis told TWI Sports. “I told the kids it was important for us to get out quickly and we did. But, then we didn’t score the rest of the day. Thank good-ness we got good pitching and played solid defense. That was the difference in the game.”

Next up for Paupack is a re-match with Scranton Prep. That contest is slated for this afternoon on the shores of The Big Lake. Earlier in the season, the Cavaliers defeated the Bucks at Connell Park by a score of 6-3. First pitch is 4:30 p.m.

An Early Lead
Paupack wasted no time jumping on Abington starter Peter Doggett. The Bucks scored once in the home half of the first, then added two more tallies in the second.

DeFebo was right in the middle of both uprisings. Paupack’s fiery lead-off man opened the game with a single, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. He was joined on the basepaths moments later by brother Nicky DeFebo, who walked.

After Corey Linden and Chris Ortiz both fanned, Doggett lost his focus and issued free passes to both Kevin Hendickson and Ian Dassance. This forced in Joey DeFebo with the game’s initial run.

Loughran cruised through his first frame, then pitched out of trouble in the second. Ryan would go on to work five innings and earn his fourth league win of the season. The senior southpaw scattered five harmless hits, struck out three an walked just one.

“Abington Heights might be the best-hitting team in the league,” said Coach McGinnis. “So, when you shut them down on five hits, you’re doing something right. We gave Ryan a week of rest and that seems to have made a difference. He was very sharp out there.”

Coach McGinnis pointed out that his ace handled the Comets’ big guns with little difficulty. Loughran retired Abington clean-up hitter Tony Castellano three straight times...inducing three straight comebackers, all on change-ups.

“Ryan only needed 65 pitches for five innings, so he was very efficient,” said Coach McGinnis. “When he commands his change-up the way he did against Abington, he’s very tough to hit.”

Paupack added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the second.

Jeff DeSane opened the inning with a lead-off single. He moved into scoring position on a textbook sacrifice by nine-hole hitter Corey Capone. Joey DeFebo then stepped in and delivered his second base knock of the game. This one took the form of an RBI double, which plated DeSane and pushed Paupack’s lead to 2-0.

After wild pitch moves the runner to third, Nick DeFebo then hit a comebacker to Doggett, who gunned brother Joey down at the plate. Nick would eventually come around to score the game’s final run on a single by Linden and an infield error.

Loughran cruised through five frames, then handed the ball off to relievers Dassance and DeFebo. Ian faced just three batters in the sixth, but struck out two of them before yielding to DeFebo. Nick recorded the final four outs to post the save, his third of the season. He allowed just one hit while fanning two.

Defensively, Joey DeFebo was the star of the game. Paupack’s young leftfielder ran down two long drives, one of which robbed Jon Scolere of extra bases and preserved the shutout.

“Joey DeFebo played his best all-round game of the season,” said Coach McGinnis. “He made two outstanding catches in the outfield and had three hits. He also stole a base and drove in a run. Joey was right in the middle of everything.”

Score by Innings...
AH   0  0  0  0  0  0  0 - 0
WA   1  2  0  0  0  0  x - 3