Tusten punched its ticket to this year’s Wayne County Teener League championship series Wednesday with a convincing victory over Honesdale.

The Chiefs leapt out to a big early lead, then cruised to a 6-0 shutout of the Eagles. With the win, Coach Joe Curreri’s lads upped their overall record to 13-4 and earned a berth in the finals.

Tusten’s opponent will be perennial powerhouse Re-Max. The Renegades (12-4) earned their trip to the title series via an unforgettable 1-0 triumph over the Hawley A’s.

Coach Bill Phillips’ squad won yet another Southern Division title this summer and is looking to sew up a fifth crown in the past eight seasons.

Game One is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start this afternoon in Beach Lake. Game Two will take place Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in Narrowsburg. Should a third game become necessary, it would most likely be played on Tuesday back in Beach Lake.

Stay tuned to TWI Sports for full coverage of the Wayne County Teener League finals.

Out on Top
Tusten flexed its offensive muscles early on in Wednesday’s semifinal victory over the Eagles. The Chiefs erupted for four runs in the top of the first, chasing Honesdale starter Zach Koberlein from the game.

Jeremy DeGori, Peter Kelly and Pat Ripa led Tusten’s attack.

DeGori came into this contest as the Wayne County Teener League’s hottest hitter. Jeremy kept up his blistering pace at the expense of Honesdale hurlers, ripping three hits in four at-bats. This performance upped his average to an even .500 for the summer (21-for-42).

Kelly was every bit as impressive. The Chiefs’ speedster went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Peter is hitting a highly-respectable .293 and is among the league leaders with 18 stolen bases.

Ripa enjoyed a perfect 3-for-3 day at the dish. Pat also walked and drove in a pair of runs. He’s batting .333 and boasts an on-base percentage of .439.

Honesdale’s Koberlein didn’t survive the Chiefs’ first inning uprising. Coach Bob Hessling was forced to go to his bullpen early, calling on Trevor Johnson to put out the fire.

Johnson turned in an outstanding performance in relief. The talented young righty pitched the final six frames, scattering seven hits and allowing just two earned runs. Trevor walked three and fanned five.

Cody Fredo drew the starting nod for Tusten and would eventually earn the win. He made six starts this summer, working a team-best 32 innings. Fredo sports a superb strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1.

On this day, Cody’s control was pinpoint. Fredo went five frames and didn’t walk a batter. He struck out six Eagles and didn’t issue a single free pass.

Mike Pierce closed things out with a stellar relief outing. Tusten’s closer made his 10th appearance of the campaign. He pitched two innings, allowed just one hit and fanned four.

Nick Hessling provided Honesdale fans with a bright spot on an otherwise dark day. The Eagles’ catcher single-handedly shut down Tusten’s vaunted running game. Nick threw out three of four Chiefs who tried to steal.

Hessling also turned in a solid day at the plate. He reached base twice via a single and a walk.

Brad Fasshauer, Morgen Hatton, Matt Batzel and Koberlein rounded out Honesdale’s offensive attack with a basehit apiece.

Score by Innings...
Chiefs    4  0  1  0  0  0  1 - 6
Eagles   0  0  0  0  0  0  0 - 0