With less than two weeks remaining in the Honesdale Little Baseball Association’s regular season campaign, teams are scrambling to secure play-off positions.

Wayne Bank has clinched a #1 seed in this year’s Senior Division tournament. The Dodgers are now 11-2 overall and own a full two-game lead on the second place Braves.

Dirlam Brothers, one of the two teams to deal the Dodgers a loss this spring, is 10-4 after suffering three straight losses. Even if the Braves win their final game and the Dodgers lose twice, Wayne Bank would still earn the top seed by virtue of a tiebreaker.

As things stand right now, first round Senior Division play-off match-ups would be: #1 Dodgers vs. #4 Pirates; #2 Braves vs. #3 Giants. Barring rainouts, these two ballgames would be played Monday, June 22 starting at 6:00 p.m.

Stay tuned to TWI Sports for continuing covergae of the local youth hardball scene.

Stars of the Future
While Rookie Division teams don’t compete in a play-off tournament, the HLBA’s youngsters still give it their all throughout the spring schedule.

On Tuesday night, the Twins and Orioles met at Ed Rickard Memorial Field for a late season ballgame. The two squads were upbeat and enthusiastic despite ominous dark stormclouds gathering and a rumble of thunder in the distance.

Prompton Tool, which is one of the top teams in the Rookie Division, bolted out to an early lead. However, that advantage went for naught as the skies finally opened up and the contest had to be postponed. Nevertheless, Manager Mike Flederbach was all smiles as his players scurried for cover.

“They’re really a great bunch of kids,” Mike told TWI Sports. “This is the second year I’ve had most of them and they’re awesome. We have alot of fun.”

Andy Carroll and Luke Bancroft have been leading the way offensively for Prompton Tool.

Carroll plays many different defensive positions, but sees the majority of his time either be-hind the plate or at first base. Andy is the Twins’ clean-up hitter and he shares the team lead with two homers.

Bancroft has been a fixture at shortstop for Coach Flederbach’s squad. Luke is the team’s top fielder and hits in the five hole. He’s also crushed a pair of inside-the-park homers in ‘09.

Adam Blake, Emily & Danielle Chee have also played key roles in Prompton Tool’s stellar 8-2 record this year.

Blake is another of the Twins’ Gold Glove candidates. Adam is usually found playing solid defense around the mound.

The Chee Sisters provide a bit of pop from the lower part of Prompton Tool’s batting order.

“They’re great girls and good ballplayers,” said Coach Flederbach. “The other coaches and I love having them on the team.”

Emily & Danielle each played a major part in the Twins’ latest victory, a 13-12 nailbiter versus the Brewers. In that one, played Saturday evening at Joe Cobb Memorial Field, Emily went 4-for-4 while Danielle chipped in with a pair of clutch basehits.

Carroll staked Prompton Tool to an early lead in this one, ripping a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Blake contributed an RBI double to the cause and Bancroft delivered a key single in an exciting game that went extra innings.

To date, the only blemishes on an otherwise sparkling regular season resume are a pair of heartbreaking losses (4-1, 3-2) to the FOE Rangers.

Bouncing Back
For the majority of this rollercoaster season, Dirlam Brothers has been right in the thick of the Senior Division title chase.

However, an ill-timed losing streak dropped the Braves into second place and left them looking up at Wayne Bank.

Dirlam Brothers absorbed a trio of setbacks in the span of a single week...losing to the Dodgers (5-3), Giants (8-5) and Pirates (11-6). The Braves bounced back, though, to sweep a rare twinbill from the Phillies and lock down the #2 seed. Dirlam Brothers won the opener by a score of 7-3, then took the nightcap 4-1.

Noah Box drew the starting nod in this one and eventually earned the pitching decision. A hard-throwing righty, Box went five innings and fanned seven before handing the ball off to reliever Gus Martin for the last three outs.

Brian Reed paced the Braves’ attack by crushing a solo homerun. Reed’s Big Fly came in the bottom of the third and gave Dirlam Brothers a 3-2 lead.

“There was no doubt about that one,” said assistant coach Pete Goyette. “You knew as soon as Brian swung it was gone.”

Box and Goyette also played major roles in the Braves offense on this day. Noah ripped three doubles and drove in three runs while Spencer smoked an RBI two-bagger in the first and a run-scoring single in the fifth.

The Phillies were paced by Hunter Thompson, Jon Sepe and Logan Freiermuth, each of whom collected a key hit.

Get Out the Brooms
Gus Martin turned in a stellar all-round performance in the nightcap of this doubleheader.

Manager Andy Box sent Martin to the mound as the Dirlam Brothers starter in Game Two...and Gus certainly didn’t disappoint. Not only did the talented young twirler fashion a complete game masterpiece, but he also helped his own cause with a banner day at the dish.

“Gus Martin is really having a great season,” Coach Goyette said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s one of the two or three best pitchers in the entire league. Gus is mostly a power pitcher, but he has a pretty nice change-up, too.”

Martin was nearly unhittable in this contest. In fact, Gus surrendered just one hit over the course of six innings...an RBI double by Freiermuth. While the Phillies’ Sully Rutledge pitched a solid game and struck out eight, Martin nearly doubled that total by posting an eye-popping 15 Ks.

Gus ripped an RBI two-bagger in the top of the first to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Moments later, Tyler Canfield followed with a run-scoring single.

Ian Langendoerfer and Brad Welsh sealed the deal on this one with an RBI apiece.