THE DALLAS POST — OPOrts The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Mary 9, 2003 11 eek Lauren Patton takes one for the team, and thrives By KEVIN KAZOKAS Post Correspondent Athletes who participate in team sports often define themselves and the role they serve on the club by the posi- tion they play. But sometimes those roles can change, and players who have grown comfortable in one position must @: on new, unfamiliar assignments. While some athletes hesitate to con- front such a daunting responsibility, Lauren Patton is not one of them. The Dallas High School softball player made the move to first base this season after spending the last two years pa- trolling second base. Despite the initial challenges the switch posed, the Lady Mountaineer senior has overcome them and accepted the transition, for the most part, in stride. “It was different,” said Patton, who was asked by her coach to make the move after a series of roster changes left a void at the first base position. “It was kind of like an obstacle, but I feel like I'm a versatile player and I can play anywhere.” That attitude has helped Patton stay focused on her game and enabled her to consistently turn out good efforts, no matter what spot she occupies on the field defensively. “Lauren does everything that’s “Lauren does everything that’s asked. She’s the true meaning of a team player.” Joyce Tinner Dallas softball head coach asked,” said Joyce Tinner, Dallas soft- ball head coach. “She’s the true mean- ing of a team player.” Patton's contributions to the team this year included a clutch leadoff triple in the eighth inning of a tied game against Tunkhannock on April 16. The extra-base hit sparked a four-run in- ning for the Lady Mountaineers, who eventually prevailed in the extra-inning contest, 7-5. : “She’s come up with some key hits for us when it's really mattered,” Tinner said. Patton's ability to deliver in the clutch may stem from her solid work ethic and dedication to the game — a game she has played, in one form or another, since childhood. “It's always been my favorite sport,” said Patton, who was introduced to the game by her father, a former high school and college baseball player. Patton's father played high school ball for Bishop O'Reilly and went on to play for the University of Delaware. He introduced his two daughters to the game at a young age and inspired a love for the sport in both Lauren and her sister, Cory. This is the first year both sisters have played on the same softball team. Cory is a sophomore for the Lady Moun- taineers. Over the course of the season, the two have drawn inspiration from each other. “I look up to her,” said Cory, who led Dallas to victory over Pittston Area on See PATTON, pg 13 Burkhardt, Dimmick win at Wilkes-Barre Invitational Brandon Burkhardt of Lake- Lehman won the boys javelin throw at the seventh annual Wilkes-Barre Track and Field In- vitational, held May 3 at Memor- ial Stadium in Wilkes-Barre. His 155’ throw was 2'5” ahead of the second place finisher. Dallas's Ryan Dimmick won [ boys 800 meter run with a time of 1:59.3. Other Back Mountain medal winners were: Preston Smith, Lake-Lehman, tied for third in the high jump (6'2"); second in the long jump (20'4”), and third in the triple jump (41.5). Amber Boris, Lake-Lehman, fourth in the girls 800 meter at 2:29.7. + Kim Chollak—Eake-Eehman;—- third in the girls high jump at 4'10". Annie Sorchik, Lake-Lehman, fifth in the girls javelin at 1038". BMT BASEBALL Peron fans 10, allows only two hits in shutout Bob Peron twirled a gem, striking out 10 and only giving up two hits as the Giants edged the Phillies 2-0. Peron also had two hits for the Giants and Chris Dailey added a single in the win. Hunter Englehart pitched well in defeat, striking out eight. Jonathon Thomas had a double for the Phils. Yankees 10, Astros 0 Josh Shaver twirled a one-hit- ter and struck out eight as the Yankees shut out the Astros. aver also banged out two hits d was helped by teammates Cody McHutchinson who had two hits and Adam Goeringer who also had two hits including a triple. Justin Eimers had the lone hit for the Astros. Reds 15, Astros 5 Kevin Cope led the offensive attack with three hits as the Reds beat the Astros 15-5. Tyler Coleman had two hits, and Pe- ter Long had a key hit for the Reds in the victory. Nick Latosek picked up the win for the Reds. T.J. Brandt had a home run and a double, and Michael Eckman had two hits for the Astros. A’s 8, Tigers 6 Derik Martin picked up the victory as the A's slipped past the Tigers. Nick Lombard and Aaron Perez paced the attack with two hits each, and Jeremy Bess blasted a triple for the A’s. For the Tigers, Matt Shaver had hits including a triple, and See BMT BALL, pg 12 POST PHOTOS/JIM PHILLIPS Softball action last week, Dallas against Hazleton. In top photo, Camille Valvano slid into third after smacking a triple. Shannon Thomas, left, fired to first. Above, Nikki Gelso reached to tag a sliding Hazleton runner, just a bit late. SN 0 I = Te pT = To UI VR RU = BASEBALL Dallas 6, Crestwood 2 DALLAS — Ryan Gryskevicz smacked a three-run home run and pitched a complete game to lead the Mountaineers past the Comets. Dallas took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and broke the game open with four runs in the fourth. Second baseman Mike Fehlinger had an RBI single, and Gryskevicz followed with his three-run blast. The senior pitched a four-hitter and struck out 13 batters. Lake-Lehman 13, Crestwood 0 LEHMAN TWP. — Jared Sad- owski allowed only one hit in five innings as Lake-Lehman blanked the visiting Comets. Shortstop Dustin Kapson home- red twice and drove in five runs for the Black Knights, in a game stopped after five innings be- cause of the 10-run rule. Matt Ide, Sadowski, Luke Marchaki- tus and Matt Kaptitula each had two hits. Wyoming Area 12, Dallas 5 DALLAS — Dallas rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the score at 5- 5 in the fifth inning. The War- riors countered with four runs in the top of the sixth to seal the victory. Ryan Gryskevicz and Ryan Bolton each hit doubles. SOFTBALL Lehman 3, Crestwood 2 (8 innings) WRIGHT TWP. — Whitney Pollock's sacrifice fly scored Sheree Horvath in the top of the eighth as Lake-Lehman pulled out an extra-inning victory over Crestwood. : Horvath, who was 2-for-4, doubled to start the rally. She was also the winning pitcher, scattering six hits and striking out six. Dallas 10, Wyoming Area 2 DALLAS — Meredith Lacey and Shannon Thomas each went 3-for-3 with three runs scored as Dallas defeated Wyoming Area. Lauren Patton and Erin Swep- ston had two hits apiece for th Mountaineers. : Lauren Collini earned the win, striking out eight and allowing only three hits. Seminary 6, Hanover 4 HANOVER TWP. — Nicole Al- lan had Wyoming Seminary’s only two hits as the Blue See ROUNDUP, pg 12 | BMT players lead Sem to district team title Staff report WILKES-BARRE — Powered by Back Mountain players, the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights cruised to their fourth consecu- tive District 2 Class 2A Boys Tennis Team Tournament title by dominating Western Wayne 5-0 May 6 at Kirby Park. Top-seeded Seminary (15-0), the Northeast Pennsylvania Ten- nis Conference Southern Divi- sion champion, advances to the PIAA Team Championships on May 16-17 at West Branch Ten- nis Club in South Williamsport. The Blue Knights, who won the state title in 2001, will face the District 10 champion in PIAA quarterfinal action. West- ern Wayne (11-1), the NEPTC Northern Division champ, is Dallas must sweep to tie Cup The Dallas Mountaineers must beat Lake-Lehman in all three re- maining varsity meetings between the two schools in order to tie the race for the inaugural Back Mountain Cup. If they do so, a tie- breaker formula will be used to decide who holds the trophy for the 2002-2003 season. Thursday's soccer game took place after the printing deadline for this week's issue. Look for results and photos from all three con- tests in next week's issue of The Dallas Post, which is the sponsor of the competition. Standings on page 12. forward to this. ~ hopes. We all have eliminated. “This year we were definitely looking forward to this,” said Tye Morris, a four-year starter who won at No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-2, See TENNIS, pg 13 Black Knights win Junior High track meet Lake-Lehman won both the boys and girls Junior High track meet against Dallas last week. In top photo, Brittany Shewan cleared the bar in the pole vault. Above left, Erin Delaney took off in the long jump. Above right, Lake-Lehman’s Adam Harris held the lead over Dallas’s Brandon Hiscox in a relay. Results, additional photo on page 12. ~ POST PHOTOS/JIM PHILLIPS
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers