Scranton Prep’s Johnny Petrosky pitches during the D2 baseball quarterfinal game at Connell Park in Scranton on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Riverside’s Nicholas Bohenek pitches during the District 2 Class 3A baseball final at Marywood University on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Mid Valley’s Nick Mills stretches to catch the ball before Crestwood’s Josh Mylet makes it to first during the District 2 Class 4A baseball championship game at Volpe Field in Scranton on Friday. REBECCA PARTICKA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Mid Valley’s Joe Romanosky (11) gets ready to throw to first during the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal baseball game at DeSales University in Center Valley on Thursday, June 5, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Jamie McMynne pitches during the District 2 Class 3A baseball final at Marywood University on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Mason Stets high-fives coach Sid Hallinan during the baseball game in Dunmore on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Elk Lake’s Brayden Miller pitches game in Dunmore on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Prep’s Johnny Petrosky pitches during the D2 baseball quarterfinal game at Connell Park in Scranton on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
With teams returning a number of Times-Tribune All-Region and all-star players, the division races in Lackawanna League baseball figure to be close battles again.
Abington Heights rates as the favorite ahead of North Pocono in a strong Division I. Riverside gets the nod in a loaded Division II over Mid Valley and Dunmore, while Elk Lake is the pick over Mountain View, Lackawanna Trail and Montrose in a competitive Division III.
Six players who were chosen All-Region are back, led by Player of the Year, Abington Heights senior pitcher Nick Bradley. North Pocono and Mid Valley each have two returnees. Junior pitcher Cael Hafner and senior third baseman Jake Reese are back for the Trojans. Senior first baseman Nick Mills and junior infielder Joe Romanosky are back for the Spartans. Elk Lake senior catcher Alden Felker is the other All-Region returnee.
Division I
Besides Bradley, Abington Heights has four other senior starters back, including shortstop Reese Zalewski, who was a coaches division all-star last season. Outfielders Evan Gonzalez, Noah Kayal and first baseman Harshal Patel return as well.
“We lost a couple good seniors from last year,” Patel said at Howerton Media Day earlier this month. “But we’re really looking forward to this year and our underclassmen stepping up. We’re going to need a lot of help from them this year to fill some key roles and large shoes. But I think they can do it. We pushed them in the offseason and they stepped up and came through. Hopefully that carries over into the season, supporting us and helping the team do what we do best.”
North Pocono has three other returning starters besides Hafner and Reese in seniors Josh Kalinowski, Rory McAndrew and sophomore Connor Ruddy.
Scranton Prep returns five starters, including division coaches honorable mentions in senior 1B/P Johnny Petrosky and sophomore catcher Zach Charneski.
Delaware Valley also brings back five starters, led by senior catcher Liam Onofry, a division coaches all-star.
Senior catcher Connor Thomas was a division coaches honorable mention last season and is one of five returning starters for Scranton. The others are seniors Parker Wozniak, Cayden Booth, Drew Leonori and John Montoro.
Wallenpaupack boasts eight returning starters, led by senior Thomas Kiersted, who was a division coaches all-star last season. Junior J.J. Blaum, a coaches honorable mention, is also back.
West Scranton has seven returning starters: seniors Aiden Williams, Tyler Scotch, Evan Walsh, Cameron Cole; juniors Mason Lesh, Thomas Selemba; and sophomore Colin May.
Valley View will be led by senior returnees Cody Benson, Jack Sheridan, Aiden Mills, Kevin Essig and sophomore Marco Ruby.
Division II
Riverside has a ton of experience back, led by senior pitcher Nick Bohenek, center fielder Jose Sosa, catcher Chris Graff and second baseman Jason Posluszny. Bohenek, Sosa and Graff were division coaches all-stars and Posluszny was honorable mention. Shortstop Cooper Borowski, outfielder Caleb Sosa, pitcher Ethan Slocum and third baseman Ben Kulikowski also return.
“We have like seven out of nine starters returning,” Graff said. “The energy is up at practice. I think we have a strong, solid team. The pitching’s there, hitting’s there, the defense is there. We’re looking really good this year.”
Mid Valley won the division and the District 2 Class 4A title last season. Besides Mills and Romanosky, the Spartans also have senior pitcher Cooper Lukasavage, outfielders Jake Bondy, Brett Yanoski and junior catcher Jeremy Cali back.
Dunmore has six starters back from the team that won the District 2 Class 3A title last season. Junior catcher Evan Mizenko was a division coaches all-star, while seniors Jamie McMynne and Mason Stets were honorable mentions. Senior Jackson Cady and juniors Nate Grochowski and Anthony Yerka also return for the Bucks.
This is coach Tony DiMattia’s final season at Old Forge and the Blue Devils would like to send him out on a high note. They have six returning starters, led by division coaches honorable mentions Cam Krushnowski and Angelo DiMauro.
Honesdale has six returning starters in seniors Trevor Dressler, Levi Martin, Brody Patrisso and juniors Ethan Corso, Reese Dennis and Connor Tirney.
Lakeland will again rely on youth, led by division coaches honorable mention John Paul Malak and fellow sophomores Jackson Pochas, Chase Magnot, Mason Finegan and Evan Lonzinski. Seniors David Naniewicz, Kody Miller and juniors Ryan McGrane and Ty Sokoloski are also back for the Chiefs.
P.J. Blockberger takes over as coach at Holy Cross. He inherits two returning starters in catcher Matt Fox and Jacob Shedlauskas, both juniors.
Western Wayne has four returning starters, led by junior Damian Glackin, who was a division coaches honorable mention. The Wildcats also boast a talented sophomore class that coach John Boandl feels could surprise.
Division III
In addition to Felker, Elk Lake has returning starters in senior second baseman Cohen Orlandini and senior pitcher Brayden Miller back to defend its division title. Both were division coaches all-stars last season.
“We’re really excited for this new season,” Felker said. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work in the offseason in the weight room, in the cages. We’ve got a good strong year ahead of us. We graduated a lot of pitching. A lot of arms graduated. We’ve got some new guys coming in to fill some big spots, especially on the mound. But I think they’re all ready.”
Mountain View has four returning starters, including division coaches all-star junior third baseman Jordan Jagger. Seniors Hudson Bain, Ian Briechle and sophomore Josh Miller are also back for the Eagles.
Eight starters are back at Lackawanna Trail, including seniors Tyler Jervis, Sean Dwyer and junior Ashton Thiel, each of whom were division coaches honorable mentions last season.
Montrose graduated some key players, but return five starters, led by junior Adam Sorensen. The Meteors also have some young players coach Josh Winn believes are ready to step in and shine in new roles.
Carbondale Area has a new coach in Justin Magistro. The Chargers bring back eight starters, including junior Ryan Waters, a division coaches honorable mention. Seniors Parker Smith, John Gorel, Nathan Ulmer, Xander Keill and Xander Mackey are also among the returnees.
Susquehanna also has a new coach in Dustin Dailey. He has five starters back in senior Drew Hennessey, junior Alexander Krayeski and juniors Caedon Stone, Gabe Maby and Liam Albert.
Blue Ridge has five starters back, led by senior Brendan Marvin, a division coaches honorable mention.
Cameron Bryer at Forest City is the division’s third new coach. He inherits four returning starters, including junior Jeremy Slick, a division coaches honorable mention.