The Dunmore junior went 5 for 9 with two home runs and five RBIs in two wins. In the District 2 Class 3A baseball quarterfinals against Western Wayne, Mizenko went 2 for 3 with a home run, one run and two RBIs in a 5-1 victory. In the semifinals, he went 3 for 6 with a home run, one run and three RBIs in a 6-5, 19-inning win over Lake-Lehman. He caught the first 12 innings, then pitched the final seven and got the win, allowing just two hits, no runs and no walks while striking out three.

Family: Mother, Brooke; father, Cory; sister, Aubrey.

Coach: Sid Hallinan.

Have you ever been in a game like the 19-inning semifinal before: No. I’ve gone into plenty of games with extra innings, but never that far.

In that game, you end up going from catching to pitching. Is it difficult to make that transition in a game: Yeah, it’s very difficult for anyone. Catching takes a big toll on your body, and pitching is not far from it. All the strain on your arm, your lower body getting tired. You’ve just got to fight through it. You’ve got to have a good mindset, got to get through it and just pull it away for the team.

Have you pitched at all this season other than that: I pitched against Holy Redeemer, maybe like four or five innings.

You’re put into a situation where you’ve got to pitch seven great innings, and you end up doing it. How were you able to stay locked in, especially in innings 13 through 19 knowing that one mistake could mean the end of the season: It all goes back to the mindset. Mr. (Derek) Forgione, one of our coaches, he really brought us into the mindset game last year, always having a great mindset, never giving up. So, all of our team does that. We never really give up, and, again, just trying to pull it away for the team, having that great mindset, not letting them score and just keeping us in the game for as long as we could until we pull away with it.

The semifinal was at Lake-Lehman, but what was the atmosphere like? I’m sure Dunmore fans traveled pretty well: Yeah, they traveled really well. Dunmore’s a great community, and they always support every team no matter what. So, we did have a lot of fans. It was awesome, and I’m just hoping that there’s more on Tuesday for the district championship.

What makes this team thrive in pressure situations: We’re all very close. We’re all willing to do whatever for each other. We’d run through a wall for each other, and I think that really goes a long way with any sport. We’re really close. Even the day before the district championship, we’re all getting together for a nice cookout. So, we’re all just really close, and we all just love each other.

How did the team develop throughout the season? Did you see any ways that you guys improved from Game 1 until now: In the beginning of the season, we all were just expecting it to be easy I feel like. We were expecting it to be like, yeah we’re Dunmore. We won last year, why not do it again? Then, I feel like we got humbled kind of starting with Wyoming Area. I feel like we all just kind of came together. We all just brought it upon ourselves, and we were like, all right if we want the season to go how we want it to, we’ve got to come together, we’ve got to fight for each other. The coaches even pulled some of us in for a meeting, and said we’ve got to come together if we want to get back to where we were last year.

Last season, you beat Riverside in the district championship game with you driving in the winning runs. This season, you’ve lost to the Vikings twice and have a rematch in the final with them Tuesday. What does it take to beat a team like Riverside in a district title game: It’s going to take a lot of effort from both teams. We’re just going to have to get ahead in the counts, try to keep them off the bases, try to limit extra bases. They’re a great team. We’re just going to have to put the ball in play. We can’t strike out a lot. We’re going to have to limit the walks. And then we’re just going to have to be a team and just come together with each other, and just try to pull through.

Do you have any plans for after high school: I’m going to go definitely for college baseball. I’m not exactly sure where yet, but I’m definitely gong to try to go somewhere.

Do you play any other sports at Dunmore: I think I’m going to play soccer this year. I played it my freshman and sophomore year. I took this year off to focus a little more on baseball, but I’m going to go back to it I think.

Athlete you admire: I love watching Bryce Harper. I like the way he plays the game. He plays it really hard. He never really takes any pitches off. I just love his mindset, too, and just how hard he plays the game.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals before or during a game: It’s actually the way I put on my gear to hit and the socks I use. I wear these blue socks. I wore them last year, and then I didn’t wear them at the beginning of the season this year because I just forgot about it. And I’m like screw it, and then I started doing well. For batting, I put my helmet on first, and then I put my batting gloves on, and then I put my elbow guard on, and then I put my leg guard on. And then I take my hand guard out on deck, and then I put it on right when the batter before me gets on or gets out.

Favorite food: Probably my mom’s meatballs and pasta.

Favorite sports teams: The Phillies and North Carolina baseball.

Favorite movie: “The Sandlot”

Favorite musical artist: Luke Combs

Three people you’d like to have dinner with: Bryce Harper, (North Carolina baseball players) Gavin Gallaher and Owen Hull.