Dunmore’s Jamie McMynne prepares to pitch against Lakeland during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s John Paul Malak pitches against Dunmore during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Anthony Yerka bats against Lakeland during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s John Paul Malak bats against Dunmore during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Jamie McMynne bats against Lakeland during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Dunmore’s Mason Stets throws the ball to first base against Lakeland during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s John Paul Malak fields the ball and looks to throw to first for an out against Dunmore during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Dunmore’s Jamie McMynne prepares to pitch against Lakeland during the baseball game at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore on Monday, April 06, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
DUNMORE — In the first six innings, Dunmore mounted several scoring threats against Lakeland, yet had nothing to show for it.
Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, the Bucks broke through.
McMynne also threw out a Lakeland runner at home plate from center field for the final out of the top of the seventh inning to keep Dunmore’s deficit at one.
It was the veteran presence at the top of the Bucks lineup that sparked the comeback. It brought back memories of last year’s District 2 Class 3A final against Riverside, when the Bucks rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the title, 4-3.
“Our top five (batters) are back from last year. They all batted in that seventh inning against Riverside,” Dunmore coach Sid Hallinan said. “They have that championship DNA. They didn’t blink. They knew exactly what they had to do there. I believe in that DNA. We’ve been there before. Things like this become not easy, but easier, because they’ve been there and seen it all.”
Austin Yerka started it with a leadoff single and Nate Grochowski sacrificed him to second. Mason Stets followed with a double to left-center to score Yerka and tie the game at 1. After Evan Mizenko was intentionally walked, McMynne worked the count full before lining a single to left-center to score Stets with the winning run.
“I was seeing it well the whole game,” McMynne said. “Going into it, I had a lot of insight from my teammates. Fastball, curveball. Curveball didn’t move a whole lot. Saw it a lot throughout the at-bat, got to 3-2. Saw my pitch and hit it.”
While McMynne’s bat won the game, his defense in the top-half the seventh likely saved it.
With two outs, David Naniewicz singled, then executed a perfect delayed steal of second. Jackson Pochas then lined a single to center field and Naniewicz tried to score. But McMynne unleashed a one-hop throw to the plate to catcher Mizenko in time to nail Naniewicz and keep it 1-0.
“I knew I had to come up firing,” McMynne said. “The whole play was just come through it and throw as hard as I can and it worked out. Saw the ball coming to me, my eyes lit up and I threw hard.”
That play was the spark Dunmore’s offense needed, Hallinan said.
“That delayed steal was a great call to get him in scoring position. We didn’t see that coming,” Hallinan said. “But Jamie threw a BB to the plate. Not only did that get us out of the inning with them only with a one-run lead, but that injected life into our dugout. Almost in a weird way, if we get out on a fly ball or something, we might remain flatter. Instead, him throwing him out at the plate, the kids were going nuts. It just injected huge energy for us.”
Before its comeback, Dunmore (2-1 league, 4-2 overall) scored only one run in its previous 17 innings dating back to its win over Mid Valley on March 30. Not that the Bucks didn’t have their chances Monday.
They put two on with two outs in the bottom of the first against Lakeland starter J.P. Malak, but Malak got a fly out to end the threat. With two outs in the bottom of the second, an error and two walks loaded the bases. But Malak induced a groundout to end that threat. In the fourth, Dunmore put runners at second and third with one out. But Malak got a fielder’s choice with the runner being thrown out at the plate, then struck out the next batter to again deny the Bucks. Mizenko doubled with two outs in the fifth, but Malak stranded him by getting McMynne to ground out.
Dylan Loomis relieved Malak to begin the sixth, and Jackson Cady greeted him with a leadoff triple. But Loomis got the next three batters to pop out and keep Cady at third base.
“You have to give credit to Malak. He had us guessing,” Hallinan said. “He throws that off-speed, slow curveball that we haven’t seen yet. We’ve seen the harder curveballs, so when he threw that softer one, our guys buckled. He threw well and they played great defense. With the wind up here today, their shortstop (Ryan McGrane) and second baseman (Mason Finegan) made three or four plays (on pop-ups). That’s hard to do in high school, so all credit to them.
“We’re pressing at the plate. I think we’re overthinking. Everybody cares and they’re trying, but I think they’re trying too hard.”
Lakeland (2-1, 4-1) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second off McMynne, Dunmore’s starter. Kody Miller led off with a single. With one out, Loomis doubled to put runners at second and third. Ty Sokoloski followed with a single to right to score courtesy runner Evan Lonzinski.
That run held up for six innings.
“J.P. pitched a great game for us,” Lakeland coach Larry Piccini said. “Unfortunately, his pitch count ran up; he ran into some trouble in the early innings and we had to pull him after five. Dylan came in and threw strikes. Dunmore just made a couple more plays than we did when they had to.”
Despite the loss, Lakeland showed it will be a factor in Lackawanna Division II after a couple of down seasons. With only two seniors on the roster, the Chiefs boast a talented group of juniors and sophomores.
“We’re definitely playing better baseball,” Piccini said. “We expect to be competitive in every game we play. That’s the standard we’ve set and look to uphold this year.
“We got off to a good start. We know this week the competition was definitely going to be a step up with the gauntlet of our schedule with Dunmore, Mid Valley and Riverside back-to-back-to-back. We have to elevate and be ready to compete with these higher-level teams.”
Hallinan believes the Chiefs are a dangerous team.
“I think this team can make a run with us and Riverside and other teams in (District 2 Class) Triple-A,” Hallinan said. “They’re young, but they’ve also got a couple older kids mixed in. Those young kids can play baseball. Lakeland’s back and when Lakeland’s back, we all have a problem. Those kids are so tough, strong and well-coached. They know what they’re doing.”