JJ Hood was selected the MVP of the Pittston Area-Wyoming Area game receiving the first annual Joseph Agolino, Sr. Award. Left to right: Carmelina Agolino, Hood, Joseph Agolino, Jr., Joseph Agolino, III.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area hurler JJ Hood took the 5-2 win over the Patriots as well as hitting a two-run home run on his way to becoming the game’s MVP.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Patriot third baseman Devin Market puts the tag on Warrior Jake Kelleher (24).
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Pittston Area Patriot PJ Pisano slides under the tag made by Warrior third baseman Jack Mathis.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Nick Sciandra makes a backhand stop of an infield hit for Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area second baseman Casey Noone, front, nearly collides with right fielder John Morgan as Noone secures the catch at Pittston Area. Wyoming Area downed Pittston Area 5-2 in a non-conference game.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
HUGHESTOWN – The timing was just right for Wyoming Area pitching ace J.J. Hood.
Hood was well-rested to start the regular-season finale, the non-league Battle for the Bridge with rival Pittston Area, and the game would put him right on rotation to begin the Warriors postseason on the mound.
With Hood leading the way, the Warriors tuned up for the playoffs by beating their rivals, 5-2, Thursday afternoon.
Hood threw a three-hitter and hit a two-run homer to earn the first Joe Agolino Sr. Most Valuable Player Award for the game.
“I go to Agolino’s Restaurant all the time and when Big Joe passed away, it’s not the same going in there,” Hood said. “To win the trophy in his name means a lot to me.”
Being the starting pitcher increased Hood’s chances of landing the award.
“I was just trying my hardest, not just to win the trophy, but to get my team a win,” he said.
Wyoming Area coach Rob Lemoncelli said Hood is more than just the best performer in Thursday’s game.
“J.J.’s work ethic is incredible, off-season and in-season,” Lemoncelli said. “I expect nothing less from him. He’s one of the best players in the league and, In my opinion, the best pitcher hands down.
“It showed today. He’s earned everything that he’s gotten and everything that’s going to come to him in the future.”
Hood walked two and struck out six. He held the host Patriots scoreless until the bottom of the sixth. By then, the Warriors had taken a 5-0 lead.
“I’ve seen him sharper, but that does not mean he doesn’t know how to pitch,” Lemoncelli said. “He can spot up. He can use his pitches effectively.
“ … It doesn’t matter if his off-speed is as crisp at it usually is. He can work his way through it and that’s what he did today.”
Hood hit his two-run homer in the fourth inning for a 4-0 lead.
“It was a fastball on a 2-0 count, he came to me,” said Hood, a junior who is already committed to play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I baseball at the University of Connecticut.
Evan Melberger singled in two runs in the third inning to open the scoring, then tripled and scored on a Jake Kelleher single in the fifth.
Melberger, Kelleher, Hood and Jack Mathis each had two hits.
Sam Supey and Mathis started the third with singles after Wyoming Area’s first six batters had been retired. They both scored on Melberger’s single.
P.J. Pisano doubled, singled and scored one of the runs for Pittston Area.
Wyoming Area finished 8-6 to likely land the home field for the first round of the District 2 Class 4A playoffs. Pittston Area, which won the title in 2019, is expected to be the last seed in the eight-team District 2 Class 5A field after going 5-11.
