The Easton Area High School Baseball Team is selling Christmas Trees as a fundraiser this holiday season. Trees are sold right off the Easton High Baseball Field located off the Route 22 Exit Ramp and 25th street entrance to EAHS.

Douglas and Fraser Firs are available in various heights.
$35 for 6-7 foot trees, $40 for 7-8 ft. trees (Douglas or Fraser)
$45 for Douglas 8-10 ft. and $50 for Fraser Fir 8-10 ft. trees.

Hours: 4-8pm Week nights / 10am-7pm Weekends

Sale begins – Wednesday - Nov. 30, 2016 until stock is gone.

Support the EAHS Baseball Team and have a great Holiday Season! Visit www.roverbaseball.com for details and news!

The Diamond Club parent booster organization will convene the first meeting of the year on Tuesday Nov. 15 at 7:30pm in room C110 of the EAHS. Enter the gymnasium doors and enter the hallway near the athletic office.

Please consider joining the group and helping the baseball program for the upcoming season.

All parents of interested participants are welcome from grades 8-12. For further information please email Coach LaDuca at laducac@eastonsd.org.

Tuesday - November 1, 2016: St. Luke's Pre Testing on 30 yd. dash, Vertical Jump, and other components of training will be held at EAHS at 2:45pm after school. Professional trainers from St. Luke's Sports and Human Performance center will be on hand to test you. They will then structure our program of training to take place on Tuesday's and Thursday's right after school each week after that. There is NO COST to the player. The program is free due to a new agreement with the EASD and St. Luke's over the past year. Professionals from St. Luke's will be running the workouts.

Please contact Coach LaDuca by Sunday Oct. 30 if you will be attending the testing. Send him an email at laducac@eastonsd.org or stop by room B220 to see him personally so he can add you to the list.

Please share this announcement with other players to get the word out ASAP.

Easton Baseball has announced the 2016 District 11 Baseball Champions Team Awards at their season ending picnic held Friday - Aug. 12, 2016

MVP was shared by 1B - Trey Durrah, P - Pete Violante, and C - Corey Webb

Eddie Snyder Award winner was shared by Co Captains C - Corey Webb (he won both Snyder and MVP) and 2B Bryan Reagle

Hello Everyone,

After a few months of summer, summer baseball seasons, and vacations - some preparations for a picnic to honor the District 11 Champion Rovers and the accomplishments of our JV and Freshmen teams were worked on and we would like to offer an invitation to you and your family to attend the Easton Baseball Diamond Club picnic to be held Friday - August 12 at EAHS in the senior cafeteria at 5:30pm.

It will be an informal environment with picnic style appetizers and foods but important for all of the baseball participants as we honor the accomplishments of the teams and individual program awards. We put out some feelers on what would be the best dates but with a large amount of people to gather and many conflicts we hope this date will work as the seniors leaving us will be on to their college experience in a few short weeks.

We do understand that some people will be on vacations and may not be able to attend so I am asking you to reply to my email (laducac@eastonsd.org) by Tuesday morning Aug. 9 by noon with whether or not the date will work for your family to attend - A YES or NO and the number who will attend in your family.

Our hope is that a majority will be able to attend as it will be a special night especially for our seniors.

Please respond to laducac@eastonsd.org

Once I have the numbers, I will send out a follow up email early next week with particulars regarding some basic things about the picnic and what each team can bring to compliment the picnic like desserts etc...

There is no cost to the families or players.

Thank you!
The Coaching Staff

The Varsity E Summer Baseball Camp this past week was a great success! Thanks to all the players and coaches who made it a fun week of baseball.

Looking forward to Pitching and Catching Camp on July 11-12 and Hitting Camps scheduled for July 13-14.

You can register by getting the form on the Athletics section of the school website at www.eastonsd.org or by registering at the camps on July 11 or July 13.

The Easton Red Rovers will travel to Earl Wenger Field in Fredericksburg for the Class AAAA quarterfinal matchup against Cumberland Valley on Thursday June 9th. Game time is 4pm.

Directions to Earl Wenger Field
Take Route 78 West to Exit #8, bear right off exit onto Route 22. Travel approx. 1 to 1-1/2 miles and the field is on right. If you get to Northern Lebanon High School, you went too far.

By Greg Joyce | lehighvalleylive.com

The Easton baseball team kept its season alive Monday with a 1-0 win over Downingtown West in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament at Lehigh’s Legacy Park.

Turning point: The Red Rovers pushed across their lone run before even recording a hit. Ryan Greene led off the third inning getting hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a passed ball. He then took third on a sacrifice bunt with an error, and scored on a fielder’s choice from Javier Irizarry.

Easton senior Pete Violante took care of the rest, working quickly up and down the Whippets’ lineup. The biggest threat he worked out of came in the sixth, when Downingtown West put a runner on third with one out. But Violante jammed a batter for a popup and then got a fly ball to center field to escape the jam.

Top performer: Violante. The Red Rovers’ ace allowed just four hits and kept the Whippets off balance all day.

Greg Albertson collected the only two hits Easton tallied all day — none of which factored into the game’s only run.

What it means: The win was Easton’s first state tournament victory since it won two games and advanced to the semifinals in 1990.

The Red Rovers advanced to the quarterfinals to face the winner of District 1 champ Pennridge and Cumberland Valley (third place, District 3) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

By Greg Joyce | lehighvalleylive.com
Photo courtesy of Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Three times in his high school career, Easton's Ryan Greene had to stand and watch, with a silver medal around his neck, while a Parkland team was awarded gold and the District 11 championship trophy.

On the football and baseball fields over the past three years, the Trojans had ended a Red Rovers season in the district playoffs four times — three in the title game.

In his final chance to rewrite the script, Greene helped make history on Thursday night at Lehigh’s Legacy Park.

Greene’s two-run single in the sixth accounted for what turned out to be the winning runs, and then he came on to pitch out of a jam in the seventh, as the Easton baseball team beat Parkland 6-4 for the District 11 Class AAAA championship — its first since 1993.

"It means everything to us," Greene said. "It means the world."

By knocking off the three-time defending champs, the Red Rovers (19-5) punched their ticket to the state tournament, which will begin Monday against either Downingtown West or Boyertown.

"After all these years, taking some hard losses in district championships, this is great to finally have the gold around my neck," said senior first baseman Trey Durrah, who scored on Greene’s single and was the quarterback with Greene on his offensive line on the gridiron. "We pitched it well, hit it well, we answered whenever they scored runs. It was just a great overall team win. I’m so proud of these guys."

To make the scene all the more surreal, Greene had pitched in just two games all season before Wednesday, his last appearance coming April 25. The senior had thrown 24 2/3 innings in 2015, going 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA, but this year had been a mainstay in right field.

"Ryan hasn’t pitched since — it’s been weeks," coach Carm LaDuca said. "Last year he had four wins for us, so Ryan is a pitcher. But we just didn’t need his arm that much this year because he was a solid right fielder and we had other guys doing the job."

They needed him now, though, more than ever.

Greene warmed up in the bullpen during the bottom of the sixth, just before his big hit, and Easton had gone through three pitchers to get to one out in the seventh when LaDuca called on the righty in a 6-3 game with runners on first and second.

The first batter Greene faced was Michael Jenkins, who came within a foot of a line drive single down the third base line, but it fell just foul. Greene retired him on the next pitch for the second out.

Then after a walk on a 3-2 count loaded the bases, Andrew Roth singled to make it a 6-4 game.

Greene stayed the course, though, and two pitches later secured the final out on a fly ball to left fielder Liam Hughes.

"I just knew I had to throw strikes, believe in my defense. I knew they’d get the job done with me," Greene said. "I had faith in my stuff, my coaches had faith in me, so I just went in and threw. … The pressure makes me play better, I like to think."

Greene had showed that in the bottom of the sixth, when he came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and knocked a single up the middle, scoring two runs for what was just some breathing room at the time.

By the end of the night, they turned out to be the winning runs.

"It feels amazing, especially to do it against Parkland, who’s basically our rivals other than P’burg," said Greene, who finished 2-for-4 and added a fine sliding catch in right field in the top of the sixth.

The Red Rovers had missed out on their chances through the first three innings, leaving a combined seven runners on base. It had the feeling of a team either getting ready to break through or wasting prime opportunities that would come back to haunt.

Easton made sure it would be the former. Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, the Red Rovers rallied as Hughes singled in a run and Durrah tied it on a sacrifice fly — though the celebration was short-lived when Parkland appealed to second base for a double play on a runner tagging early.

Then after Alex Kounoupis got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth, senior catcher Corey Webb led off the bottom half with a double crushed to the left field fence. Sean Boylan followed with a triple down the right field line and soon came in to score on a wild pitch for the 4-2 lead.

"I actually gotta do some more pushups, man," Webb joked. "(But) you can’t be nervous. You’re playing baseball, having fun. I was just going out there and doing my thing — whatever happens, happens."

But ultimately, Parkland’s 4-3 walkoff win in this very game one year ago lingered.

The Trojans had the makings of a comeback in the sixth when they had two on and one out with the heart of their lineup due up. Lefty Anthony Keifer came through in a big spot, though, getting two pop ups to end the threat.

"It wasn’t the cleanest of games, but it really goes to the heart of who they are that they never quit," LaDuca said. "You have to have kids that believe and want to work hard."

Even playing against a school that had ended their District 11 dreams so many times, the Red Rovers prevailed and the senior-heavy squad went out on top.

"Unbelievable," Webb said. "Especially after the way last year ended, it’s unbelievable. We had to finish it off."

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com

By Greg Joyce | lehighvalleylive.com
Photo courtesy of Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Those who were in attendance at Richards Field Wednesday afternoon may have trouble recounting all of what exactly unfolded over two hours and 45 minutes of a high school baseball game.

But they'll certainly try, because Easton's 10-9 eight-inning win over Liberty in the District 11 Class AAAA quarterfinals was one that involved every winding twist and turn imaginable.

"Unreal," Red Rovers senior Trey Durrah said. "Baseball is a crazy game."

"It was definitely crazy, that's pretty much all I can say," Easton senior Bryan Reagle said.

And as both Easton coach Carm LaDuca and Liberty coach Andy Pitsilos put it, "It's a shame somebody had to lose that game."

The Red Rovers, though, didn't mind being the one to win it. They advanced to the district semifinals to face Stroudsburg, a 5-3 winner over No. 2 Freedom, 12 p.m. Monday at Lehigh's Legacy Park.

After the Hurricanes had pushed across a run in the top of the eighth, the Red Rovers staged a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning. They tied it when Reagle's infield single scored Javier Irizarry from third and won it when Durrah launched a high fly ball to right field that appeared to get lost in the bright sky and landed just behind Liberty right fielder Mike Lehman.

"It wasn't the hardest hit ball, I just hit it a ton in the air," Durrah said. "I saw the right fielder just running back and he just didn't look like he was under it. It just dropped in and all I could do was smile."

Reagle, meanwhile, had been running the whole way with two outs and was just about to hit third when the ball found grass.

"I was about to round third and then I just heard everyone go crazy," Reagle said. "Obviously I knew something happened. Coach was telling me to go, so I just got on my horse and tried to make it."

LaDuca had been telling Reagle to run hard because he had seen past fly balls off Durrah's bat turn into trouble.

"I can think of at least three other games were fielders struggled with the height of those balls," LaDuca said. "It's a high sky and there are no clouds in that sky. That's a very difficult play for an outfielder."

For the Hurricanes, it was a crushing and cruel end to a game they had climbed back into after falling behind 5-0 in the first inning to hold one-run leads in both the fifth and eighth innings.

"Mike's been a really good kid for us throughout his career," Pitsilos said. "He's been a really good outfielder. Sometimes that just happens. High sky, the wind was blowing out. Maybe it just got caught up in the wind a little bit. Hey, he's a good kid."

Lehman had made sure Liberty even had a shot to win it in the eighth, going 3-for-5 on the day with three runs. He led off three different innings with singles that spurred a rally each time.

The first came in the second inning, minutes after Easton had hung a five spot on the scoreboard, and set the tone for what kind of game it was going to be. Lehman's single was followed by a double from pitcher Ben Hudock, a single from Kyle Ross, a double from No. 9 hitter Kyle Hlavaty and a fielder's choice from Ryan Wescoe to suddenly turn a big deficit into a one-run game.

The Red Rovers answered with a run, driven in by Durrah, in the bottom half of the inning, but the Hurricanes kept clawing back with one run in the fourth and then two in the fifth to take their first lead, 7-6.

"Props to them for coming back, they really showed some heart," Reagle said. "But we definitely showed some heart as well and came through."

Easton showed it in the bottom of the sixth, even after the first two batters were set down in order. Greg Albertson (two hits, two runs) took a pitch on the back and Liam Hughes followed with a walk. Reagle then reached on a fielding error in the infield, and Albertson never broke stride to come around from third to tie the game.

Hughes later scored on a wild pitch for the 8-7 lead.

"We were able to get a couple breaks and we fought back," LaDuca said. "… It wasn't conventional, it wasn't a pretty win, but sometimes you need that to happen in the game of baseball. Today we were on the positive end of that."

A game like this had no plans of ending in regulation, though, as Kyle Ross hit a sacrifice fly to score Lehman in the top of the seventh, tying the game. The Hurricanes threatened for more, but Easton got out of it on a 2-6-5-1-3 pickoff started by catcher Corey Webb.

"They don't quit," LaDuca said.

The game then looked like it could be decided by a run scored by Ryan Wescoe, after the Liberty senior had led off the eighth getting hit by a pitch after if first bounced a few feet in front of the plate, and came around to score on an RBI single from Sammy Kraihanzel.

But this rollercoaster of a game had one last winding turn. Irizarry led off with a single, moved to second on Albertson's sac bunt and to third on a groundout, all setting the stage for Reagle and Durrah to end it in just another whacky way.

"It was just a great moment," Durrah said, "in my last game here at Richards Field with all my seniors."

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com

By lehighvalleylive sports staff | lehighvalleylive.com

Robert Roman went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to help No. 8 Central Catholic knock off top-seeded Easton 5-3 in the EPC quarterfinals.

Justin Welch added two doubles and an RBI while AJ Brosius went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jake Patridge picked up the win on the mound. The Vikings advanced to play Liberty in Tuesday's semifinals.

Liam Hughes led four Red Rovers with two hits apiece, tallying a double and an RBI.

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com

By Greg Joyce | lehighvalleylive.com
Photo courtesy of Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Easton and Freedom baseball teams were supposed to play the second half of their regular season series on a random Thursday in late April until rain postponed the game.

Instead, two of the area’s top teams met on Wednesday afternoon, the second-to-last day of the regular season, with a division title at stake.

The game lived up to the setting, as the Red Rovers broke open for four runs in the seventh inning to beat the Patriots 4-1.

"What a great high school baseball game," Easton coach Carm LaDuca said. "We all have a lot of respect for this program and (Freedom coach) Nick D’Amico. This is an awesome baseball team over here. It’s just great to get out of here and have an opportunity to win a ballgame in that fashion."

The Red Rovers (16-3, 13-3 EPC) kept the Patriots (16-3, 13-3 EPC) from clinching the EPC Steel Division title at least for the day. That will be decided by a long list of tiebreakers, ultimately coming down to District 11 power rankings not including independent games. Freedom has one game left Thursday against Pocono Mountain East, so the division crown won’t be determined for at least 24 hours.

Bryan Reagle played hero when he came to the plate in a 1-1 game with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh. With the infield drawn in, the senior shot a first-pitch fastball back up the middle to drive in two runs, with a third coming in after the relay home went to the backstop.

"I was having a frustrating day at the plate up until that at-bat," Reagle said. "Fastball middle in, that’s what I was looking for. I got it and took it up the middle. The infield was in, so I didn’t really have to do anything that special."

But for a team that hadn’t found many holes all day — the Red Rovers managed just two hits off Freedom starter Evan Callahan through six innings — hitting the ball where the Patriots weren’t was plenty good enough.

"(I was) just wondering if we were going to break through at some point," LaDuca said. "We put a lot of balls in play, we just seemed to not hit the ball hard at the right time."

Reagle pointed out, though, that Easton hadn’t struck out heading into the seventh. That they were making solid contact made the Red Rovers feel like things would turn around at some point — even if they didn’t until the team was down to its last three outs.

"I’m pretty sure everyone on the team was confident going into (the seventh)," Reagle said. "That’s just the way we are. We’re tight-knit and we keep fighting till the 21st out."

Ryan Greene walked to lead off the inning and Caleb Messinger followed by getting hit by a pitch to end Callahan’s day on the mound. Alec Huertas came on in relief and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches, wiping out the chance of a sacrifice bunt.

Greg Albertson was up next and ripped a line drive single to right field, loading the bases.

Then Liam Hughes slapped a hard grounder to a drawn-in third baseman John Yocum, who scooped up the ball but then slipped on the grass and never got a throw to home plate as the tying run scored.

"It’s a play (Yocum) makes every single day and one he probably says is routine for him," Freedom coach Nick D’Amico said. "That’s out No. 2, game’s still tied and the infield is back. The what-if’s could have happened, but they didn’t and it went in their favor. We lost to a very good team."

Reagle came up next to break open the game and give Easton the win.

In the background, Nick Zenga was throwing a strong game for the Red Rovers that nearly went to waste. He had allowed only the one run, on an RBI single from Tanner Anthony in the third inning.

But after his teammates finally gave him run support, Zenga was happy to go back out and finish off the win.

"Our pitching staff has carried us throughout this season," Zenga said. "That’s the reason why we’re winning here. Our offense is slacking a little bit but our pitching staff has really picked up the slack for our team."

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com

By lehighvalleylive sports staff | lehighvalleylive.com

Pete Violante (7-1, 1.18 ERA) tossed a two-hitter as Easton (14-3) shut out Stroudsburg 2-0 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference contest.

Trey Durrah (.404 BA, 17 RBI) had two doubles and drove in a run for the Red Rovers.

Easton hosts Bethlehem Catholic in the home regular season finale on Tuesday at Richards Field, on the EAHS campus.

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com

By lehighvalleylive sports staff | lehighvalleylive.com

Sammy Kraihanzel drove in the game's lone run, singling home Kyle Hlavaty with two outs in the fifth inning to lift Liberty past Easton 1-0.

Ben Hudock and Elias Gross combined on the shutout for the Hurricanes while Mike Perrault went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Pete Violante struck out five and walked four over six innings for the Red Rovers.

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com

By lehighvalleylive sports staff | lehighvalleylive.com

Greg Albertson had two hits and drove in a pair of runs as Easton blanked Dieruff 8-0 in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Steel Division game.

Sean Boylan added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Red Rovers.

Jeison Peralta registered two hits for Dieruff.

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com

By Greg Joyce | lehighvalleylive.com
Photo courtesy of Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Easton and Freedom baseball teams were supposed to play the second half of their regular season series on a random Thursday in late April until rain postponed the game.

Instead, two of the area’s top teams met on Wednesday afternoon, the second-to-last day of the regular season, with a division title at stake.

The game lived up to the setting, as the Red Rovers broke open for four runs in the seventh inning to beat the Patriots 4-1.

"What a great high school baseball game," Easton coach Carm LaDuca said. "We all have a lot of respect for this program and (Freedom coach) Nick D’Amico. This is an awesome baseball team over here. It’s just great to get out of here and have an opportunity to win a ballgame in that fashion."

The Red Rovers (16-3, 13-3 EPC) kept the Patriots (16-3, 13-3 EPC) from clinching the EPC Steel Division title at least for the day. That will be decided by a long list of tiebreakers, ultimately coming down to District 11 power rankings not including independent games. Freedom has one game left Thursday against Pocono Mountain East, so the division crown won’t be determined for at least 24 hours.

Bryan Reagle played hero when he came to the plate in a 1-1 game with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh. With the infield drawn in, the senior shot a first-pitch fastball back up the middle to drive in two runs, with a third coming in after the relay home went to the backstop.

"I was having a frustrating day at the plate up until that at-bat," Reagle said. "Fastball middle in, that’s what I was looking for. I got it and took it up the middle. The infield was in, so I didn’t really have to do anything that special."

But for a team that hadn’t found many holes all day — the Red Rovers managed just two hits off Freedom starter Evan Callahan through six innings — hitting the ball where the Patriots weren’t was plenty good enough.

"(I was) just wondering if we were going to break through at some point," LaDuca said. "We put a lot of balls in play, we just seemed to not hit the ball hard at the right time."

Reagle pointed out, though, that Easton hadn’t struck out heading into the seventh. That they were making solid contact made the Red Rovers feel like things would turn around at some point — even if they didn’t until the team was down to its last three outs.

"I’m pretty sure everyone on the team was confident going into (the seventh)," Reagle said. "That’s just the way we are. We’re tight-knit and we keep fighting till the 21st out."

Ryan Greene walked to lead off the inning and Caleb Messinger followed by getting hit by a pitch to end Callahan’s day on the mound. Alec Huertas came on in relief and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches, wiping out the chance of a sacrifice bunt.

Greg Albertson was up next and ripped a line drive single to right field, loading the bases.

Then Liam Hughes slapped a hard grounder to a drawn-in third baseman John Yocum, who scooped up the ball but then slipped on the grass and never got a throw to home plate as the tying run scored.

"It’s a play (Yocum) makes every single day and one he probably says is routine for him," Freedom coach Nick D’Amico said. "That’s out No. 2, game’s still tied and the infield is back. The what-if’s could have happened, but they didn’t and it went in their favor. We lost to a very good team."

Reagle came up next to break open the game and give Easton the win.

In the background, Nick Zenga was throwing a strong game for the Red Rovers that nearly went to waste. He had allowed only the one run, on an RBI single from Tanner Anthony in the third inning.

But after his teammates finally gave him run support, Zenga was happy to go back out and finish off the win.

"Our pitching staff has carried us throughout this season," Zenga said. "That’s the reason why we’re winning here. Our offense is slacking a little bit but our pitching staff has really picked up the slack for our team."

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com
Greg Joyce may be reached at gjoyce@lehighvalleylive.com

By Stephen Miller | The Morning Call

A ball that bounced its way allowed the Easton High baseball team to keep its lead in the top of the fifth inning.

A string of productive at-bats in the bottom of the inning kept the Red Rovers rolling.

Easton took advantage of two Pocono Mountain East errors to score five fifth-inning runs, turning a one-run cushion into a six-run advantage. The Red Rovers tacked on one more run in the sixth to pull away for an 8-1 win in an EPC game at Richards Field.

With its second win in as many days and third straight overall, Easton (5-1 overall, 3-1 EPC) continued its excellent early-season play. The Red Rovers have outscored their opponents 50-11 and haven't allowed more than four runs in a game. Their lone loss was a one-run setback against Northampton.

As well as Easton has played, senior catcher Corey Webb isn't satisfied. He would like to see more efforts like the one the Red Rovers delivered in their 12-0, EPC-opening victory against Parkland on March 30.

"Today we played pretty well, but we've got to get started earlier in the game," Webb said. "We're playing from behind a lot. We've got to start earlier in the game, hit the ball, get on the board and get some energy in the dugout."

Webb scored the run that gave Easton the lead for good. He singled in the third and came home on Trey Durrah's RBI double, which pushed the Red Rovers ahead 2-1.

Easton was in danger of losing its lead in the fifth. Pocono Mountain East (5-2, 3-2) had runners at second and third with two outs and its best hitter, Zach McCambley, due up.

Easton coach Carm LaDuca considered an intentional walk that would have loaded the bases. He instead allowed starter Pete Violante to attack McCambley.

McCambley ripped an 0-1 pitch up the middle, but Violante deflected it. The ball then hit the second-base bag and bounced toward second baseman Bryan Reagle. He fielded the ball and threw to first to retire McCambley and keep Easton in front.

"You know how this game is," LaDuca said. "Sometimes you get a little luck involved with it as well. Good fortune went our way today. We were able to get some big hits at the right time."

Three of Easton's hits came in the fifth, when it broke the game open. A Pocono Mountain East error and a walk gave the Red Rovers two on with no one out.

That brought up Webb. He twice failed to drop a sacrifice bunt before cracking an RBI single. He finished 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

A two-run single by Durrah (2-for-4, three RBIs), another Pocono Mountain East error and an RBI double by Ryan Greene left Easton with a 7-1 lead. That was more than enough for Violante.

He limited the Cardinals to one run on eight hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked one.

"Pete did a nice job of holding them down after they had a bunch of hits early," LaDuca said. "Two of them were kind of bloopers, but they were hitting some balls solid and hard. That was all early, and then it seemed like Pete calmed down there and settled in."

The Red Rovers aren't settling for where they sit. They have a day off before meeting Freedom in a matchup of EPC Steel Division contenders Thursday.

"We're real happy with our group, but one of the things we're focusing on is you have to be able to execute all the time against good baseball teams," LaDuca said. "That's a good baseball team over there, and we were able to do some things today.

"But obviously we have some better teams coming up that are doing really well. To be prepared for that and to win, you're going to have to play all aspects of the game well."

Article courtesy of The Morning Call
Stephen Miller may be reached at samiller@mcall.com

By lehighvalleylive sports staff | lehighvalleylive.com

Easton scored six runs in the both the fourth and fifth inning to earn a 14-4 victory over East Stroudsburg North in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference game.

Bryan Reagle drove in four runs for the Red Rovers and Corey Webb added two RBIs. Caleb Messinger added a pair of doubles and two RBIs, and Trey Durrah had a triple and an RBI.

Drew Mead was 3-for-3 with three RBIs for East Stroudsburg North.

Article courtesy of lehighvalleylive.com

By Stephen Miller | The Morning Call
Photo courtesy of April Bartholomew | The Morning Call

Parkland waited a week from the first play date of the 2016 high school baseball season to open its schedule.

Easton forced the Trojans to endure a long afternoon when they finally took the field.

Five scoreless innings from Pete Violante and four RBIs from Trey Durrah allowed the Red Rovers to head to their bus early. They cruised to a 12-0, five-inning road win in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference opener for both teams.

Wednesday's game featured the two teams that played in the District 11 Class 4A final last May. It included none of the drama of that title game, which Parkland won 4-3.

Easton (2-0 overall, 1-0 EPC) scored a run in the first inning and two in the third before erupting for a nine-run fifth, putting the 10-run mercy rule in play. Violante finished what he started by inducing three ground outs in a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth. He limited Parkland (0-1, 0-1) to three hits, struck out four and walked none.

Violante missed most of his junior baseball season after breaking a bone in his left (non-throwing) arm during basketball season. He has come back to start his senior season with a flourish. Violante also tossed five shutout innings in Easton's season-opening 9-0 win against Hazleton.

"I was out most of last year, but I was indeed at the district final the last game last year," Violante said. "Obviously we wanted to come back and come out alive, and I think we did that today."

Easton jumped to the lead Wednesday two batters into the game. Greg Albertson (1-for-2, three runs) led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by Sean Boylan (2-for-3, two runs).

Durrah and catcher Corey Webb did plenty more damage for the Red Rovers. Durrah cracked an RBI double in the third before adding an RBI triple and a two-run single in his two fifth-inning at-bats. Webb chipped in with RBI singles in the third and fifth.

"Parkland's given me, the whole Easton community, a few tough losses through my years here," said Durrah, who also played quarterback for Easton's football team the last two seasons. "We just wanted to come out hard, hit the ball hard. We just wanted to play behind Pete.

"We knew he was going to give us his best. We gave him our best. We fielded the ball pretty good and hit the ball all over the park. It was just a great team win."

It was a forgettable opener for first-year Parkland coach Kurt Weber. He expected the Trojans to endure some rough patches after all the key players they graduated from last year's 27-2 team that reached the PIAA Class 4A semifinals. The inexperience showed during the fifth.

Parkland made three errors in the inning and botched a rundown to allow Easton's 10th run to score.

"We lost too much experience and guys that just knew how to play the game," Weber said. "We've got a lot of coaching to do, and we've got to get a lot better."

Everyone in the EPC, including Easton coach Carm LaDuca, expects Parkland to be a factor when May arrives. He reminded his players to stay humble after Wednesday's win.

The Red Rovers are right back at it Thursday against Northampton, another team that could contend for an EPC tournament berth. "There's a long road ahead," LaDuca said. "I'm sure that that's going to be a very good team over there. Today things went our way. We did what we're supposed to do."

Article courtesy of The Morning Call
Stephen Miller may be reached at samiller@mcall.com
Photo courtesy of April Bartholomew | The Morning Call

Anyone interested in top quality Easton Baseball gear and clothing can go to the following link to order through Schuykill Valley Sporting Goods. Orders placed will be filled as soon as the Online store closes out on April 4, 2016. All orders must be in by that date.

Any questions regarding the order can be directed to the store at the appropriate link on the order page. All monies go directly through SVSG and not through the coaches.

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Practice will be at the Kunckle Track field.

Thursday March 10th from 4-6 (8th only)

Friday March 11th from 4-6 (9th only)

Saturday March 12th
8th Graders - 10:30-11:45
9th Graders - 11:45-1:00

Please check the website daily for updates!!!

Please follow www.roverbaseball.com and Twitter @roverbaseball for all announcements pertaining to practice schedule, etc...

Intramurals for Friday - March 4 have been cancelled.

Opening day of Practice for Tryouts for grades 9-12 will be held Monday, March 7 immediately after school (2:45pm). Please prepare for indoor and outdoor portions of practice. Dress with sweat pants, sweat shirts, and have both shoes and spikes available for practice with all of your appropriate practice gear.

Grade 8 Practice will be announced at EAMS later in the week and be posted on Twitter and on this site. Expect possibly opening up Thursday or Friday of this upcoming week.

All Pitchers and Catchers should report after school on Monday and Friday to the pitching room. All are expected to attend. Communicate with the coaches if you have an issue with attending.

Intramural Hitting Dates this week are from 5-7pm on Tuesday Jan. 12 and Thursday Jan. 14 in the Auxiliary Gym. All players are welcome to attend in grades 9-12. Grade 8 will have specialized dates in February which will be announced later.