Pretty good decade for Lackawanna League baseball. It saw a couple teams reach the state championship game and of the 46 District 2 titles up for grabs from 2010-2019, the Lackawanna League took home 25.
So, who were the best players?
With the Times-Tribune All-Region teams serving as the pool of players, let’s assemble the Lackawanna League’s All-Decade Team. We’ll break it down position-by-position over the next few days. You can vote for your pick at the bottom of the post.
Up first: the catchers. Here are the candidates, sorted by the year they made the All-Region team.
Josh White, Valley View
Decade stats: .311, 15 RBIs, 12 runs, 14 hits, 1 double, 4 home runs
All-Region bio: From 2010 — “Hit .310 with four home runs and 15 RBIs as senior helped pitching staff attain a sub-2.00 earned run average for the season. … First All-Region selection.”
Matt Badamo, Abington Heights
Decade stats: .384, 31 RBIs, 38 runs, 43 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs
All-Region bio: From 2011 — “Stat machine for the Comets who was top 10 in Division I in six categories: First in homers (8) and runs (26), fourth in hits (25) and doubles (6), sixth in RBIs (19) and ninth in batting average (.439). First All-Region selection.”
Rob Nardelli, Valley View
Decade stats: .337, 51 RBIs, 46 runs, 63 hits, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs
All-Region bio: From 2012 — “While showcasing a defensive game beyond his years, sophomore hit .429 to help lead the Cougars to another Division II title. Scored 11 runs and drove in 14 RBIs, with four doubles and a home run. Voted the coaches’ Division II Player of the Year. First All-Region selection.”
James Blevins, Lakeland
Decade stats: 69 RBIs, 55 runs, 69 hits, 12 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs
All-Region bio (Two teams): From 2013 — “Proved to be a force hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the Chiefs’ lineup. Batted .339 with 20 hits, 23 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Pounded out 10 extra-base hits — three doubles, four triples and a team-high three home runs. … Batted .313 with five RBIs, two triples and a home run in the postseason. … First-team Lackawanna League Division III coaches’ all-star. … First All-Region selection.” From 2014 — “Anchored middle of the order for the District 2 champion Chiefs. Hit .349, with 22 hits, 21 RBIs and three home runs. … Was at his best in the playoffs, hitting .368 with nine RBIs, two doubles and two home runs in five games. … Lackawanna League Division III coaches’ first-team all-star. … Second All-Region selection.”
Zach Campbell, Abington Heights
Decade stats: .358, 32 RBI, 16 runs, 34 hits, 5 doubles
All-Region bio: From 2015 — “Batted .405 with 32 hits, 21 RBIs and 15 runs as the anchor of the Comets’ lineup in his first year at the varsity level. Also had four doubles. … Batted .452 in the postseason. … Division I coaches’ all-star.”
Zach Klapak, Delaware Valley
Decade stats: .304, 30 RBIs, 31 runs, 45 hits, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers
All-Region bio: From 2016 — “Batted .326 with 15 hits, 10 RBIs, five extra-base hits and eight runs. … Division II coaches’ all-star. … Solid on defense, where his arm is a real strength.”
Shane Smith, Old Forge
Decade stats: .316, 35 RBIs, 47 runs, 55 hits, 9 doubles, 2 triples
All-Region bio: From 2017 — “Helped the Blue Devils to a District 2 Class 2A title and into the PIAA quarterfinals. … Batted .382 with 26 hits, 22 runs and 11 RBIs. Also had six extra-base hits. … Batted .529 in the postseason, with nine hits, seven runs and six RBIs.
Adam Retzbach, Lakeland
Decade stats: .396, 79 RBIs, 61 runs, 82 hits, 12 doubles, 4 triples, 10 home runs
All-Region bio (two teams): From 2018 — “One-half of the 1-2 punch that helped Chiefs capture Lackawanna Division IV flag and District 2 Class 3A title. … Batted .509 with two home runs, team-high 26 RBIs. … Possesses strong throwing arm.” From 2019 — “Times-Tribune Player of the Year. Slugging backstop who helped Chiefs win the Lackawanna League Division III title. … Batted .471 (24 for 51) and scored 21 runs. His seven HRs and 31 RBIs topped the Lackawanna League. … A tough out, he hit safely in 14 of 19 games, including the last 11 games. Over his final eight games he had 12 hits in 22 at-bats with 18 RBIs. Of the 12 hits, five were home runs and two were doubles. … Excellent defensive catcher with a strong throwing arm. … Division III Coaches Player of the Year.”
Jake Mastillo, North Pocono
Decade stats: .406, 32 RBIs, 25 runs, 56 hits, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs
All-Region bio: From 2019 (made team as utility player) — “Led Lackawanna League in batting with a .500 average. … Led Division II in RBIs (19), doubles (8), home runs (4) and tied for lead in triples (2). Scored 15 runs. … Hit safely in 18 of Trojans’ 21 games.”
CLICK HERE TO VOTE
Stay tuned for the next position.
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Conor Foley goes beyond the box score with in-depth coverage of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. He has worked at The Times-Tribune since graduating from University of Scranton in 2011, and he has covered the RailRiders since 2017. Contact: cfoley@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; or @railridersTT
