Hazleton Area faced Wilkes-Barre in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Thursday. The Cougars put the hurt on the Wolfpack with a sharp 7-1 victory. Considering the Cougars have won five games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Dom Marino was incredible, firing off two home runs and three RBI while going 2-for-4. Those home runs were his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Chris Knelly, who went 3-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run.
Hazleton Area always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wilkes-Barre only posted an OBP of .222.
Cougars
| 04/16/26 vs Wilkes-Barre | 7-1 |
| 04/14/26 vs Dallas | 9-5 |
| 04/08/26 vs Wyoming Valley West | 6-5 |
| 04/06/26 vs Berwick | 21-9 |
| 03/21/26 vs Liberty | 10-4 |
| + 9 more games |
Hazleton Area's win was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for Wilkes-Barre, with the defeat, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 10-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hazleton Area will square off against Emmaus at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Cougars' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Hornets have averaged an impressive 6.2 runs per game this season. As for Wilkes-Barre, they will take on Dallas at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
