Honesdale varsity baseball team is off to a solid start in Lackawanna League action

HONESDALE — Last spring, local high school baseball fans came out of the woodwork to celebrate Honesdale’s first Lackawanna League title in more than two decades.

This year, the Hornets are competing in a revamped Division II and looking to defend their crown. Under the direction of head coach Ernie Griffis, the Red & Black have opened up the 2024 campaign with four wins in their first six games.

Thanks in large part to stellar performances from the likes of Peter Modrovsky, Brody Patrisso, Grant Tonkin and Nick Martin, Honesdale has posted wins over Crestwood, Wilkes Barre Area, Paupack and Lakeland.

This past week, though, the Hornets suffered a pair of tough losses to Riverside and Old Forge. This sets the stage for a crucial stretch over the course of the next 10 days.

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“Starting 4-2 is great for this team even though I feel like the last two games we left a lot on the field,” Griffis said “We will learn from it and hopefully get back on the winning track this week.”

Weather permitting, Honesdale will travel to Dunmore on Wednesday for a battle with Holy Cross. First pitch is slated for 4:30 p.m.

Big wins, tough losses

The newly reconfigured Lackawanna League has Honesdale competing against Riverside, Mid Valley, Lakeland, Dunmore, Old Forge, Holy Cross and Western Wayne in Division II.

When reviewing this year’s schedule during the pre-season, Griffis immediately saw the potential for an extremely tight race.

“I knew we were going to be in a lot of close games early on,” the veteran skipper said. “And in order to come out on the winning end, we’d need to pitch well, play clean defense, and get timely hitting.“

Happily for Honesdale fans, that’s exactly what has happened. The Hornets reeled off four straight one-run wins to start the season. While they then suffered back-to-back losses versus Riverside and Old Forge, both games went right down to the wire.

“Our biggest team strength so far has been pitching,” Griffis said. “No matter who is out there they have the ability to keep the other team off-balance.“

Modrovsky has once again emerged as the ace of Honesdale’s staff. The senior southpaw already has three starts under his belt and has yet to allow an earned run.

To date, Modrovsky has worked 13 innings and allowed eight hits. He’s issued 10 walks and piled up a team-best 25 strikeouts.

Patrisso has been a revelation in the early going. A hard-throwing sophomore righty, he’s pitched 13 innings and notched an ERA of 3.67. Patrisso has recorded 19 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .217 batting average.

Offensively, Tonkin and Martin are each delivering key at-bats on a daily basis.

A senior catcher who hits clean-up, Tonkin leads the team with a .375 average, .562 slugging and an eye-popping 1.128 OPS. Tonkin has six hits, including a homer, and four RBIs.

“Grant is really shining for us right now,” Griffis said. “He already has several big hits in big situations, including a walk-off against Crestwood.”

Martin is a versatile player who can patrol the outfield and also catch. The fleet-footed junior bats lead-off and has talked a team-high five runs. Martin’s on-base percentage is .417 and he’s yet to be thrown out while attempting to steal.

“Nick has really settled into the lead-off role,” Griffis said. “He’s been doing great job getting on and then wreaking havoc while running the bases.”

On the horizon

Heading into this week’s action, Riverside sits alone atop the Division II standings with a perfect 3-0 record.

Mid Valley is a half-game back at 3-1 while Western Wayne and Old Forge are tied for third place at 2-1. Honesdale is 1-2, but is poised to make up some serious ground with games against Western Wayne, Holy Cross and Mid Valley.

“We’re coming along,” Griffis said. “We need to cut down on strikeouts and improve our situational hitting.

“It’s kind of tough when we only have two scrimmages in 35 degree weather. We’re forced to find ourselves during league play, so there’s bound to be some growing pains.”