Honesdale baseball team looking to reload after another solid season in 2024

HONESDALE — There wasn’t a more exciting team to watch last year on the local high school baseball scene than Honesdale.

The Hornets posted an overall record of 14-7 and thrilled local fans with a steady stream of late-game heroics. At one point during the season, coach Ernie Griffis’ team reeled off four straight one run wins in walk-off fashion.

Sadly for local fans, though, the Hornets ran out of miracles in the District 2 playoffs, dropping a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Scranton Prep in the Class 4A semifinals.

On the heels of that success, Honesdale will be looking to jump right back into the Lackawanna League championship chase this spring.

“We were hit pretty hard by graduation the last two years,” Griffis said. “We have a lot of holes to fill. I think that pitching will definitely keep us in games, but we need to rebuild our line-up and score some runs.”

Weather permitting, the Red & Black will be on the field Tuesday, March 18 for a home scrimmage versus Elk Lake.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Daniel J. O’Neill Sports Complex.

Pitching and catching

While Honesdale suffered several key losses to graduation last year, a solid nucleus of battle-tested veteran return.

Nick Martin, Brody Patrisso and Jared Ahern are back in the fold and will provide solid leadership on and off the field.

These three young men will play major roles in whatever success the Honesdale varsity baseball team enjoys this spring. Pictured here at Media Day on March 2, 2025 are (from left): Nick Martin, Brody Patrisso, Jared Ahern.

Martin is a versatile senior who played multiple positions during the 2024 campaign. He batted .298 while scoring 16 runs and collecting 10 RBIs.

Martin’s main responsibility defensively will be transitioning back to a full-time catcher. He’s already working hard to build a rapport with the Hornet staff and preparing to shut down the opposition running game.

“Nick may surprise some people behind the plate this year,” Griffis said. “He may be the fastest kid around with his catch and release. Nick is going to take the league by storm this season.”

Patrisso is a senior who enjoyed a breakout season last spring. The fireballing righty worked 31 innings, notched a pair of varsity victories and struck out 39 en route to a 4.33 ERA.

“Brody is just a really hard-working kid,” Griffis said. “He’s a power pitcher, but we’re working on a couple of off-speed pitches to set up his fastball. Offensively, Brody is going to play a much bigger role this year.”

Ahern is a talented multi-sport athlete who’s coming off a big basketball season. A savvy southpaw, he will be at the front end of Honesdale’s rotation.

Honesdale pitcher Brody Patrisso, pictured here during early season action in 2024, will be at the top of the Hornet rotation this spring.

Last year, Ahern pitched 29 innings and compiled a 2-0 varsity record. He posted a minuscule 1.67 ERA while striking out 31 and issuing only four walks.

“Jared has such a calm demeanor and that’s really important as a pitcher,” Griffis said. “You can never tell from looking at him whether he’s just given up a home run or struck out the side.”

On the horizon

Honesdale will once again be competing in Division 2 of the Lackawanna League against the likes of Western Wayne, Holy Cross, Lakeland, Riverside, Dunmore, Old Forge and Mid Valley.

The Hornets posted a 10-4 league record last spring, trailing only Riverside (12-2) in the divisional standings.

Opening Day of the 2025 campaign is slated for Wednesday, April 2. Coach Griffis’ squad will travel to Dunmore for a battle with the Bucks.

“We’re probably going to take some lumps early on because we really don’t know what we have yet,” Griffis said. “That’s okay though because our goal is always to peak at the right time and I think that will be the case this year.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale Hornets baseball team Lackawanna League Division II

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Honesdale baseball team looking to reload after another solid season in 2024

Pitching and catching

On the horizon

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