MOOSIC, Pa. — Some of the best high school baseball players in the area will be back in action this weekend, it is the Field of Dreams Game on Montage Mountain.
"To be considered an All-Star and to finish out my career this way, it's truly an honor," Samson Repshis said.
Repshis graduates from West Scranton High School on Friday, and two days later, he will be back on the baseball field.
"Friends with them. Not even teammates; friends with them pretty much my whole life. Growing up with them, going to different schools with them, playing different sports. It's nice being able to share one last memory with them," he said.
The Field of Dreams Game is this Sunday, June 16, at 3 p.m., and will feature teams broken up according to long-time Lackawanna League rivalries.
"I would love to beat Scranton one more time, beat Prep one more time. It's going to be nice, it's going to be fun," Repshis said.
Players from Abington Heights, Carbondale, Delaware Valley, Elk Lake, Honesdale, Lakeland, Mid Valley, Montrose, Old Forge, Lackawanna Trail, and West Scranton will play for the “Bombers,” representing PNC Field's current tenant, the New York Yankees.
"I have 4 boys playing in the game. Just one more day with them. They've been with me since freshman year; most of them are three-, 4-year starters; just one more day I get to be around them," said West Scranton Baseball Coach Brian Minich.
Minich will be managing the Bombers.
Players from Holy Cross, Mountain View, North Pocono, Riverside, Scranton High, Scranton Prep, Susquehanna, Wallenpaupack, and Western Wayne will play for the “Fightins,” representing the stadium's original resident, the Philadelphia Phillies.
"Believe it or not, I played in the very first All-Star game that was here; I'm not going to give a year. Just to carry this on and have the opportunity for these kids to go out and play a game they love," said North Pocono High School Coach Brian Jardine. He will be managing the Fightins.
The year was 1993. The Field of Dreams Game is back this weekend after a few years off because of the pandemic. It's a tradition in Lackawanna County that's about more than just baseball. Tickets are $5; proceeds will benefit the Bill Howerton Strike Out Cancer Initiative. Bill Howerton was the head baseball coach at the University of Scranton and was well-known and did a lot for the local baseball community.
The game is at 3 p.m. at PNC Field in Moosic; gates open at 2 p.m.