Dunmore’s Max Forgione selected all-state for baseball as junior

Posted on August 7, 2024 by The Dunmorean

Dunmore shortstop-pitcher Max Forgione has a lot to look forward to in his upcoming senior year.

Son of Derek and Autumn Forgione, Max set a goal to be selected all-state for baseball this season.

He more than accomplished that with his first team all-state selection. Max was also named to the All-Region baseball team and was a Lackawanna League Coaches’ first team all-star selection.

“It’s a great feeling being selected all-state,” he said. “It was one of my goals. My good friend Tommy Clark was an all-state selection for soccer. I wanted to be a part of that select group. That puts me at a new level now. I can now focus on the next level. And that will be having a great senior season and ultimately playing college baseball.”

Max is a commit to Saint Joseph’s University in the fall of 2025. He will study business/economics.

The hard working shortstop-pitcher batted .375 with 24 hits in his junior season. He hit three doubles, a triple, five homers, scored 26 runs and drove in 18 runs. He had five RBIs in a win over Carbondale Area March 29.

A hard thrower, he was 4-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 67 strikeouts as a pitcher. He threw six shutout innings giving up only two hits and striking out nine in the District 2.Class 3A quarterfinal win over Wyoming Seminary.

He was a PSBCA first team all-state selection in Class 3A.

Max is currently playing travel baseball with Baseball U. “This is my third year playing with them. The experience is great. The coaches are tremendous. There is not one coach who does not know what he is talking about. They are all so knowledgeable. The coaching and player development is outstanding. The tournaments are really good. I played in Georgia twice. There is great competition throughout the country.”

Max said he has also learned a great deal from Dunmore baseball coach Sid Hallinan.

“He’s my coach for three years now. He’s like family. He taught me how to deal with failure. Baseball is a game of failure. If you can’t deal with failure, you will drown.”

Max also,played two years of basketball at Dunmore. He is a member of the Health Careers Club. He has an impressive 3.95 grade point average. His best academic subject is math.

Hard driving and confident, Max said he learned a lot from his parents.

“My parents always tell me to keep a positive mind set and be confident in yourself. That goes hand in hand with baseball too.

“You need to think you are the best player on the field. If you have a negative thought, you will fail.”

He talked about what it takes to excel in baseball on the high school level.

“You need to go to practice everyday and grind. You need to put in the work. And you need to put in the extra work. You need to work out even harder on your own after practice.”

Max said he enjoys listening to music in his spare time and is a huge fan of both Dire Straights and Pink Floyd.

The soon to be senior stalwart is enjoying his time at Dunmore.

“It’s a great community,” he said. “Dunmore High School is awesome. I have a lot of friends here. The teachers are great. Playing baseball here under coach Hallinan and the other coaches is just a tremendous experience. I love it here. It’s a great school for sports.”

Dunmore sophomore Max Forgione hitting hard all season

Posted on June 7, 2023 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore sophomore Max Forgione has been a model of consistency this entire baseball season.

He led the Lackawanna League Division II in batting average with an impressive .509 mark and in triples with three. He also scored 30 runs which tied for the Lackawanna League Division II lead.

He helped lead Dunmore into the playoffs, although the Bucks lost, 8-7, to Mid Valley in the District 2, Class 3A quarterfinals. Max did his part in the playoff game with two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Son of Derek and Autumn Forgione, Max also hit three homers this season as a sophomore.

As a freshman, he hit .460 with one homer.

The shortstop-pitcher also excels in the classroom where he has a 3.95 grade point average. His best academic subject is algebra.

He also is a starting guard on the Dunmore Bucks basketball team. Max averaged 10 points per game last season.

The scholar-athlete is a member of the Health Careers Club at Dunmore.

He enjoys listening to music in his spare time and would like to see Cold Play in concert.

He talked about what it takes to excel at the shortstop position in high school baseball.

“You need to be quick and have fast reactions,” he said. “You need a very good arm to get the ball over the diamond.”

The tough-minded sophomore is already a strong leader on the team.

“Our coach Mike Hallinan teaches us to be a good teammate and a leader both on and off the field. He teaches us to grind at bats and be tough.”

Mid Major to Power 5 colleges and universities are already looking at Max as he concluded his sophomore season.

“I definitely want to play baseball in college,” he said. “I might study business and finance in college.”

Max said his parents are big supporters. “They tell me to keep grinding every single day. Eventually it will all pay off.”

The sophomore standout likes to talk about hitting. “You need to be able to do everything as a hitter,” he said. “You need to not just hit for the extra base, but play small ball, too. You need to be able to beat out a hit and spray the ball all around the field. You need both contact and power.”

Confident in his game, Max talked about future goals. “I definitely want to play college baseball, graduate college, and get a good paying job in my field.”

For now, Max said he is looking forward to his next two years at Dunmore.

“Dunmore is a great school. All of my coaches welcomed me as a leader right from the beginning. All of the coaches are great here at Dunmore.

“They teach me a lot about the game and how to be a good teammate.

“I have learned so much from my coaches and teachers here at Dunmore. And I have great teammates and friends.”

Dunmore’s Forgione Uses Speed, Bat, Glove on Diamond

Posted on July 6, 2022 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore shortstop-center fielder Max Forgione utilized his speed, bat and glove in a big way as a freshman this past season.

Son of Derek and Autumn Forgione, Dunmore, Max, 15, hit .481 as a freshman. He had a .632 on base percentage, one homer, 12 stolen bases, 17 runs, five doubles, 13 hits and a .777 slugging percentage. He also had a 3.63 ERA as a pitcher.

A noted speedster, Max talked about what it takes to be a solid hitter in high school baseball. “You need to focus on what you are doing in the moment,” he said. “You need to be able to hit a line drive up the middle or in the gaps.”

Confident by nature, Max said he has learned a lot from Dunmore veteran baseball coach Sid Hallinan. “He played shortstop too, so I learned a lot about infield mechanics from him. He also wants to win. I like that.”

Max said his parents teach him a lot. “They teach me to be humble,” he said. “They tell me hard work always pays off.”

The scrappy Forgione said he is trying to build on his natural speed. “I practice sprints on the football field all the time,” he said. “It helps.”

The hard hitter said he is playing summer travel ball for Baseball U. He enjoys listening to music in his spare time and would like to see Macklemore in concert.

Multi-talented, Max is a guard on the Dunmore basketball team.

He talked about his future goals.

The slick fielding shortstop talked about his freshman season for Dunmore. “I thought it was a good one,” he said. “We started slow, but then we had a really good stretch and started to roll. I started slow as well, but improved with the team. We definitely got better as a team as the season went along.”

“I want to play Division I college baseball. I’m not sure what I want to major in yet. I am thinking about colleges like St. Joseph’s University, James Madison, University of Virginia and Boston College. They are all good baseball schools.”

Max said he has been playing travel baseball since age eight and continues to hone his skills this summer at Baseball U.

The stalwart shortstop said he expects to pitch more for Dunmore in the future. “I definitely would like to improve my pitching and help more on the mound.”

He enjoyed his freshman year at Dunmore. “I really had a lot of fun. I had some great times with all of my teammates. The seniors on the team pushed us to be the best. I am looking forward to my next three years at Dunmore.”