News

Nov 08, 2023

HS SOFTBALL: PIAA first

Jun. 4—CLASS A FIRST ROUND 11-1 Tri-Valley (20-2) vs. 1-1 Dock Mennonite (15-7)

Jun. 4—CLASS A FIRST ROUND

11-1 Tri-Valley (20-2) vs.

1-1 Dock Mennonite (15-7)

When/Where: Today, 4 p.m., North Penn High School, Towamencin Township (near Lansdale)

Tickets: Cost $8 plus processing fees and must be purchased online at www.piaa.org under purchasing championship tickets (HomeTown Ticketing). Select sports, classification and then the event.

Up next: Winner advances to Thursday's state quarterfinals against the winner of the Old Forge/Bucktail game.

About the Bulldogs

Head coach: Marty Shade (32nd season)

How they got here: Top-seeded Dawgs shut out Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg 13-0 in five innings and Marian 7-0 to win the District 11 championship.

Stat leaders: SS Gianna Poletti, sr. (.575, 36 RS, 23 RBIs); 3B Cassi Snyder, soph. (.577, 36 RS, 24 SB); CF Grace Header, jr. (.456, 4 HR, 40 RBIs); C Brittany Rice, sr. (.537, 10 HR, 45 RBIs); P Emma Maurer, sr. (.500, 2 HR, 10 RBIs; pitching — 8-1, 0.89 ERA, 47 IP, 90 K); LF Mia Artz, soph. (.372); 2B Mady Schwalm, soph. (.333); DP-1B Libby McGrath, jr. (.354)

About the Pioneers

Head coach: Wayne Benner

How they got here: Top-seeded Pioneers defeated Delco Christian 15-0 and Faith Christian 7-6 to win the District 1 championship.

Stat leaders: Not available

Game notes: Dock Mennonite has a 13-player roster listed on MaxPreps, which only has team stats available through nine games. Aubrey Gahman (.417) and Addison Landis (.409) are listed as the top hitters, with Gahman handling most of the pitching. ... The Pioneers don't play nearly the schedule Tri-Valley does, with the likes of Academy of the New Church and Delaware County Christian among their wins. ... Injured for a month, Emma Maurer returned to action for districts and responded by pitching a no-hitter against NDES and a three-hitter against Marian. She also homered against the Fillies. ... Dawgs have caught the ball well this season, making just 19 errors in 22 games. Continuing that will be a key to success as the competition level rises. ... Tri-Valley will do what it does, putting lots of pressure on the defense to produce runs. ... Tri-Valley's senior class is 67-6 for its career.

CLASS AA FIRST ROUND

11-1 Minersville (15-8) vs.

2-1 Elk Lake (19-2)

When/Where: Today, 1 p.m., Tunkhannock High School

Up next: Winner advances to Thursday's state quarterfinals against the winner of the Bald Eagle Area/Muncy game.

About the Miners

Head coach: Jamie Kuehn (6th season, 12th overall)

How they got here: Third-seeded Miners defeated Panther Valley 15-0 in four innings, Williams Valley 6-4 and Northern Lehigh 6-3 to win the District 11 championship.

Stat leaders: 2B Emily Hart, jr. (.446, 2 HR, 21 RBIs); SS Payton Frantz, soph. (.370, 2 HR, 20 RBIs); P Kaycee Raczka, jr. (.382, 19 RBIs; pitching — 11-7, 2.44 ERA, 112 IP, 139 K); C Averee Horoschak, sr. (.352, 2 HR, 12 RBIs); LF Keera Brennan, jr. (.344, 18 RBIs); 1B Lauren Hammer, sr. (.312, 16 RBIs)

About the Warriors

Head coach: Tony Blaisure

How they got here: Top-seeded Warriors defeated Dunmore 6-4 and Holy Cross 2-1 to win the District 2 championship.

Stat leaders: Hannah Howell (.542, 21 RS); Leah Traver (.517, 8 HR, 29 RBIs); Layla Weaver (.492, 3 HR, 26 RBIs); Mati Lord (.419, 27 RBIs); Megan Johns (.400); Amanda Voll (.464, 23 RBIs; pitching — 13-1, 1.55 ERA, 104 IP, 135 K)

Game notes: Miners caught a bit of a break with the game moved from Dimock (near the New York border) to Tunkhannock, which is about 20 minutes and 16 miles closer. It's still a 90-minute ride to the game site. ... Miners play a tough schedule, as 19-of-23 opponents qualified for districts. Started season 1-4 but have gone 14-4 since. ... Elk Lake doesn't play nearly the competition that Minersville does, but the Warriors have a quality pitcher in Voll and a mixture of speed and power in the lineup. ... Look for lots of small ball from Elk Lake, which pressures opponents with slapping, bunting and running. ... Elk Lake qualified for states last season, losing 8-7 to South Williamsport in the first round. ... Miners haven't been to states since 2018.

CLASS 3A FIRST ROUND

6-2 Forest Hills (18-4) vs.

3-1 Upper Dauphin (21-4)

When/Where: Today, 4:30 p.m., Upper Dauphin Area High School, Elizabethville

Up next: Winner advances to Thursday's state quarterfinals against the winner of the Mid Valley/Warrior Run game.

About the Rangers

Head coach: Krista Hershberger

How they got here: Fourth-seeded Forest Hills defeated Westmont Hilltop 2-0 and Philipsburg-Osceola 2-0 before falling 2-1 to Juniata in eight innings in the District 6 championship game.

Stat leaders: Not available

About the Trojans

Head coach: Bob Ligon (7th season)

How they got here: Seeded No. 4, the Trojans defeated Annville-Cleona 11-0 in five innings, Littlestown 2-1 and Susquenita 7-1 to win the District 3 championship.

Stat leaders: CF Jana Strait, jr. (.457, 37 RS, 18 RBIs); 2B Jordyn Miller, soph. (.443, 33 RS, 16 RBIs); P Maddin Grow, sr. (.486, 38 RS, 39 RBIs, 21 SB; pitching — 13-1, 1.50 ERA, 84 IP, 108 K); LF Fayth Anderson, sr. (.443, 2 HR, 37 RBIs); SS Fallon McFadden, jr. (.429, 25 RS); C Hayley Baker, jr. (.333); 1B Kasey Weibley, soph. (.339)

Game notes: Forest Hills didn't score many runs in districts but didn't give up many, either. Sophomore pitcher Avery Smiach allowed just three hits in the championship game. ... Coincidentally, Juniata (22-3) is a Tri-Valley League team, just like Upper Dauphin. The Trojans and Indians met twice this season, Juniata winning 4-3 on April 11 and Upper Dauphin prevailing 4-0 on May 16 in the TVL championship game. ... Smiach had two hits and Mylee Gdula had an RBI triple against Juniata. Indians pitcher Liz Gaisior, a Fordham recruit, struck out 19 Rangers, who were playing in their first district title game since 2004. ... Forest Hills has just three seniors on its roster. ... UDA and Millersburg merged in a co-op this season. There was an adjustment period, but the Trojans have won 13 in a row. ... UDA's pitching staff has 11 shutouts and eight other games in which it allowed one run.

CLASS 4A FIRST ROUND

12-2 Swenson (8-6) vs.

11-1 Blue Mountain (21-3)

When/Where: Today, 6 p.m., Patton Field at Blue Mountain High School

Live updates: Follow Republican Herald sports writer Bob Lipsky on Twitter

@boblipskyRH

Up next: Winner advances to Thursday's state quarterfinals against the winner of the Jersey Shore/East Pennsboro game.

About the Lions

Head coach: Craig Robinson

How they got here: Went 7-4 in Philadelphia Public League Independence Division and lost 15-0 to Archbishop Ryan in the District 12 championship game.

Stat leaders: P Ilianna Rosa, sr. (.565, 2 HR, 23 RBIs; pitching — 7-6, 4.71 ERA, 74.1 IP, 113 K); Isabella Gonzalez, jr. (.535, 16 RBIs); Kylee Higgins, fr. (.419, 19 RS); Bella Bouchard, sr. (.415, 20 RS)

About the Eagles

Head coach: Mike Rollman (5th season)

How they got here: Seeded No. 1, the Eagles defeated North Schuylkill 14-0 in five innings and Northwestern Lehigh 4-3 to win the District 11 championship.

Stat leaders: SS Anna Laughlin, sr. (.421, 30 RS, 3 HR, 18 RBIs, 19 SB); RF Lindsay Gibson, jr. (.387, 30 RS, 21 RBIs); CF Elle Walasavage, jr. (.442, 2 HR, 21 RBIs, 19 SB); P Marla Freiwald, jr. (.452, 4 HR, 37 RBIs; pitching — 13-1, 0.86 ERA, 89.1 IP, 167 K); DP Paige Bergan, sr. (.400, 16 RBIs); 1B Olivia Labe, jr. (.420, 3 HR, 26 RBIs, 18 SB); 3B Madison Heim, jr. (.373, 20 RBIs)

Game notes: In four seasons (2020 canceled by COVID), Rollman has guided the Eagles to the first two district titles in program history. ... The heart-stopping victory over Northwestern Lehigh put Blue Mountain in the better half of the bracket, away from District 2 power Valley View (21-1), which knocked off Tunkhannock in the D-2 final. Northwestern has to visit the Cougars today. ... Swenson likely hasn't seen what Blue Mountain will bring to the table: a fireballing ace in Freiwald; a relentless offense that averages 5.3 stolen bases per game; and a lineup that has .300 hitters as deep as the No. 7 hole. ... Look for Blue Mountain to put the pressure on immediately and force Swenson to make play after play until its defense cracks under the strain.

— Compiled by Bob Lipsky