CLASS 6A

Defending champ: Hazleton Area

Dates: First round, May 19; Semifinals, May 22; Final, May 28.

Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament and will play the No. 3 seed from District 3.

Seeds: 1. Williamsport (19-1). 2. Hazleton Area (16-5). 3. Wyoming Valley West (13-7). 4. Wilkes-Barre Area (11-9). 5. Scranton (8-11). 6. Delaware Valley (4-16).

First-round matchups: Delaware Valley at Wyoming Valley West. Scranton at Wilkes-Barre Area.

Bracket buster: Wyoming Valley West. Spartans closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak.

Most intriguing potential semifinal round game: Wilkes-Barre Area at Williamsport. Wolfpack went to Williamsport last year in this round and upset the Millionaires.

Breakdown: With the inclusion of Williamsport this is a subregional with District 4. … Williamsport and Hazleton Area receive first-round byes and will host semifinal games. … Hazleton Area ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak, scoring six runs in the three games, five of them in a loss to Central Mountain. … Williamsport’s only loss this season came to Central Mountain, 3-0. Central Mountain came from behind to beat Hazleton Area, 6-5. … Wilkes-Barre Area closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak, but scored 17 runs in those five games. … Wyoming Valley West is undefeated in the month of May and ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak with wins over Wilkes-Barre Area and Dallas. The Spartans are 0-2 against Hazleton Area this season. … Scranton has won two of its last three coming into the playoffs. The Knights have wins over Port Jervis, N.Y. and West Scranton. They also lost to West Scranton during that stretch. … Delaware Valley lost six of its last seven to end the regular season. Two of the losses were by three runs, one of them by two runs and one by one run.

Prediction: Despite struggling down the stretch this is Hazleton Area’s time of year. Tough to see the Cougars not winning it all again.

CLASS 5A

Defending champ: Pittston Area

Dates: First round, May 19; Semifinals, May 22; Final, May 28

Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament and will play the No. 2 seed from District 3.

Seeds: 1. Pittston Area (18-3). 2. Wallenpaupack (15-5). 3. Dallas (14-6). 4. Abington Heights (13-6). 5. North Pocono (10-10). 6. West Scranton (5-15).

First-round matchups: West Scranton at Dallas, North Pocono at Abington Heights.

Bracket buster: Abington Heights. Comets present a problem as the No. 4 seed.

Most intriguing potential semifinal round game: Abington Heights at Pittston Area. Rematch of last year’s championship game. Hard to believe one of these teams will not make the state playoffs.

Breakdown: Pittston Area and Wallenpaupack receive first-round byes and will host semifinal games. … Pittston Area defeated Hazleton Area in a one-game playoff to decide the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 championship. … Wallenpaupack won two of its last three games with the loss coming to Scranton Prep. The Buckhorns are 2-1 against teams from the WVC this season. They lost to Wilkes-Barre Area, but beat Wyoming Valley West and Wyoming Area. All three games were decided by one run. … Dallas went 4-2 in its final six games. Four of those games were against Class 6A opponents. The Mountaineers beat Hazleton Area and Wilkes-Barre Area. They lost to Wyoming Valley West and Williamsport. … Abington Heights finished the regular season 3-2. The Comets are 1-1 against teams from the WVC this season. They beat Wilkes-Barre Area and lost to Pittston Area. Abington Heights split its season series with North Pocono, picking up a 3-1 victory and losing, 9-7. … North Pocono started to heat up over the last two weeks. The Trojans are on a five-game winning streak with wins over Delaware Valley, Bethlehem Catholic, Scranton, Abington Heights and West Scranton. … West Scranton is 2-2 in its last four. The Invaders have wins over Scranton Prep and Scranton.

Prediction: Pittston Area. A healthy Elijah Barr makes all the difference in the world on the mound and at the plate. Schedule sets up where he can pitch in the semifinals and championship game.

CLASS 4A

Defending champ: Mid Valley

Dates: Quarterfinals, May 19; Semifinals, May 22; Final, May 29

Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament and will play the No. 2 seed from District 3. The runner-up also advances and plays the No. 1 seed from District 4.

Seeds: 1. Wyoming Area (17-3). 2. Mid Valley (15-5) 3. Scranton Prep (11-8). 4. Hanover Area (13-7). 5. Honesdale (9-10-1). 6. Crestwood (5-14-1). 7. Berwick (4-16). 8. Valley View (5-15).

Quarterfinal matchups: Valley View at Wyoming Area, Berwick at Mid Valley, Crestwood at Scranton Prep, Honesdale at Hanover Area.

Bracket buster: Scranton Prep. Cavaliers started slow, but are playing their best baseball at the right time of the year.

Most intriguing potential semifinal round game: Scranton Prep at Mid Valley.

Breakdown: Wyoming Area’s three losses this season came to Berwick, Lake-Lehman and Wallenpaupack. The losses came by a combined six runs. … Mid Valley comes in having won three of its last four with the only loss being a one-run defeat to Riverside. Its losses this season have come by a combined 10 runs. … Scranton Prep has won seven of its last eight with the only loss coming by three runs to West Scranton. The Cavaliers began the season 0-5. … Hanover Area has won four of its last six. The two losses came to Nanticoke Area and East Stroudsburg North. In the ESN loss, the Hawks struck out 15 times. The Hawks were swept by Wyoming Area in their two-game set in the regular season. … Honesdale is 2-1 in its last three games. The Hornets are 1-1-1 against teams from the WVC. They lost to Wilkes-Barre Area, tied Crestwood and beat Lake-Lehman. … Crestwood suffered an 11-game losing streak from April 6 to May 9. The Comets closed the regular season 2-1 with wins over Nanticoke Area and Berwick. … Berwick is on a three-game losing streak with losses to Hazleton Area, Hughesville and Crestwood. The Bulldogs did pickup a win over Wilkes-Barre Area on May 5. They also have a one-run win over Wyoming Area. … Valley View is 1-2 against teams from the WVC. The Cougars lost to Wyoming Area and Wyoming Valley West. They beat Tunkhannock.

Prediction: Mid Valley seems to have all the pieces in place to defend its title. Look for the Spartans to defeat Wyoming Area in a close one with both teams advancing to the state tournament.

CLASS 3A

Defending champ: Dunmore

Dates: First round, May 19; Semifinals, May 21; Final, May 26

Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament and will play the No. 2 seed from District 4.

Seeds: 1. Riverside (18-2). 2. Lake-Lehman (14-6). 3. Dunmore (13-7). 4. Lakeland (14-6). 5. Montrose (13-6). 6. Western Wayne (6-14). 7. Carbondale Area (2-17).

First-round matchups: Carbondale Area at Lake-Lehman, Western Wayne at Dunmore, Montrose at Lakeland.

Bracket buster: Dunmore. Defending champs have something to prove.

Most intriguing potential semifinal round game: Dunmore at Lake-Lehman. Both teams can hit the ball. The pitching will need to be on point.

Breakdown: Riverside receives a first-round bye and will host a semifinal game. Riverside lost to Mid Valley and Scranton Prep… Lake-Lehman started the season with a five-game winning streak and closed the season 6-1 with the loss coming to Dallas. The Black Knights split with Wyoming Area  and lost by one run to Pittston Area. … Dunmore showed it can win big, but also find a way to win the close games with three of its victories being decided by one run. … Lakeland ended the regular season with wins over Tunkhannock, Montrose and Western Wayne. The Chiefs have a 3-0 victory over Mid Valley to their credit. … Montrose started the season on a three-game winning streak and closed it 2-1. … Western Wayne struggled down the stretch, losing four consecutive games. Two of its wins have come by one run. … Carbondale Area’s two wins this season came against Forest City and Susquehanna. The Chargers are 0-2 against WVC teams losing the Wyoming Seminary and Holy Redeemer.

Prediction: It’s easy to pick the top seed, but in Riverside’s case it’s the logical pick. Vikings have been steady all season with their only losses coming to Mid Valley and Scranton Prep. They have reached double digits in 13 games.

Class 2A

Defending champ: Holy Redeemer

Dates: Quarterfinals, May 19; Semifinals, May 22; Final, May 29.

Moving on: The champion advances to the state tournament will play the No. 1 seed from District 11.

Seeds: 1. Holy Redeemer (11-9). 2. Elk Lake (13-7). 3. Lackawanna Trail (11-7). 4. Wyoming Seminary (11-9). 5. Old Forge (9-10). 6. Mountain View (11-9). 7. Blue Ridge (6-12) 8. Holy Cross (0-19).

Quarterfinal matchups: Holy Cross at Holy Redeemer, Blue Ridge at Elk Lake, Mountain View at Lackawanna Trail, Old Forge at Wyoming Seminary.

Bracket buster: Wyoming Seminary. Blue Knights are fundamentally sound. Will need to find a way to manufacture runs because nobody will be pitching to Leo Nockley.

Most intriguing potential semifinal round game: Wyoming Seminary at Holy Redeemer.

Breakdown: Holy Redeemer lost seven of its last nine to end the regular season. The two wins came against Dunmore and Crestwood. Two of the losses came by one run. … Elk Lake is a team to keep an eye on, winning four of its last five. It does have a loss to Holy Redeemer on April 18. … Lackawanna Trail has won four of its last six with the losses coming to Montrose and Northeast Bradford. The Lions swept Elk Lake during the regular season. … Wyoming Seminary is on a three-game winning streak and has won five of its last six. The Blue Knights split with Holy Redeemer during the regular season. … Old Forge has won four of its last six with the losses coming to Dunmore and Riverside. … Mountain View started the season on a four-game losing streak, but won three of its last four. Two of the wins came over Carbondale Area with the other against Blue Ridge. … Blue Ridge won two of its last three with wins over Forest City and Carbondale Area. It also has wins over Wyalusing and Susquehanna. … Holy Cross is a young team this season and is playing like most young teams have a tendency to do. Two of its losses this season have been by one run.

Prediction: Holy Redeemer has managed to hold on to the No. 1 seed despite struggling at certain part of the season. However, Elk Lake finds a way to get it done.

CLASS 1A

Defending champ: MMI Prep

Dates: Semifinal, May 21; Final, May 26.

Moving on: The champion will advance to the state tournament and play the No. 2 seed from District 3.

Seeds: 1. MMI Prep (7-13). 2. Susquehanna (5-12). 3. Forest City (2-13).

Semifinal matchup: Forest City at Susquehanna.

Breakdown: With only three teams in the classification, Forest City takes on Susquehanna in the semifinal with MMI Prep getting a bye to the championship game. … Susquehanna began the season on a three-game winning streak, but closed it losing six in a row. … Forest City only played 15 games this season and its two wins came over Carbondale Area and Susquehanna.

Prediction: MMI Prep. Despite going through an eight-game losing streak where it was outscored, 108-34, the Preppers were able to hold on to the top seed. This is the time of year when MMI Prep hopes that competing in Division 2 of the WVC pays off with its strength of schedule.

— STEVE BENNETT