Class 5A<\/p>\n
2-1 Abington Heights (21-1) vs. 1-4 Upper Moreland (17-6)<\/p>\n
When: Monday, 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Abington Heights High School<\/p>\n
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Visit piaa.org, click on the link and find the game you\u2019d like to attend. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10.<\/p>\n
How they got here: Abington Heights defeated Crestwood, 8-0, and North Pocono, 5-1. Upper Moreland beat Upper Merion, 4-0, and lost to Springfield, 6-0, and Upper Dublin, 2-1.<\/p>\n
Up next: The winner advances to the state quarterfinals Thursday, and will face the winner of District 1 champ West Chester East (21-2) and District 3 third-placer Greencastle-Antrim (18-4).<\/p>\n
Breakdown: The Lady Comets return to the state tournament for the first time since 2023 where they beat Franklin Towne Charter (by forfeit) and Oxford to advance to the semifinals. District 2 has history of faring well in this classification. Pittston Area won the title in 2022 and reached the state championship in 2024. Last year, North Pocono reached the quarterfinals. \u2026 If the Lady Comets are firing on all cylinders, they will be a tough out in the bracket. The team\u2019s lone loss came to District 4\u2019s Loyalsock. Adrianna Condrad has been remarkable this season. Since April 23 \u2014 a stretch of 13 games \u2014 the Syracuse commit only allowed seven runs, including a stretch of eight straight shutouts. She\u2019s 15-1 this year with an ERA of 1.23 and 144 Ks. The team can hit as a whole as the Lady Comets have an average of almost .400 with 245 hits and 26 home runs with dingers by nine players. \u2026 Upper Moreland entered the District 1 playoffs as the No. 3 seed, but lost to Upper Dublin in 10 innings. In that game, Upper Dublin\u2019s Kyla Garrison struck out 21 batters, while Upper Moreland\u2019s Delaney Stout punched out 10. Stout, a junior, will be formidable as she has more than 500 strikeouts in her career and had several games with 18-plus strikeouts. Upper Moreland was the team that North Pocono beat in the first round of last year\u2019s playoffs, 9-3, with six hits, while only striking out four times. The winner here could see Greencastle, which reached the state final last season.<\/p>\n
Class 4A<\/p>\n
2-1 Valley View (20-3) vs. 3-2 Northern Lebanon (19-4)<\/p>\n
When: Monday, 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Valley View High School<\/p>\n
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Visit piaa.org, click on the link and find the game you\u2019d like to attend. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10.<\/p>\n
How they got here: Valley View defeated Hanover Area, 17-0, Wallenpaupack, 11-0, and Tunkhannock, 1-0. Northern Lebanon defeated East Pennsboro, 9-2, Big Spring, 5-4, and lost to Kennard-Dale, 3-0.<\/p>\n
Up next: The winner advances to the state quarterfinals Thursday, and will face the winner of District 12 champ Archbishop Carroll (16-5) and District 11 runner-up North Schuylkill (19-6).<\/p>\n
Breakdown: The reigning Class 4A state champ enters the bracket in hopes of defending its title. This year\u2019s run looks like 2025, where Valley View beat Tunkhannock in the district final, opened the postseason with Northern Lebanon and have a possible quarterfinal matchup with North Schuylkill. \u2026 The Cougars lost some key athletes off that state championship squad, but return some talent. Abbi Call is having herself one heck of a postseason. The Clemson commit hit the game-winning home run in the sixth inning for the lone run in the victory over Tunkhannock at Wilkes. She\u2019s also been sensational in the circle. She didn\u2019t allow a run in the last six games, and hasn\u2019t been scored on in the last 35 innings. In that streak, she only allowed six hits and punched out 48. Zoie Krupovich, a Bryant commit, is also having a strong season \u2014 both at the plate and on the field \u2014 as she\u2019s hitting over .400. \u2026 Last season, Northern Lebanon came to Valley View and it was a Taylor Cawley home run that was the difference in the 1-0 win. The Vikings have several players named to the Lancaster-Lebanon League first team, including Addison Hollenbach, Addison Kubica, Makenzie West, Ryleigh Hopkins, Sophia Roye and Stephanie Palkovic. In last year\u2019s game, Lynsie Mauser held Valley View to just three hits. Mauser graduated, and Hollenbach sees the bulk of the duties in the circle. She had one of two Vikings\u2019 hits against Cawley, who allowed just two hits with six strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Class 3A<\/p>\n
2-1 Mid Valley (19-3) vs. 4-2 Warrior Run (13-10)<\/p>\n
When: Monday, 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Mid Valley High School<\/p>\n
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Visit piaa.org, click on the link and find the game you\u2019d like to attend. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10.<\/p>\n
How they got here: Mid Valley defeated Carbondale, 12-0, and Lake-Lehman, 5-1. Warrior Run defeated Loyalsock, 2-1 (8 inn.), Montoursville, 5-4, and lost to Mifflinburg, 10-0.<\/p>\n
Up next: The winner advances to the state quarterfinals Thursday, and will face the winner of 12-1 Nazareth Academy (10-5) and 1-1 Villa Joseph Marie (10-8).<\/p>\n
Breakdown: For the seventh straight year, Mid Valley is into the Class 3A bracket after reaching the state semifinals last season. The Spartanettes, again, open with a District 4 team after beating Hughesville, 6-1, on their path to the semis last year. \u2026 The Spartanettes showed poise and confidence against Lake-Lehman\u2019s Hannah Chipego in the championship victory, using a little small ball and clutch hits from Parker Bennett, Ariana Davey and Natalie Hricenak to score five in the seventh to break a scoreless tie. Junior pitcher Ava Hazelton was sensational in the title game, allowing just two hits \u2014 both to Chipego \u2014 and punching out 13. It was the 60th win of her career as she improved to 60-8 with an ERA of 1.69 and just 15 strikeouts short of 600. This season, she\u2019s 18-3 with 208 Ks. Mid Valley is certainly built for the future as Michael Piercy started just two seniors in the championship. It was freshmen and sophomores who led them to victory. Freshman Julie Prisco had multiple hits against Chipego, sophomore Avery Tinney had the clutch bunt to start the five-run rally and Davey, also a sophomore, gave the Spartanettes much-needed insurance with the two-run single. \u2026 Warrior Run was the Cinderella story of the District 4 postseason. The Defenders, which entered as the No. 7 seed of a seven-team bracket, knocked off Loyalsock \u2014 a team that handed Abington Heights its lone loss \u2014 and followed it up with a victory over Montoursville and hard-throwing Julie Friel. Warrior Run has a team batting average that hasn\u2019t hit .300, which could spell some issues against Hazelton. Maura Woland, a senior, leads the team in every category with 30 hits, 26 runs and 28 RBIs. The team uses three pitchers, but each one has an ERA hovering around 5.00. The trio struck out a combined 152 batters, but also issued close to 60 walks.<\/p>\n
Class 2A<\/p>\n
2-1 Montrose (18-2) vs. 4-1 Northwest Area (21-0)<\/p>\n
When: Monday, 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Central Columbia High School<\/p>\n
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Visit piaa.org, click on the link and find the game you\u2019d like to attend. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10.<\/p>\n
How they got here: Montrose defeated Elk Lake, 11-1, and Dunmore, 6-2. Northwest defeated Wyalusing, 3-0.<\/p>\n
Up next: The winner advances to the state quarterfinals Thursday, and will face the winner of District 6 champ Bellwood-Antis (18-4) and WPIAL fourth-placer Chartiers-Houston (18-4).<\/p>\n
Breakdown: This opening-round matchup is probably the toughest to gauge as newcomers Montrose and Northwest Area arrive in the PIAA postseason. It\u2019s been nearly three decades since the Meteors won a title. Northwest\u2019s last title came in 2012 when it was a member of District 2. \u2026 After ripping through Lackawanna League Division III, Montrose showed grit and determination in the district championship, giving up two runs to Dunmore and knotting the game at 2 before exploding for four runs late in the win. Freshman pitcher Alayna Mott reached 100 career strikeouts, while the Kublo sisters, Kyleise and Myckenna, wreaked havoc on the basepaths \u2014 scoring four of the six runs. Kyleise leads the team with a .510 average, while sister Mcykenna is second at .476. The Evans sisters, Anna and Cara, are also having good years. Anna has 23 hits and 18 runs, while Cara \u2014 the PIAA Class 2A singles tennis champ \u2014 has 20 hits and 16 RBIs. The Meteors have a team average of .410. The last time the District 2 champ was in the postseason was 1994 when they lost, 9-3, to Parkland in the Class 3A postseason. That year, there were just two classes for softball. \u2026 Northwest played only one district game, getting a bye directly into the final. The Rangers lineup does a little bit of everything. Addisyn Diltz is the school\u2019s all-time leading hitter, Ashlyn Hermanofski has 100 career runs and Bucknell commit Ava Ruckle set the school record for career home runs and RBIs in a single season. The Rangers use two pitchers, Jenna Robaczewski and Natalia Ninotti. Northwest has a good nonleague win over North Pocono, 4-3, and victories over WVC schools Nanticoke Area, Hanover Area, Wyoming Valley West and Crestwood.<\/p>\n
Class 1A<\/p>\n
2-1 Holy Cross (18-3) vs. 4-1 Montgomery (16-6)<\/p>\n
When: Monday, 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Montgomery High School<\/p>\n
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Visit piaa.org, click on the link and find the game you\u2019d like to attend. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for $10.<\/p>\n
How they got here: Holy Cross defeated Forest City, 16-1, and Old Forge, 8-0. Montgomery defeated Cowanesque Valley, 14-0, and Bucktail, 8-2.<\/p>\n
Up next: The winner advances to the state quarterfinals Thursday, and will face the winner of District 6 champ Claysburg Kimmel (19-4) and District 5 runner-up Meyersdale (14-7).<\/p>\n
Breakdown: One year after advancing to the state quarterfinals, the Lady Crusaders are back and have all the pieces to make a deep run in the postseason. Montgomery, which entered as the No. 2 seed in the District 4 bracket, won a Class 1A state title in 2022. \u2026 Holy Cross will be a dangerous out in the postseason. While the Lady Crusaders are young, their two seniors are sensational. Catcher Peyton Graboske leads the team with a .515 average, 34 hits, 35 RBIs and nine home runs. Pitcher Ava Schmidt is great with the bat and in the circle. She\u2019s hitting .486 with 34 hits, 36 runs and 17 RBIs. In the circle, she\u2019s 18-3 with a 1.39 ERA and 186 strikeouts. In the district final against Old Forge, Schmidt tossed a two-hitter with 10 punchouts, and had three hits \u2014 two of them doubles. The Lady Crusaders have 239 hits. Out of those, 48 are doubles and 33 left the yard. \u2026 Montgomery had an up-and-down season, running off a five-game winning streak, but losing two of three entering the postseason. The team has some good bats as senior Madisyn Miller has 31 hits, 33 RBIs and 33 runs. Another senior, Zoe Furman, has 30 hits, 36 RBIs and 44 runs. Furman is one of the best female wrestlers in Pennsylvania, winning a state title this season and finishing with a 95-5 record, and will wrestle at Edinboro next year. Montgomery uses two pitchers \u2014 Ava Hartman and Arianna Snyder. Hartman is 7-4 with a 3.27 ERA, while Snyder is 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA. They\u2019ve combined for 96 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Tom Fox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Class 5A 2-1 Abington Heights (21-1) vs. 1-4 Upper Moreland (17-6) When: Monday, 4:30 p.m. Where: Abington Heights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[305,178,180,179,726],"class_list":["post-206650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-high-school-sports","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}