Baseball Notebook: Vol. 7

By Scott Huff

 Get out a sharp pencil and a yellow legal sheet of paper if you want to figure out the possible PIAA District One playoff teams from the Suburban One League.
 
Or you can just check out the following – no guarantees for accuracy – but this is the best information out there.
 
The seeding meeting will be held on May 14, and all teams will be pressed into numerous make-up dates due to the rainy spring season.
 
“I was so glad to be able to get the game in today,” said Central Bucks East coach Kyle Dennis after his Patriots defeated Hatboro-Horsham 5-1. “Pitching becomes such an issue when you have to play three or four games a week.
 
“Because we got this in today, we will play just three games next week,” added Dennis. “I know that there are a lot of teams that have to play four games.”
 
One of those teams will be Plymouth Whitemarsh that will play three scheduled games and must fit in a suspended game with Upper Dublin.
 
The game with the Flying Cardinals was tied 5-5 in the top of the fourth inning with Upper Dublin batting with a runner on second base and two outs. Rain suspended the game at that point.
 
“I really don’t know when we are going to finish the game,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Robert Slagle. “We wanted to try and get the game in, but the ball was just too slippery, and kids were slipping all over the place.
 
“We’re fighting for a league title and a chance to be in the district playoffs,” added Slagle. “And we’re going to have to depend on our pitching to get us there.”
 
Another team that got its game in on Friday was Abington.
 
“We have been playing very good baseball the last few weeks,” said Abington coach Dave Torresani after his Ghosts lost a 7-3 contest to Council Rock South. “We were up 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, but give South credit, they showed why they are a good baseball team.
 
“That would have been a huge win for us,” added Torresani. “Now we have to go out and beat Truman on Tuesday.”
 
The SOL National and Continental Conferences are awarded two Quad-A slots in the playoffs for its first and second place finishers. The American Conference will be granted one guaranteed slot for its top Quad-A finisher.
 
There will be five Quad-A at-large teams from the entire league – National, Continental and American – based on the PIAA ‘point system.’
 
There will be one – possibly two – teams from Class AAA and a single team from Class AA. All of those teams compete in the SOL American conference.
 
Suburban One League National Conference
 
Council Rock South (11-0) appears to be well on its way to the conference title. The Golden Hawks have games remaining with Rock North, William Tennent, and Pennsbury.
 
Council Rock North (8-2) could contend for a conference championship or must fight off Truman for the second place spot in the standings. The Indians close out their season with Rock South, Abington, Neshaminy, and Bensalem.
 
Harry S Truman (7-4) will push hard for the remaining week and a half of the season to move into second place. The Tigers have conference games with Abington, William Tennent and Pennsbury.
 
Neshaminy (5-5) and Abington (4-5) are long shots to be considered for playoff contention. The Skins must still play Bensalem, Rock North, William Tennent, and Pennsbury. The Ghosts have a couple of brutal closing weeks of the season with Pennsbury, Truman, Rock North, and a pair of games with Bensalem.
 
 Pennsbury (4-6), William Tennent (1-9), and Bensalem (0-9) are teams that most likely will not make the postseason.
 
Suburban One League Continental Conference
 
Pennridge (8-1) has been the surprise team in the conference with only a single loss – 14-12 to Central Bucks East. The Rams can close out a championship season with games still to play against Souderton, Quakertown, North Penn and a pair of games against Hatboro-Horsham.
 
Central Bucks East (7-3) remains in contention for a conference title but would need help. The Patriots have games with CB West, Souderton and a pair of games against Central Bucks South left on their conference schedule.
 
North Penn (6-4) might have too much ground to catch up to win a league title, but the Knights can still earn a guaranteed spot in the playoffs if East falters. NP has remaining games with Pennridge, Quakertown, Central Bucks West, and Central Bucks South.
 
Souderton (4-5) and Central Bucks South (4-5) are both very long shots to make the postseason. The Indians have a pair of games with Quakertown as well as single games with Pennridge, CB East, and CB South left on their schedule. The Titans have a pair of games left with CB East as well as single games with Souderton, CB West, and North Penn.
 
Quakertown (3-4), Hatboro-Horsham (3-7), and Central Bucks West (1-7) most likely will not make the playoffs.
 
Suburban One League American Conference
 
This conference has three classifications – AAAA – AAA – and AA.
 
The Quad-A schools are guaranteed a single spot in the post season – and that spot is very much up for grabs – as is the conference title.
 
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-3) is the top team right now and is on a six-game conference win streak. The Colonials still have conference games with Norristown, Cheltenham, Springfield, Upper Dublin (suspended game), and Upper Moreland.
 
Norristown (6-4) is very much in contention for both a title and playoff spot. The remaining games on the Eagles’ schedule include Plymouth Whitemarsh, Wissahickon, Upper Dublin, and Cheltenham.
 
Wissahickon (6-4) is also in contention for both a title and a playoff spot. The remaining Trojan games include Norristown, Cheltenham, Upper Merion, and Upper Moreland.
 
Cheltenham (3-6), and Upper Dublin (2-5) will most likely not make the post season.
 
The Triple-A schools are guaranteed a single spot in the post season – but the SOL should qualify both of its schools.
 
Upper Moreland (7-3) is the top team right now in the Class AAA race. The Golden Bears must face Wissahickon, Springfield, Upper Dublin, and Plymouth Whitemarsh to close out their schedule.
 
Upper Merion (6-5) is very much in contention for both a conference title and a playoff spot. The Vikings closing schedule includes Springfield, Upper Dublin, and Wissahickon.
 
The Class AA school to make the postseason is Springfield (1-7).
 
SuburbanOneSports Top Ten
 
1.       Council Rock South Golden Hawks
2.       Pennridge Rams
3.       Council Rock North Indians
4.       Central Bucks East Patriots
5.       North Penn Knights
6.       Truman Tigers
7.       Upper Moreland Golden Bears
8.       Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
9.       Wissahickon Trojans
10.  Norristown Eagles
 
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