Scott Huff previews the District One opening round games on Monday and Tuesday and also takes a closer look at the district power rankings.
By Scott Huff
Question: What do you call a number that won’t sit down?
Answer: A Roamin’ Numeral
Funny Math?
Consider the following:
- Five points for each win
- One times the winning percentage of the teams you beat times ten
- The winning percentage of the other teams in your league (take yours out) times five
- Add all three numbers and divide by the number of league games
The above formula is used by District One to determine the ‘seeding number’ for the teams in the baseball playoffs. The results got a giggle from schools like Souderton and Council Rock North – not so amusing for Abington and Central Bucks South.
Abington finished the SOL National Conference season with an 8-6 record, while Souderton finished the regular SOL Continental Conference season with a record of 7-7. However, after using the formula listed above – Abington finished with a point total of 5.073 which was 0.208 behind Souderton’s total of 5.281.
Seven-win Souderton is in – eight-win Abington is out.
Central Bucks South finished the SOL Continental Conference regular season with an 11-3 record and the conference championship, while Council Rock North finished the SOL National Conference regular season with an identical 11-3 record and the conference championship. Using the formula above – Central Bucks South finished with a point total of 7.613xxxxxxxxxx4, while Council Rock finished with a point total of 7.613xxxxxxxxxx5. A microscopic difference of exactly 0.00000000000001.
Council Rock North is therefore the # 6 seed and will have a first round bye – Central Bucks South is the # 7 seed and must play a first round game against – of all teams – SOL Continental Conference rival Souderton.
Oh, by the way, there were two coin flips to determine seeding due to identical records and point totals calculated to the n-th degree. Pennridge (9-5) won a coin flip with Neshaminy (9-5) for the 17th seed, while Pennsbury (10-4) won a coin flip with Wissahickon (10-4) for the 12th seed.
There were two SOL teams that earned first round byes.
In addition to [#6] Council Rock North who will play the winner of the [#11] Conestoga vs. [#22] Springfield Delco game on Wednesday, SOL American Conference champion [#3] Upper Dublin (12-2) will face the winner of the game between [#14] West Chester Henderson vs. [#19] Harriton game on Wednesday.
And the beat goes on…
PIAA Quad-A District One Opening Round Playoff Games Monday – May 23, 2016 SOL Continental Conference
[#26] Souderton Indians (7-7) @ [#7] Central Bucks South Titans (11-3)
Season Resume:
Souderton finished the regular season as the fourth place finisher in the SOL Continental Conference.
Central Bucks South finished the regular season as the champion of the SOL Continental Conference.
Souderton Head Coach Michael Childs says: “Honestly, I thought that Abington was going to get in and we would be the first team out. I already gave my good-bye speech to the team. With us beating CB South twice, it gave us enough bonus points to get in the playoffs. We didn’t beat (CB South ace) Dan Klepchick in either of our wins over South, and we surely will get him in the playoffs. But Aaron (Gulibon) has been great for us all year, and it should be an awesome pitching dual between those two. We really have no pressure on us – and after not being in the playoffs for the last five years, we are very happy to be there. There have been teams that were the lowest seed – like CB South (2011) and North Penn (2013) that have won district and state championships. The season truly starts over in the playoffs.”
Central Bucks South Head Coach Brian Klumpp says: “Souderton is an excellent team with one of the best pitchers in the league in (Aaron) Gulibon. The team that plays the best defense – makes the fewest mistakes – and the team that can manufacture runs is going to win the game. It should be a fun game to watch, and us being at home is a good thing. We went 3-0 the final week of the season and dropped from sixth to seventh in the district seeding. Us not getting a bye in the first round was absolutely a total surprise. We thought winning our conference championship – with all the good teams in our conference – would get us more than just a conference championship. I told Dan (Klepchick) after we found out the brackets that he was getting the ball on Monday against Souderton – no secret there – and we all know that we have to win Monday in order to play on Wednesday.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [#23] Haverford (9-7) vs. [#10] Spring-Ford (14-4) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
[#24] North Penn Knights (8-6) @ [#9] Marple Newtown Lions (12-4)
Season Resume:
North Penn finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the SOL Continental Conference.
Marple Newtown finished the regular season as the champion of the Central League.
North Penn Head Coach Kevin Manero says: “We did what we had to do in the second half of the season to get into the playoffs. Remember, we were 4-5 at one point in the league standings. You have to give this team credit for being able to win key games in the second half against some very good teams. A lot of things have to go right to win a district championship. It can be brutal – especially the first week if you don’t get the bye and have to play three games in a week. We have put in a lot of hard work this year, and we know that Marple Newtown has a good program. We played them in both 2011 and 2012 and we won a game and lost a game. Jared Gorman and Matt Stevenson have given us well-pitched games all year – and if we get to Friday we have a stable full of arms that will be ready if needed. It has been a good ride the last few weeks – now we need to keep in going.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between [#25] West Chester East (11-8) vs. [#8] Coatesville (14-5) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
[#17] Pennridge Rams (9-5) @ [#16] Garnet Valley Jaquars (11-5)
Season Resume:
Pennridge finished the season as the second place finisher in the SOL Continental Conference.
Garnet Valley finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the Central League.
Pennridge Head Coach Tom Nuneviller says: “We got ourselves into the playoffs with some nice wins in a tough league. But we also got ourselves into a position as a 17 seed into a team that is going to have to travel a lot to move on in the playoffs. Back in 2013 we were in a similar situation and we were able to go deep into the playoffs by playing away games. Sometimes the best part of high school baseball is to be able to make those long bus rides and come home with wins. I don’t know a lot about Garnet Valley, but I have a friend that I played with at West Chester (University) that should be able to help me out. We played 14 tough league games to prepare for the playoffs. We will be prepared for this game.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play [#1] Interboro (15-0) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
SOL Continental Conference Final Standings
1. Central Bucks South Titans 11-3
2. Pennridge Rams 9-5
3. North Penn Knights 8-6
4. Souderton Indians 7-7
Central Bucks West Bucks 7-7
6. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 6-8
Quakertown Panthers 6-8
8. Central Bucks East Patriots 2-12
SOL National Conference
[#18] Neshaminy Redskins (9-5) @ [#15] Owen J Roberts Wildcats (13-5)
Season Resume:
Neshaminy finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the SOL National Conference.
Owen J Roberts finished the regular season as the fourth place finisher in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Neshaminy Head Coach Chris Tenaglia says: “The players are really excited to be playing in the playoffs. The last time a Neshaminy team went to the playoffs was in 2013. Right now we are playing our best baseball of the year, and that can be a key to being successful in the playoffs. In the big games, it always comes down to throwing strikes and playing good defense. You want to execute every phase of the game – have the right approach and the plate and on the bases. Every team has good pitching and you have to find a way to score runs. We will throw Billy Meyer on Monday – he has put us on his back all year.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play [#2] Downingtown West (17-2) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
[#21] Academy Park Golden Knights (11-4) @ [#12] Pennsbury Falcons (10-4)
Season Resume:
Academy Park finished the season as the second place finisher in the Delaware Valley League.
Pennsbury finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the SOL National Conference.
Pennsbury Head Coach Joe Pesci says: “We were disappointed that we couldn’t win our last game (9-2 loss to William Tennent) that would have given us a share of the championship. But after starting the season 2-3 we won eight straight league games to get to that point. After the game, we talked about all the positives we had during the season, and now we get a chance to play more meaningful games. We play Academy Park and we can’t look past them. Sure the kids look at the bracket and the road to a district championship, but every team is dangerous. There have been a lot of lower seeds that end up going deep and winning this tournament. Some of the players on this team remember our 2-1 loss to (eventual state champion) North Penn in states last year – and they want to get rid of that taste in their mouth.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play [#5] Boyertown (15-3) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
SOL National Conference Final Standings
1. Council Rock North Indians 11-3
2. Pennsbury Falcons 10-4
3. Neshaminy Redskins 9-5
4. Abington Ghosts 8-6
5. William Tennent Panthers 7-7
6. Bensalem Owls 6-8
7. Harry S Truman Tigers 3-11
8. Council Rock South Golden Hawks 2-12
SOL American Conference
[#20] Strath Haven Panthers (10-6) @ [#13] Wissahickon Trojans (10-4)
Season Resume:
Strath Haven finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the Central League.
Wissahickon finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the SOL American Conference
Wissahickon Head Coach John Bernhart says: “I play in the Delco adult baseball league and (Strath Haven head coach) Brian Fili is my manager. He and I are good friends, and now we get to coach against each other in the district playoffs. We had a good season – but we gave some games away early in the season. But the players are very excited to be playing in districts – and especially playing a home game before a nice crowd of alumni, friends, and family. Logan Willans will get the ball and he has been terrific all season. He has thrown a one-hitter, two two-hitters, and a three-hitter this year. In the ten games that he has pitched, he has completed eight of them and only once threw over 100 pitches in a game. He is around the zone every game – and even though I would call him a contact pitcher – his fastball has some juice. We have four hitters at the top of our lineup that are hitting over .400 – Blake Rapaport, Alex Tappen, Matt Shilling, and Jeremy Spittle.
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Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play [#4] Perkiomen Valley (15-3) on Wednesday (5/25/16).
PIAA Class AAA District One Opening RoundPlayoff Game Tuesday – May 24, 2016
[#7] Phoenixville Phantoms (7-11) @ [#2] Upper Moreland Golden Bears (11-3)
Season Resume:
Phoenixville finished the regular season as the sixth place finisher in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Upper Moreland finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the SOL American Conference.
Upper Moreland Head Coach Ken Irwin says: “If we were able to beat Upper Dublin not only could we have been a league champion, but we could have been the # 1 seed in the (Class AAA) district playoffs and would get a bye in the first round. (Holy Ghost Prep is the # 1 seed). Last year we lost to Holy Ghost Prep in the semifinals, and they went on to win the district. We get Phoenixville in the first round and all we know about them is that they play in a very good conference. If we get the pitching that we have gotten all year – we can compete with anyone. We like playing the teams we play in our conference – and we feel that competition gets us ready for the playoffs. If you want to compete at a high level – you have to challenge your program. Joey Bates is our senior and he will throw Tuesday – he has pitched well all season and deserves the start.
”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of [#3] Bishop Shanahan (11-8) vs. [#6] Upper Perkiomen (7-11).
SOL American Conference Final Standings
1. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals 12-2
2. Upper Moreland Golden Bears 11-3
3. Wissahickon Trojans 10-4
4. Cheltenham Panthers 6-8
5. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 5-9
Springfield Spartans 5-9
Upper Merion Vikings 5-9
8. Norristown Eagles 2-12
Suburban One Sports.com
Top Ten
1. Council Rock North Indians
2. Central Bucks South Titans
3. Pennsbury Falcons
4. Upper Dublin Cardinals
5. Pennridge Rams
6. Neshaminy Redskins
7. North Penn Knights
8. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
9. Wissahickon Trojans
10. Souderton Indians
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