Scott Huff previews the SOL baseball teams with opening round games on Monday in the District One AAAA Tournament.
By Scott Huff
It’s time for May Madness in the PIAA as District One begins its Quad-A playoffs on Monday with a 24-team field.
The ‘North’ side of the bracket includes 12 teams total – nine from the Suburban One League – and three from the Pioneer Athletic Conference. The ‘South’ side of the bracket includes 12 teams total from the Ches-Mont League, the Central League, and the Delaware Valley League.
There are four teams from the North and four teams from the South that are awarded coveted automatic byes into the second round. The North list includes [N-1] Council Rock South, [N-2] Hatboro-Horsham, [N-3] Upper Dublin, and [N-4] Spring-Ford. The South list includes [S-1] Interboro, [S-2] Downingtown East, [S-3] Downingtown West, and [S-4] Penncrest.
At the conclusion of the PIAA District One tournament, there will be a total of five teams that will advance to the state playoffs.
Six teams from the Suburban One League will compete in the one-and-done elimination in the first round. Winners advance – losers go home.
[N-9] North Penn Knights @ [S-8] Marple Newtown Tigers – Monday – 4 pm
How they got here – North Penn finished in third place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, while Marple Newtown finished in fifth place in the Central League.
Who’s Hot? - North Penn won five of its last eight conference games, while Marple Newtown has lost four straight conference games.
Name Game - North Penn features Eddie Posavec, Casey Clauss, Bryce Mengel, Reed Shuttle, and Bobby Reddick. Marple Newtown features Cieran Cahalene, Mike White, Tyler DiSalle, Anthony Rosaro, and Joe Begso.
North Penn head coach Kevin Manero says – “We are playing our best baseball of the season right now and we are ready to go. We know that in the first two rounds of the playoffs we are going to see #1 pitchers, and we have to compete from the first pitch to the last.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the North Penn-Marple Newtown game will play @ [N-1] Council Rock South on Wednesday.
[N-11] Wissahickon Trojans @ [S-6] Garnet Valley Jaguars – Monday – 4 pm
How they got here – Wissahickon finished in third place in the Suburban One League American Conference, while Garnet Valley finished second in the Central League.
Who’s Hot? – Wissahickon has won four of its last five conference games, while Garnet Valley has won its last five conference games.
Name Game – Wissahickon features Billy McFarland, Greg McDonough, JT Crits, Dan Chou, and Peter Bogdon. Garnet Valley features Dalton Mayberry, Justin Pyle, Ryan Dorrish, Joe DeCarlo, and Scott Scherer.
Wissahickon head coach Shannon Gunby says – “It is a great feeling to be among the 24 teams that are left playing games. We fought all season to be able to be a part of the dance, and we’re happy to be there. Right now, we are playing our best defensive baseball and we have been executing well on offense. We’re ready to play.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the Wissahickon-Garnet Valley game will play @ [N-3] Upper Dublin on Wednesday.
[S-9] West Chester Henderson Warriors @ [N-8] Central Bucks West Bucks – Monday – 4pm
How they got here – West Chester Henderson finished in third place in the Ches-Mont League, while Central Bucks West finished in second place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference.
Who hot? - West Chester Henderson has won six of its last eight conference games, while Central Bucks West has lost its last three conference games.
Name Game – West Chester Henderson features Chas McCormick, Ryan Hoover Nick Dillman, Ryan Lucas, and Zack Jones. Central Bucks West Bucks feature Marty Martens, Jake Poeske, Eugene Alpin, Nick Heller, and Sam Lis.
Central Bucks West head coach Jim Ertel says – “We didn’t end the season the way we would like, but the playoffs are a brand new season for us. When you get to this level, you have to perform. This will be the last home game for our seniors, and we would like to have them end their careers as winners.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the West Chester Henderson-Central Bucks West game will play @ [S-1] Interboro on Wednesday.
[N-12] Central Bucks South Titans @ [S-5] Conestoga Pioneers – Monday – 4pm
How they got here – Central Bucks South finished in fourth place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, while Conestoga finished first in the Central League.
Who’s hot? - Central Bucks South has won five of its last six conference games, while Conestoga has won six of its last seven conference games.
Name Game - Central Bucks South features Dylan Glassmire, Chris Coia, Brian Happ, Ricky Dennis, and Will Sasser. Conestoga features Alan Wang, Jake Carr, Matt Cowell, Bryan Dixon, and Steve Born.
Council Rock South head coach Mike Schafer says – “We have been playing good baseball at the end of the season, and there is no question that we deserve to be in the playoffs. We are here for a reason, and if we play hard I like our chances. We play in a strong conference, and we have played meaningful games all season. That should be a real plus in this game.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the Central Bucks South-Conestoga game will play @ [N-4] Spring-Ford on Wednesday.
[N-10] Council Rock North Indians @ [S-7] West Chester Rustin Golden Knights – Monday 4pm
How they got here – Council Rock North finished in third place in the Suburban One League National Conference, while West Chester Rustin finished second in the Ches-Mont League.
Who’s Hot? - Council Rock North has lost its last three conference games, while West Chester Rustin has won six of its last eight games.
Name Game – Council Rock North features Jake Drossner, Phil Marks, Will Terry, Chris Ender, and Nate English. West Chester Rustin features Matt Gosik, Kevin Jewitt, Doug Franks, Alec O’Dell, and Dylan Jenkins.
Council Rock North head coach Matt Schram says – “When you are able to continue your season in the playoffs, you know that you have had a good season. We beat Central Bucks West (13-5) in a non-league game last week, and that left a good taste in our mouths going into the playoffs. We had been struggling scoring runs, and to be able to hit the ball the way we did against CB West will build some confidence for the playoffs.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the Council Rock North-West Chester Rustin game will play @ [N-2] Hatboro-Horsham on Wednesday.
[S-11] Glen Mills Bulls @ [N-6] Bensalem Owls – Monday 4pm
How they got here – Glen Mills finished second in the Delaware Valley League, while Bensalem finished second in the Suburban One League National Conference.
Who’s Hot? – Glen Mills has won four of its last five conference games, while Bensalem has won four of its last five conference games.
Name Game – Glen Mills features Tyler Malick, Chad Lee, Colin Knowles, Mike Walsh, and Justin Easter. Bensalem features Jesse Dannin, Zach Hizer, Zach Schwartz. Joe Nieves, and Rick Romano.
Bensalem head coach Rick Lee says – “We just got our seniors back at 5:30 pm (Sunday night) from their class trip to Florida. Those seven seniors are a special group, and they all know that they can do something special this week. When those kids go out – they will go out in a blaze of glory.”
Winner Gets – The winner of the Glen Mills-Bensalem game will play @ [S-4] Downingtown West on Wednesday.
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