Scott Huff checks out the district playoff picture for baseball with the close of the regular season.
By Scott Huff
The selection of the 12 Quad-A teams from District One in the upcoming playoffs is a puzzle that remains to be solved prior to the selection meeting Thursday. The formula that is used is confusing at best, and for the teams on the ‘bubble,’ it is a just a ‘wait and see’ proposition.
“You would think that this would be easier to figure out,” said Central Bucks East head coach Kyle Dennis – coach of the Suburban One Continental Conference champion Patriots. “It is difficult to really know where you stand – even when the season is over.”
“There is such a tremendous advantage to be one of the top four seeds,” said Central Bucks South head coach Mike Schaefer – coach of the defending District One champion Titans who finished second in the SOL Continental Conference this year. “You get a bye in the first round, and you can pitch your best pitcher in the second round against somebody else’s number two pitcher.”
“We had our chance to make sure we made the playoffs with a win over Council Rock South,” said William Tennent head coach Rick Penecale as his “bubble” Panthers lost in the conference finale to the Golden Hawks 4-2. “Now we have to wait and see where we fall in terms of the math.”
Oh yea, the math.
This information comes directly from the PIAA District One Website:
- 5 points for each win
- 1 times the winning percentage of the teams you defeat each time you beat them times 10
- Winning percentage of the other teams in your league times 5
- Add the three numbers and divide by the number of league games.
Remember – only league games count.
The Suburban One League Conferences (National, Continental, and American) are combined with the Pioneer Athletic Conference to create the 12-team ‘North’ side of the PIAA District One Quad-A bracket. The SOL teams play a 14-game conference schedule, while the PAC-10 plays an 18-game slate.
One source close to the SOL applied the above formula to the field and the results – officially unofficial – are as follows. Again, remember it is the application of the formula – not the winning percentage of the teams involved – that determines seeding.
Here goes:
- Central Bucks East Patriots (12-2) SOL Continental Conference
- Neshaminy Redskins (11-3) SOL National Conference
- Methacton Warriors (13-5) PAC-10
- Boyertown Bears (12-6) PAC-10
- Cheltenham Panthers (10-4) SOL American Conference
- Central Bucks South Titans (10-4) SOL Continental Conference
- Council Rock North Indians (9-5) SOL National Conference
- Perkiomen Valley Vikings (12-6) PAC-10
- Pennridge Rams (9-5) SOL Continental Conference
- Council Rock South Golden Hawks (8-6) SOL National Conference
- North Penn Knights (9-5) SOL Continental Conference
- Wissahickon Trojans (8-6) SOL American Conference
Again, according to the formula - if it was applied correctly – had Wissahickon with a final number of 5.233 and William Tennent with a final number of 5.226. Those numbers put the Trojans in and the Panthers out by a margin of 0.007 – ouch.
We Are The Champions
Upper Moreland came into the 2013 baseball season with Great Expectations, and the Golden Bears more than lived up to those expectations with a spectacular 13-1 SOL American Conference record and a conference championship. Upper Moreland lost its chance for conference perfection when the Bears were defeated by Wissahickon 5-3 in the conference finale.
“We went beyond our expectations as far as going 13-1, but out goal was always to win the conference championship,” said Upper Moreland head coach Ernie Rehr. “But we have other goals this season to accomplish – and that includes winning a district championship.”
Upper Moreland will enter the Class AAA district playoffs and the #2 seed behind Holy Ghost Prep. Last season the Golden Bears dropped an 8-7 contest to Phoenixville in the District One final after leading by four runs going into the final inning.
“That is a game that my seniors and I have a hard time thinking about,” said Rehr. “We would love a chance to get back to that point and come up with a win. But we have some work to do before that.”
Four is the number that has been instrumental in the success of Upper Moreland this season. There are a foursome of pitchers and a quartet of hitters that have carried Purple and Gold to the title.
“It is rather remarkable the number of good pitchers we can run out there,” said Rehr of junior Charlie Hooker, junior Eddie Decker, junior Tommy Robinson, and senior Robert Knox. “Charlie and Eddie have been excellent at starting games this season, Tommy has also been great in different roles, and Rob has been really effective as a closer. We will go into the playoffs thinking we have four good pitchers and we will use them how ever seems to fit that particular game.
“And offensively, I would put the top of our lineup against any team around – 4A, 3A, or 2A,” continued Rehr in reference to Knox, Matt Kohn, Hooker, and Pat Driscoll. “We have been able to generate a lot of runs from those first four hitters.”
Mission Number One – a SOL American Conference title – has been accomplished by Upper Moreland. Only time will tell if Mission Number Two – a PIAA District One Class AAA title – is also accomplished by the hungry Bears.
Central Bucks East also came into the 2013 baseball season with Great Expectations, and the Patriots more than lived up to those expectations with a terrific 12-2 SOL Continental Conference record and a conference championship. The only conference losses of the season for CBE were a 6-5 loss to Hatboro-Horsham and a 4-3 loss to Souderton.
“Our players sat down at the beginning of the season and had as a goal to win the league championship,” said Central Bucks East head coach Kyle Dennis as the Patriots will most likely be the #1 seed in the upcoming District One Quad-A playoffs. “The teams in the league were so good, though, that I would not have expected us to win 12 of 14 games.
“We had two excellent pitchers all year in Blair Killough and Robert Welhaf, and both Ben Hauser and Vince Careghini have carried us offensively,” added Dennis. “But really, it has been a great effort by the entire team.”
Killough was 5-1 with a spectacular 1.76 earned run average in the conference with four complete games, while Welhaf was a perfect 5-0 with a 2.02 ERA and two shoutouts. Hauser hit .422 with 2 homeruns and a team leading 21 RBI, while Careghini was an ideal leadoff hitter with a .426 batting average and a .530 on-base percentage.
“We had a lot of good things go our way this year,” said Dennis. “The players are ready to continue the season in the playoffs.”
Suburban One Sports.com – Top Ten
1. Central Bucks East Patriots
2. Neshaminy Redskins
3. Central Bucks South Titans
4. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
5. Pennridge Rams
6. Council Rock North Indians
7. North Penn Knights
8. Cheltenham Panthers
9. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
10. Wissahickon Trojans
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