Jun. 12—It will be back to familiar turf for three of the six District 2 teams still alive in the PIAA softball and baseball playoffs when semifinal action starts Monday.
Mid Valley and West Scranton’s softball teams will be back in action on the same field they played their quarterfinal matchups, and Wyoming Area’s baseball team will plug a familiar address into the GPS for their semifinal.
Mid Valley meets Central Columbia on Monday at 2 p.m. at Marywood University in Class 3A. The Spartanettes posted a 7-6 walkoff win there Thursday against North Schuylkill. That game is part of a twinbill, with Class 4A Tunkhannock also playing close to home when they take on Bethlehem Catholic at 4 p.m.
The Mid Valley-Central Columbia winner will play for the state championship Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Penn State’s Beard Field, site of all six title games, against the winner of the Punxsutawney-Mount Pleasant game. Tunkhannock or Bethlehem Catholic will square off against the Laurel Highlands-Beaver survivor. That title game will be Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
West Scranton also knows the way to its semifinal site, Patriots Park in Allentown, after winning a quarterfinal there, 7-6, over West Chester East. The Invaders also will play at the same time, 4 p.m., against Lampeter-Strasburg, the state runner-up in 2019. The victor takes on Armstrong or North Hills in Friday’s 4 p.m. title game.
Riverside’s boys will try to keep their perfect season going Monday at 4:30 p.m. when they take on District 11 champ Schuylkill Haven in the Class 2A semifinal at Mountain Top Legion Field. A berth in Friday’s 10:30 a.m. championship game at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, site of all six finals, awaits the winner. Shenango and Serra Catholic will vie for the other spot in that game.
The two Wyoming Valley Conference teams in the semifinals are paired up for a doubleheader at DeSales University, where Wyoming Area won its Class 4A quarterfinal last week. This time the Warriors will meet Bonner-Prendergast at 6:30 p.m., playing for a berth in Friday’s 1:30 p.m. championship against either New Castle or Montour.
Prior to that, Lake-Lehman will try to reach the Class 3A final when it tangles with Oley Valley, an 8-6 winner over Scranton Prep in the quarters, a game that brings Oley Valley to DeSales for a second straight game. Tyrone and Central will play in the West half of the bracket for the right to meet the winner Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
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