Wildcats aim for history

We've been wrapped up in this run Cedar Cliff is making as the No. 16 seed.

Lost in the shuffle is the fact that Mechanicsburg is gunning for its first district baseball title as well.

On Thursday at Sovereign Bank Stadium in York, the fourth-seeded Wildcats (17-5) meet second-seeded Twin Valley (22-2) at 4 p.m. in the District 3 Class AAA final.

Accoring to Ryan Hartman, the assistant athletic director at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School, the school has played for three district titles and lost them all.

Prior to this year, the Wildcats, who also locked up a state tournament bid with Tuesday's 8-2 win over Palmyra, played for district gold in 1984 and 1999.

Early start time Thursday

Cedar Cliff will play for its first district baseball title in the afternoon sun.

Due to graduation ceremonies at Manheim Township High School on Thursday evening, the baseball team has to play an early afternoon game.

That means Cedar Cliff and Manheim Twp. will butt heads at 1 p.m. Thursday at Sovereign Bank Stadium in downtown York.

The Blue Streaks (16-6) pounded Spring Grove, 7-3, Tuesday while Cedar Cliff (15-9) jumped out to an early lead and held off New Oxford, 5-4.

In Class AAA, Mechanicsburg will also be playing at Sovereign Bank Stadium. The Wildcats meet Twin Valley at 4 p.m.

Northern will play for the final 3-AAA state playoff berth Thursday at 4 p.m. against Palmyra at Memorial Field in Hershey.

Quick history lesson

Before the District 3 baseball semifinals begin later this afternoon, we're offering a look back at the last time our three semifinalists made it this far.

Cedar Cliff, which will play New Oxford at 5 p.m. in 3-AAAA today at Northern, has never been the semifinals in Class AAAA. The Colts entered this postseason with a 1-5 record in the state's largest classification (the PIAA adopted four classes for baseball beginning with the 2005 season).

Northern, which meets Twin Valley at 4 p.m. in 3-AAA today at Red Lion, won its district semifinal the last time it got this far before falling to Susquehannock, 3-2, in the 2006 championship game.

Mechanicsburg is making its first appearance in the 3-AAA semifinals since 2004 when it advanced with a thrilling 13-inning win over Cumberland Valley in the quarterfinals. Chambersburg ended the Wildcats' run with a 3-2 semifinal victory.

Mechanicsburg plays Keystone Division rival Palmyra at Memorial Field in Hershey at 6:30 tonight.

Colts defying odds

This week, the Cedar Cliff baseball team will play for both a District 3 Class AAAA title and, more importantly, a bid to the state playoffs.

During the regular season, the Colts lost nine games to seven teams.

What's fascinating is the fact that six of thost teams have been eliminated from their respective district playoffs.

Here's a look at the teams that beat Cedar Cliff, the scores of the games and when the winning team's season ended.

Cumberland Valley (L, 2-3 and 6-7): lost in 3-AAAA first round

Altoona (L, 4-10): lost in 6-AAAA semifinals

Chambersburg (L, 5-6 and 5-13): lost in 3-AAAA quarterfinals

Red Land (L, 14-15): lost in 3-AAAA first round

State College (L, 4-7): lost in 6-AAAA semifinals

West York (L, 6-10): lost in 3-AAA first round

Mechanicsburg (L, 3-4): alive in 3-AAA semifinals

Scouts are finished

When the PIAA crowns baseball champions June 17 at Medlar Field in State College, there will be four new teams hoisting the trophies that day.

Thursday night in Muhlenberg, Twin Valley dumped rival Conrad Weiser, 5-3, in the District 3 Class AAA semifinals.

Weiser, which lost 10 seniors from last year's dominant team, was the final defending state champion still alive this spring.

Camp Hill is the last team to repeat as state baseball champions. The Lions captured state gold in 2008 and 2009.

In other news today, we're still awaiting word as to where the final three area baseball teams will be playing Tuesday.

In Class AAAA, Cedar Cliff will play either New Oxford or Chambersburg. In Class AAA, Northern meets Twin Valley and Mechanicsburg plays Palmyra in a matchup featuring two Mid-Penn Keystone Division teams.

Special thanks

Normally, it's the bad things people do that get the biggest attention in newspapers.

Today, I'm going to talk about the good things people did Thursday night.

When a severe storm bore down on Fredericksburg and those in attendance at the District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinal between Cedar Cliff and Lower Dauphin were asked to seek shelter, I literally had nowhere to go.

Not being familiar with anything remotely close to Fredericksburg, jumping in my car was pointless, especially if a tornando did hit. Luckily, the good folks at Fredericksburg Legion Post 915 -- the building is located near the baseball field -- opened their doors to both myself and a handfull of other people from the game.

Once inside, I realized how serious it was: the National Weather Service issued a Tornando Warning for numerous counties in the area, including Lebanon. The worst of it was to hit Fredericksburg at 8 p.m., roughly five minutes after I stepped inside.

After about 45 minutes in the Legion, Cedar Cliff catcher Will Enrico's mother offered to drive me back over to the field so I could interview Colts coach Justin Phillips without being soaked from the rain that was hanging around. When we were done, she drove me to my car at the top of the hill.

None of the people who helped Thursday night did it to get their son's name in the paper or to get good publicity for their Legion. They did it because they're good people and to them, I want to offer another thank you.

Defending champs go splat

Coming into Thursday's playoff action, only one defending PIAA baseball champion remains.

That team is Conrad Weiser, which stormed to the Class AAA title last year but lost 10 seniors from that team. The Scouts opened their playoff run with a 7-4 victory over Trinity in the 3-AAA first round. Awaiting them tonight in the quarterfinals at Muhlenberg's Gochnauer Field is a Twin Valley team that swept them in the regular season.

West Chester Henderson, the defending AAAA champion, didn't surive the second round of the District 1 playoffs. Henderson fell to last year's state runner-up, Owen J. Roberts, 8-2.

Last year's Class AA champion, Bermudian Springs, was bumped up to Class AAA this year and didn't survive District 3's preliminary round, dropping a tough 8-7 decision to Kennard-Dale in eight innings.

Now, for the most shocking score of the district playoffs this season. Perennial power Christopher Dock, the defending Class A champion and the top seed in District 1-A, lost to eighth-seeded Jenkintown, 3-2, Tuesday.

That's a shocking turn of events for the three-time state champions who opened the season by crushing Jenkintown, 13-3. The Pioneers were three-time defending champions of District 1-A.

Madness engulfs 3-AAAA playoffs

Another year, another district baseball playoffs full of upsets.

Normally, we're writing about how wild and crazy the District 3 Class AAA field. But, after the first round, that bracket is pretty solid. The only two real surprises were No. 12 Hershey over No. 5 West York and No. 14 Greecastle-Antrim's win over third-seeded West Perry.

Shippensburg, No. 17, nearly turned the bracket on its head by beating top-seeded Lampeter-Strasburg, but the Greyhounds came out just short in a 1-0 loss.

So, that bracket is fairly sound.

Such is not the case for Class AAAA. Consider the following teams that are out:

• Governor Mifflin (No. 1) -- the Mustangs won Berks I and Berks County Tournament titles and were 17-2 until No. 16 Cedar Cliff sent them packing, 4-3, Tuesday


• Cedar Crest (No. 2) -- the defending district champion were Lancaster-Lebanon Section I and Lancaster-Lebanon Tournament champions. No. 15 Wilson ended Crest's season, 11-4, Tuesday.


• Red Land (No. 3) -- Patriots came in winners of nine straight and were 16-4 before falling, 8-7, to No. 14 Spring Grove on Monday.


• Cumberland Valley (No. 6) -- Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division champions came into this one limping. The Eagles lost their final two games of the season (to Ephrata and to West Perry in the Mid-Penn Tournament) and were without Mike Palkovitz, their slugging first baseman who missed the game due to undisclosed injury. Warwick ended CV's season, 3-2.


• South Western (No. 18) -- Sure, the Mustangs weren't a very high seed, but they were the defending 3-AAAA runners-up. Wilson took care of them, 9-2, in Saturday's preliminary round.

Now, the question becomes: who is the favorite to win this thing? Well, we picked Crest to beat Hempfield in the final with Chambersburg grabbing the third bid to states by beating Red Land.

The fourth-seeded Trojans are now our favorite ... unless Lower Dauphin beats Cedar Cliff. If that happens, we could see Chambersburg's Mitch Warner vs. LD's Casey Kulina in the semifinals on Tuesday. Winner of that would be the favorite, but, with Kulina unavailable Thursday, we like Cedar Cliff to knock the Falcons out and have a shot to crack the state field with one more win.

In the bottom half, Warwick should emerge by beating Spring Grove and Manheim Twp.

So, our new picks for top three in 3-AAAA: Chambersburg, Warwick and Manheim Twp.

Baseball sites, times announced

The three remaining baseball teams from the area will all by playing at 4 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the District 3 playoffs, baseball chairman Pat Tulley announced Tuesday afternoon.

In Class AAA, No. 12 Hershey (13-8) meets No. 4 Mechanicsburg (15-5) at Northern. The game will be the third between the Keystone Division rivals this year. The teams split the season series.

Another division game pits No. 14 Greencastle-Antrim vs. No. 6 Northern at Boiling Springs. The Polar Bears (17-4) swept two games from G-A (13-8) during Colonial Division play.

And, in Class AA, upstart Boiling Springs (11-10), seeded ninth, heads to Red Lion's Horn Field to play top-seeded Delone Catholic (17-1).

There two other games tonight that were postponed from last evening involving area teams. Cedar Cliff plays top-seeded Governor Mifflin at 5 p.m. in a 3-AAAA game at Gochnauer Field in Muhlenberg while Trinity travels to Ephrata's War Memorial Stadium at 4 to play defending district and state champion Conrad Weiser in 3-AAA.

Stiff tests await Panthers, Hounds

Back in early April, the Shippensburg and East Pennsboro baseball teams met at John H. Gross Field for a Mid-Penn non-division game.

Monday afternoon, those two teams have a chance to turn the District 3 Class AAA bracket on its head.

In the early game at Ephrata's War Memorial Stadium, the No. 17 seed Greyhounds (11-8) meet top-seeded Lampeter-Strasburg. Remember, the Pioneers didn't lose a game until they met defending District 3-AAAA champion Cedar Crest in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Tournament.

In downtown Reading on Monday at 6:30 p.m., No. 15 seed East Penn has it works cut out for it against second-seeded and Berks County Tournament runner-up Twin Valley.

The Panthers (14-6) are expected to send A.J. Wilson to mound (with Zach Nye available in relief) against the powerful Raiders, who advanced to the state semifinals last June.

Those are the matchups. Now, consider what happens if either, or both, of these teams win.

East Penn has the best shot and if the Panthers clear this hurdle, they'll get either Conrad Weiser or Trinity in the next round. Shippensburg, which will likely start Marshal Witmer, will play Palmyra or Garden Spot on Thursday.

Remember, there's always one or two teams that come out of nowhere in the 3-AAA bracket and make a push at the state tournament.

Right now, the two best teams to fit that mold are Shippensburg and No. 20 Kennard-Dale, which worked extra innings to bounce last year's Class AA state champion Bermudian Springs.

West Perry opens with G-A

Thanks to a resounding 10-4 win over visiting Manheim Central in the preliminary round of the District 3 Class AAA baseball playoffs, Greencastle-Antrim will be West Perry's first-round opponent Monday.

West Perry, tri-champions of the Mid-Penn Capital Division, will play the Blue Devils at 6:30 p.m. at Newport's Katchmer Field.

The Mustangs (19-3), who have been to the 3-AAA quarterfinals two of the last three years, are seeded third. Greencastle-Antrim (12-8) is No. 14.

Colts have shot at redemption

One year ago, Cedar Cliff fell flat in the District 3 Class AAAA playoffs.

The top-seeded Colts, who cruised to both the Mid-Penn Commonwealth title and the conference tournament championship, failed to score a run against No. 16 Hempfield in a 1-0 loss to the Black Knights in the first round.

This year, coach Justin Phillips' team is a decided underdog for its first-round game against powerful Governor Mifflin on Monday at Gochnauer Field in Muhlenberg.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

The Mustangs are in much the same position as Cedar Cliff was last year. Governor Mifflin is coming off a Berks I title and the Berks County Tournament championship.

Obviously, this team has dreams of playing well past Memorial Day.

But, these Colts won't be an easy out.

Cedar Cliff is expected to send left-hander Jordan Lawson (above) to the mound. The well-rested Lawson hasn't pitched in over a month due to an undisclosed injury. A number of Mid-Penn coaches have said he might be the best pitcher in the conference.

Plus, the Colts, who have won six of their last eight, boast an extremely potent offense that can score with the best of them.

Maybe the most important aspect of this team is the fact that it's playing without much pressure. Last year, Cedar Cliff was expected to make a deep run in both the district and state playoffs. This year, with a 12-9 record after dispatching Carlisle on Friday, no such run is expected.

In the end, that might just help the Colts.

Closing the Mid-Penn season

Thursday's steady rain officially ended the Mid-Penn Conference baseball season with the cancellation of its annual four-team tournament.

But, before we move on to the District 3 tournament, we're going to take a look back at the past results of the Mid-Penn Tournament, which changed to its current format in 2007.

2011 -- rained out

2010 -- Cedar Cliff (Commonwealth) 14, Northern (Colonial) 2 in 6

2009 -- Northern (Colonial) 6, Mechanicsburg (Keystone) 3

2008 -- Chambersburg 5 (Commonwealth), Shippensburg (Colonial) 3

2007 -- Waynesboro (Colonail) 12, Lower Dauphin (Keystone) 3

Rain washes out Mid-Penn baseball tourney

And the beat goes on.

After another rainy day, Mid-Penn officials decided to cancel this year's Mid-Penn baseball tournament.

West Perry advanced to the championship Monday with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cumberland Valley. Moments after that game ended, a steady rain started to fall in Dillsburg.

That forced the second semifinal, between Lower Dauphin and Northern, to be moved to Wednesday. Strong storms that day postponed the second semifinal and the championship to Thursday at 4 and 6:30 p.m.

And, with more rain falling for most of Thursday, the conference put the postseason tournament out of its misery.

Up next in this rain-filled season is the District 3 tournament, which begins Friday with preliminary round games.

Trinity is playing where?

Normally, we don't question what District 3 does in terms of sites for the baseball playoffs.

The reason for that is it usually makes sense.

But Trinity playing Conrad Weiser at War Memorial Stadium in Ephrata? That makes us wonder.

Trinity is the higher seeded team in the game and, while Ephrata isn't exactly in Conrad Weiser's back yard (the drive is roughly an hour), it's also not a site in the Mid-Penn.

There's only two other cases of a higher seeded team not playing in its geographical home area -- Lower Dauphin is at Wenger Field in 3-AAAA and Garden Spot is at Reading's George Field in 3-AAA. The thing is, both of those teams are seeded eighth and neither has a drive of more than 40 minutes.

Sure, the Shamrocks aren't a top seed at No. 7, but in 3-AAAA, seventh-seeded Dallastown is making the short trip to Horn Field in Red Lion for a game against Manheim Twp.

If there is good news to come of this, it's the face that the game is at 6:30 p.m., which gives Trinity fans the chance to make the one-hour trip.

In terms of distance between schools, putting the game at cavernous War Memorial Stadium makes sense. But this isn't the state semifinals. It's the first round of districts and the team with the better seed should not be rewarded with a one-hour drive.

MPT: The outlook

Due to steady in Dillsburg on Monday night, the second semifinal game of the Mid-Penn Tournament was postponed to Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The winner of that game, which pairs Lower Dauphin against Northern, will play West Perry for the tournament title later that night at 6:30.

Here's the catch: according to the National Weather Service, there's an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms Wednesday. Specifically at 4 p.m. Wednesday, the chance of rain is 80 percent. That number dips to 70 at 5 p.m. and then falls to 30 percent the rest of the night.

Not a great forecast, to say the least.

If the tournament cannot be finished Wednesday, it will be moved to Thursday.

And, to pile on further, the forecast for that day isn't much better with an 60 percent chance of afternoon showers.

No word on what happens if the games can't be played Thursday.

District 3 baseball sites announced

Tuesday afternoon, District 3 baseball chairman Pat Tulley announced the sites and times for the first round of the baseball playoffs, which begin Monday.

As previously posted, Friday's play-in round games are the site of the higher seed. Here are the sites for games involving area teams.

Class AAAA
Carlisle/Cedar Cliff winner vs. Governor Mifflin at Muhlenberg, 6:30

Cocalico/Spring Grove winner vs. Red Land at Memorial Field, Hershey, 6:30

Warwick vs. Cumberland Valley at Creekview, 6:30

Class AAA
Shippensburg/Donegal winner vs. Lampeter-Strasburg at Ephrata, 4

Kennard-Dale/Bermudian Springs winner vs. Mechanicsburg at Northern, 4

Northeastern/East Pennsboro winner vs. Twin Valley at George Field, Reading, 6:30

Conrad Weiser vs. Trinity at Ephrata, 6:30

Manheim Central/Greencastle-Antrim winner vs. West Perry at Newport, 6:30

Susquenita vs. Northern at Memorial Field, Hershey, 4

Class AA
Boiling Springs vs. Lancaster Mennonite at Dover, 4

Rain messes with MPT

With one thrilling game complete in Dillsburg and the crowd buzzing about the possibilities for the second game, Mother Nature stepped in and eliminated any chance of two games being played Monday at Northern.

Around 7 p.m., players from Northern brought out purple tarps to cover the pitcher's mound and home plate area as a steady rain fell.

Roughly 15 minutes later, officials postponed the Mid-Penn Tournament semifinal between two-time defending Keystone champion Lower Dauphin and three-time defending Colonial champion Northern to Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The winner of that game will meet Capital winner West Perry at 6:30 p.m. The Mustangs took out Commonwealth king Cumberland Valley, 3-2, under mostly sunny skies.

Northern (16-4) is trying to win its second Mid-Penn Conference title in three years.

The Polar Bears, behind ace Sam Crater, beat Lower Dauphin and its No. 1 pitcher Casey Kulina, 3-0, in last year's semifinals.

Monday night, Kulina was slated to be Lower Dauphin's center fielder; Joe Patton was scheduled to pitch. Whether that changes by Wednesday is unknown.

As for Northern, coach Brian Robison had Vince Apicella (7-1) as his starting pitcher. Apicella has been dominant this year with 90 strikeouts, 14 walks and three earned runs on 26 hits in 49 innings pitched.

Final baseball power ratings; new rule

Below are the final numbers for the first season of the new power rating for baseball.

Only three of the 15 area baseball teams failed to qualify for the postseason.

And remember, with the new rankings also comes a new rule for Friday's preliminary round. The higher seeded team will host. That means Cedar Cliff will play host to Carlisle in 3-AAAA while East Pennsboro welcomes Northeastern to John H. Gross Field in 3-AAA. Both games will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Class AAAA

Class AAA

Class AA

Class A

Good news from Saturday

I think we all can agree that the Mid-Penn Capital Division one-game playoff between Trinity and West Perry had many negatives.

The weather was ugly and as the game stretched over the three-hour mark, errors began to mount. Plus, it was apparent before the game even started that neither Trinity boss Al Hobby or West Perry coach Jeff Sanno were willing to stretch any of their pitchers too far.

Those factors produced a crazy 16-15 game that lasted three hours and 31 minutes.

Trinity was the loser, but Hobby exited soggy and foggy Perry County with at least one positive: the veteran skipper found a reliable relief pitcher, which is important considering Colin King and Dan Resavy have carried most of the load for Trinity this spring.

After this first two pitchers failed to retired West Perry in the first inning Saturday, Hobby brought in Dan Scarpelli, his starting shortstop who pitched a total of 12 1/3 innings prior to Saturday.

Scarpelli lasted 4 1/3 against the powerful Mustangs and finished with a line of five runs (two earned) on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

It wasn't an outstanding outing, but it was enough to keep Trinity in the game. And, if Hobby needs a pitcher in the upcoming District 3 Class AAA playoffs, he now knows he can depend on Scarpelli.

"Look at Scarpelli," Hobby said. "He's our starting shortstop and he comes out here and throws (90 pitches) and basically keeps us in the game."

Sure, Trinity wanted to win, but even in defeat, there was a positive for the Shamrocks on Saturday.

Trinity vs. West Perry preview capsule

Stats and records are prior to West Perry's game against Juniata on Friday night.

Trinty (12-4 overall, 11-3 Capital) vs. West Perry (16-3, 11-3)

Site: West Perry High School, Elliottsburg

Coaches: Trinity - Al Hobby (16th year); West Perry - Jeff Sanno (11th year).

This season: West Perry won the first game, 15-0; Trinity won the second, 9-6.

What's at stake: Winner advances to Mid-Penn semifinals against Commonwealth champion Cumberland Valley on Monday at Northern. Time is to be announced.

Key players: Trinity - Mitch Weaver (.431, 14 RBIs, 3 2B, 3 3B); Joe Gagliardi (.375, 11 RBIs, 6 2B); Nick Slonac (.372, 9 RBIs, 4 2B); Colin King (Batting: .357, 11 RBIs. Pitching: 4-2 record, 37 inn., 2.45 ERA, 41 hits, 34 SO, 8 BB). West Perry - Dakota Smith (.456, 15 RBIs, 7 2B); Aaron Rahn (.415, 26 RBIs, 2 2B, 3 HR); Kurt Little (Batting: .375, 12 RBIs. Pitching: 3-2 record, 33.1 inn., 3.36 ERA, 33 hits, 45 SO, 23 BB); Jade Wilson, right (Batting: .350, 28 RBIs, 7 2B, 3 HR. Pitching: 4-0 record, 37 inn., 1.13 ERA, 17 hits, 53 SO, 23 BB); Jarrid Willette (Pitching: 6-1 record, 38 innings, 2.21 ERA, 43 hits, 43 SO, 43 BB).

Notes: Susquenita, Trinity and West Perry tied for the Mid-Penn Capital Division title but the Blackhawks opted to not participate in the conference's postseason. ... Wilson no-hit the Shamrocks at the end of March. ... Trinity scored three runs in the sixth inning to subdue West Perry in the second game, which was suspended due to lightning after the top of the sixth and finished a week later. ... Trinity is celebrating its first division title since 2005; West Perry its first since 1998. ... Mustangs have won their last three games while Trinity snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Boiling Springs on Thursday. ... Shamrocks have not been involved in a one-run game this year; West Perry is 3-0 in such games.

Blogger back up; Mid-Penn play-in info

Blogger was down the last couple days, hence the lack of posts.

That's the second time the site has been down during baseball season, which is the time of year this blog generates its most hits.

Anyway, how confused are you about this Mid-Penn tiebreaker?

The waters got a littler more clear yesterday afternoon when Susquenita decided to pull out of the Capital Division playoff. The Blackhawks shared the division title with West Perry and Trinity but decided they weren't going to participate in the three-team playoff to determine which team advances to Monday's Mid-Penn Tournament at Northern.

The Mid-Penn was prepared to give West Perry a bye due to the Mustangs owning the best District 3 power rating out of the three teams. That would have meant Trinity and Susquenita would have played each other today with the winner playing at West Perry on Saturday to decide which team advances to meet Commonwealth champion Cumberland Valley in the MPT.

Instead, Susquenita pulled out and, after dispatching Boiling Springs, 11-0, in five innings Thursday, Trinity coach Al Hobby said his Shamrocks were prepared to participate in the Mid-Penn postseason.

So, it's Trinity at West Perry on Saturday at noon in a one-game Mid-Penn Capital Division playoff.

That wasn't so hard to understand, was it?

CV back on top

By virtue of its 8-1 win over visiting Central Dauphin East on Tuesday, the Cumberland Valley baseball team won the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division outright.

The Eagles (9-3 in division play) finished one game ahead of Chambersburg and Red Land.

This baseball title is CV's first since it won Mid-Penn I in 1990.

The Eagles will open Mid-Penn Tournament play Monday against the winner of the Capital Division at Northern. The game will be at either 4 or 6:30 p.m.

Mid-Penn tiebreaker

The fact that the Mid-Penn has implemented a one-game playoff to decide divisional champions has the potential to cause quite a problem at the end of this week.

Thanks to Suquenita's 3-0 win over Trinity on Tuesday, the Blackhawks earned a share of the Mid-Penn Capital Division with rival West Perry.

But, if Trinity beats Boiling Springs on Thursday, the Shamrocks will forge a three-way tie atop the division.

If that happens, the Mid-Penn is expected to bracket the teams in a mini-playoff. The two teams with lower District 3 power ratings would play each other (likely Friday) with the winner playing the team with the better District 3 power rating (likely Saturday).

Remember, this hasn't been confirmed and the issue could still be averted if Boiling Springs beats Trinity on Thursday.

The Mid-Penn Tournament begins Monday at Northern with semifinal games at 4 and 6:30 p.m.

PECO rivals clinch share

Bobby Kohl's two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and Taylor Nace's (right) complete-game shutout helped Susquenita bounced visiting Trinity, 3-0, Tuesday afternoon.

The win clinched at least a share of the Mid-Penn Capital Division for Susquenita. If Trinity loses to Boiling Springs on Thursday, the Blackhawks will share the division with rival West Perry. The two teams, both 11-3 in the Capital, would then have a one-game playoff to determine which team represents the division in next week's Mid-Penn Tournament at Northern.

Such a game would be the fourth meeting between Susquenita and West Perry this spring.

If Trinity beats the Bubblers on Thursday, coach Al Hobby's crew will force a three-way tie with the Perry County boys. We're still awaiting word from the Mid-Penn as to what tiebreaking procedures it will use in the event of a three-way tie.

District 3 baseball power ratings

Here are the latest ratings through Monday's games. The last day for games to count toward the power rating is Saturday.

Class AAAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AA (top 10 qualify)

Class A (top 10 qualify)

Baseball scenarios

We're in the final week of the regular season and two Mid-Penn Conference division races have yet to be settled. Three teams are still in the running for the Commonwealth and Capital crowns.

Here's a breakdown of what could happen between tonight and Friday.

COMMONWEALTH
Scenario 1: Cumberland Valley defeats Central Dauphin East on Tuesday to win the Commonwealth outright with a 9-3 record.

Scenario 2: Cumberland Valley loses to Central Dauphin East on Tuesday. If this happens, there will be a three-way tie for the title between Chambersburg, CV and Red Land. All teams would finish 9-4.

CAPITAL
Scenario 1: Trinity defeats Susquenita on Tuesday and Boiling Springs on Thursday to win the Capital outright with a 12-2 record.

Scenario 2: Trinity loses to Susquenita on Tuesday and Boiling Springs on Thursday to fall out of the Capital Division race. Susquenita and West Perry, both with 11-3 division records, will then have a one-game playoff to determine who represents the Capital in next week's conference tournament.

Scenario 3: Trinity defeats Susquenita on Tuesday and loses to Boiling Springs on Thursday to finish tied with West Perry atop the division with identical 11-3 records. The Shamrocks and Mustangs would then have a one-game playoff.

Scenario 4: Trinity loses to Susquenita on Tuesday and defeats Boiling Springs on Thursday. If this happens, there will be a three-way tie between Susquenita, Trinity and West Perry. All teams would finish 11-3.

Games of the Week (May 9-14)

As a reminder, this is the final week of the baseball regular season. The cutoff to qualify for the district playoffs is Saturday. The Mid-Penn Tournament is set to begin May 16 at Northern.

Milton Hershey at Camp Hill, Monday, 4 -- Might be the last shot for the Lions to crack the 10-team District 3 Class A field. That loss to Steel-High on Friday put Camp Hill in a hole.

Red Land at Mechanicsburg, Monday, 4 -- It's been two years since these two met on the baseball field. We're guessing that they still don't like each other very much. This should be a good non-division tussle between teams that fell just short of winning their respective divisions.

West Perry vs. Susquenita at Newport, Monday, 7 -- It's the third meeting between these rivals this year. West Perry won the first game in 11 innings; Susquenita responded with a 12-1, five-inning rout the second time around. This time the winner will be Perry County champions.

Trinity at Susquenita, Tuesday, 4 -- Shamrocks can move one stop closer to a Capital Division title with a win over the revived Blackhawks. It's do or doe for 'Nita: a loss here and hopes of a division title are dashed.

Central Dauphin East at Cumberland Valley, Tuesday, 4:15 -- It's rather simple for the upstart Eagles: a win and they're the outright Commonwealth champions. A loss and they fall into a three-way tie with Chambersburg and Red Land.

Trinity at Boiling Springs, Thursday, 4:15 -- Bubblers could play spoiler and keep the Shamrocks from Capital Division gold. We're not sure how Trinity's pitching will be by this point but if Colin King (above) or Dan Resavy can start, the Shamrocks will be tough to beat.

Polar Bears the first to clinch

Thanks to its 7-3 win over Shippensburg on Thursday, the Northern baseball team wrapped up its third straight Mid-Penn Colonial Division title.

With only one division game remaining, the Polar Bears hold a three-game lead over second-place Greencastle-Antrim. The Blue Devils are new members of the Colonial this year after moving up from the Mid-Penn Capital Division.

Northern will seek to win its second Mid-Penn Conference title in three years when it opens conference tournament play May 16 against the Mid-Penn Keystone Division champion.

Lower Dauphin, with an 11-2 division record, is the current Keystone leader. Palmyra (10-3) and Mechanicsburg (9-3) are still in the running for the Keystone crown.

District 3 Baseball Power Ratings

Links to the latest batch of district baseball power ratings are below.

Enjoy!

Class AAAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AA (top 10 qualify)

Class A (top 10 qualify)

Shover makes his choice

One of the stalwarts of Camp Hill's back-to-back PIAA Class A championship teams has made his future college choice.

Tyler Shover, the starting catcher on Camp Hill's 2008 and 2009 state championship teams, will attend West Virginia University next fall.

Shover, a two-time first-team All-Sentinel catcher, spent his first two collegiate years at Frederick Community College, a junior college located in Frederick, Md.

Shover said he chose West Virginia over a slew of NCAA Division II schools, including Shippensburg, Mount Olive, Newberry College, Mars Hill and Belhaven College.

"I chose WVU because it was always my goal to play a (Division I) sport," Shover said. "Plus, I like everything WVU has to offer."

Shover said the Mountaineers started recruiting him during his junior year when he hit .369 with 30 RBIs, six doubles and four home runs. As a senior, Shover led the area with 34 RBIs and seven home runs. He was fourth in area with .463 batting average.

Shover is the starting catcher for the Cougars (32-2), who are ranked No. 1 in the latest NJCAA poll.

When he joins the Mountaineers, Shover will be reunited with former Camp Hill teammate L.K. Thompson, who graduated from Camp Hill last June after leading the Lions to the District 3-A title game and the PIAA Class A quarterfinals.

National, Regional rankings

There aren't many Pennsylvania teams in the USA Today Super 25 high school baseball rankings but we're posting links below, nonetheless.

The only Pennsylvania team to crack the rankings is Peters Township, which checks in at No. 9 in the East Region.

Super 25 National rankings

Super 25 Regional rankings

Tuesday's suspension schedule

Tuesday afternoon, two suspended baseball games will be completed.

At 4:30 p.m. in Elliottsburg, the colossal Mid-Penn Capital Division showdown between visiting Trinity and West Perry will be finished. The game, twice postponed by inclement weather, will be picked up in the bottom of the sixth with Trinity holding a 9-6 lead.

In Dillsburg, visiting Red Land and Northern will pick up an 11-11 game in the sixth inning. The non-division game was suspended due to darnkness on April 16.