The keys to winning

There are certain things we feel the Mechanicsburg and Northern baseball teams must do Thursday if they hope to advance to the semifinal round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

Here are the keys for each team.

Mechanicsburg (vs. Thunkhannock at Parkland High School, 6:30)
A return to the Sal of old: Mechanicsburg will score runs against the Tigers, but if senior right-hander Sal Purpura (the likely starter) isn't on his game, Mechanicsburg's season will end. Purpura wasn't sharp at all against Twin Valley in 3-AAA final last week, but his offense picked him up and Joey Bishop was efficient in relief. Plus, the Raiders helped by committing nine errors, something the District 2 champion Tigers probably won't do. If the Wildcats dig an early hole due to walks and hit batsmen, they might not crawl out of it this time.

Northern (vs. Punxsutawney at Replogle Field, New Enterprise, 4)
Everyone contributes: At one point in Monday's game against the Somerst, the bottom four batters in Northern's order were a combined 1 for 8. They finished the game 4 for 16. The first five batters in the order went 10 for 17 and had eight of the team's 10 RBIs. We know the Polar Bears have some youngsters down below and are dealing with injuries, but this is the time those players need to step up. To beat District 9 champion Punxsutawney, the Polar Bears need all nine of their batters to contribute.