Games of the Week (May 2-7)

Chambersburg at Cumberland Valley, Monday, 4:15 -- Rematch of a wild game Saturday at Greene Township Park. The Eagles rallied for a wild 14-11 win that vaulted them over the Trojans and into first place in the Commonwealth Division. Won't have to wait long for the rematch. Expect CV to send ace Eric Sawyer (right) to the mound.

East Pennsboro at Trinity, Monday, 4:15 -- There hasn't been a bigger game for Trinity yet this year. The Shamrocks are one game behind first-place West Perry in the Capital Division standings with a suspended game against the Mustangs set for Tuesday. Before that game is completed, the Shamrocks face a home test against East Pennsboro. The Panthers need a win here to claw back into the division race. That will be difficult against Trinity pitchers Colin King and Dan Resavy.

Cumberland Valley at Carlisle, Wednesday, 4 -- CV moved into first place in the division Saturday with a win over Chambersburg while Carlisle got back on the winning track with a 1-0 victory at Shippensburg. The Thundering Herd would like nothing more than to complete the season sweep of CV and keep the Eagles from winning this division. With a solid pitching staff -- Harris Glenn, Brian Goodling and Kyler Brown -- Carlisle has the arms to do it.

Northern at Shippensburg, Wednesday, 4:15 -- Polar Bears, behind Joe Tuschak and John Mayer, can wrap up their third-straight Colonial Division title with a win over the host Greyhounds, but it won't come easy. Shippensburg has a couple of nice wins this year and Dan Watkins' club would like nothing better than to upset Northern. Problem is, the Polar Bears are a little too strong for Shippensburg.

East Pennsboro at Susquenita, Friday, 4:15 -- Who knows what the Capital Division standings will look like at this point? We think it's safe to say that both of these teams will be in the running for the title. The Blackhawks, behind pitchers Taylor Nace and Justin Malehorn, seem to be hitting their stride. If they keep playing as well as they did Friday and Saturday in dominant wins over West Perry and Halifax, look out.

Trinity at Boiling Springs, Friday, 4:15 -- The Shamrocks could be closing in on a Capital Division title at this point. Entering the week, they were one game behind West Perry so a big week could lift Al Hobby's club to the top of the division. The Shamrocks pounded out 10 runs on 17 hits against Susquenita in a five-run win last week. Don't take this team lightly.

Cumberland Valley at Hershey Tournament, Saturday -- Talk about a loaded field this year. CV opens with perennial power State College at 12:30 before meeting either South Western or Hershey later in the day. This tournament is always strong, but this year it got a boost from the Little Lions. If CV does well against a brutal schedule this week, it will bode well for their chances in the postseason.

Wild baseball score

Cumberland Valley scored 16 runs in the top of the sixth inning Friday night to stun Red Land, 19-7, in six innings.

The Patriots led, 7-3, after five innings.

As crazy as that game was, it wasn't the wildest Friday night.

Central and Clearfield combined for 58 runs on 51 hits in the former's 36-22, six-inning victory.

The teams scored at least five runs in six of the 12 innings.

Here's the story from the Altoona Mirror.

Baseball for a good cause

When the Red Land and Red Lion baseball teams take the field for a non-conference game at Sovereign Bank Stadium, home of the York Revolution, on May 7, there will be more than baseball on the minds of the players, coaches and fans.

The teams are playing in an effort to raise money for the ongoing battle against breast cancer.

All proceeds will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Red Land is planning to go 'Passionately Pink' by wearing pink jerseys for the game. Fans who wear pink to the stadium will receive $1 off their ticket price.

In addition, Red Land is selling 'Red for Pink' tee-shirts at home baseball games while supplies last. Those who wear the 'Red for Pink' shirt will be admitted to the game free of charge.

The junior varsity game is slated to begin at 4 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow at approximately 6:30.

District 3 baseball power rankings

Finally, the district has released the first batch of the baseball power ratings. Below are four links that will take you to each classificaiton.

Class AAAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AAA (top 20 qualify)

Class AA (top 8 qualify)

Class A (top 12 qualify)

Big Spring, McDevitt post upset wins

Behind a complete-game effort from pitcher Heath Singer, Big Spring handed Northern its first Mid-Penn Colonial Division loss on Tuesday.

Big Spring out-gunned the Polar Bears, 5-4, in a nine-inning thriller.

The Bulldogs are a pleasant surprise this year and still have a shot to pass two-time defending champion Northern and second-place Greencastle-Antrim for the division title. With Waynesboro off to a slow start, it looks like Colonial is a three-team race between Northern, Greencastle-Antrim and Big Spring.

Also on Tuesday night, Bishop McDevitt delivered one of the bigger upset this year with a 6-4 win over defending champion Lower Dauphin in Keystone Division action.

The Crusaders are under .500 but somehow found to way to hand the Falcons their second division loss this year. Lower Dauphin, a PIAA Class AAAA semifinalist last June, is still our pick to win the division but Hershey (first in the division after Tuesday), Mechanicsburg (third) and Palmyra (fourth) are still very much alive.

The streak is over for Red Land

Tuesday afternoon in suburban Harrisburg, the Red Land baseball team ended an ugly losing streak against Mid-Penn Commonwealth cellar-dweller Central Dauphin East.

Jeff Scaramuzzino and Kyle Zimmerman equally split six RBIs and the Patriots had six players with multiple hits in a dominant 13-7 win.

At the end of last week, the Panthers captured a 7-6 victory at Brandt Cook Field that ran their winning streak against Red Land to three straight games.

Last year, the Patriots dropped 11-8 and 1-0 decisions to East. Thanks to those losses, the Patriots failed to share the Commonwealth Division with rival Cedar Cliff.

Tuesday's victory was the first for Red Land over East since it clinched the 2009 division title with a 7-0 victory May 9.

District 3 baseball playoffs

According to the District 3 Web site, the first batch of baseball power ratings will be released Wednesday morning.

This year, the top 20 teams qualify in Class AAAA and Class AAA, eight qualify in AA and 12 qualify for A.