The crammed schedule, the doubleheaders, the sore arms have finally fulfilled their mission.
Weeks of rainouts, poor field conditions and low numbers have given way to the Schuylkill-Berks Legion League playoffs, which start tonight with the qualifier round.
Five teams will advance from their best-of-3 series to join division champions Valley View, Hamburg and Muhlenberg in the first round Wednesday.
All five series starting today will play doubleheaders. Should third games be necessary, they will be played Monday at times and locations to be determined late tonight.
Let’s take a look at the matchups:
• Southern Area (12-4) is the highest non-division champion remaining, making the A’s the top seed in the qualifying round. However, Southern will play its doubleheader on the road at Kutztown (2-14), the lowest team in the field. The doubleheader starts at 6:30 p.m.
Look for the A’s to have little trouble with the Cougars, who earned one of their wins by forfeit. Southern Area has won 4-of-5 coming into today, averaging more than six runs a game during that stretch.
• With its forfeit to Kutztown on Thursday, Pottsville (3-12-1) dropped to the ninth seed in the qualifier round and will travel to Oley/Topton for a doubleheader with the Patriots at 2 p.m.
It’s been difficult for the Lions’ talent to show through as they battle low numbers, but Pottsville is capable of winning big games as it did against Tamaqua in eight innings of rain June 25.
Oley/Topton, however, will prove difficult. The Patriots (11-5) were in a tight battle with Muhlenberg for the South Division title, and playing in a deep division has tested them.
• The direct beneficiary of Pottsville’s forfeit was Schuylkill Valley, which has the No. 8 seed. The Falcons’ consolation? A date with third-ranked Pine Grove. Games 1 and 2 of that series are at Stump Stadium tonight, beginning at 5 p.m.
Much like Pottsville, Schuylkill Valley (3-12-1) has big bats (Jeff Yordy, Derrick Reese, Ian McCole, etc.) and good arms that could come out after a few days’ rest.
Pine Grove, however, is one of the better-rested teams in the league. The Grovers (10-6) started their season on time and have gotten good performances from Zach Boltz, Kobe D’Agostino, Austin Fick and Logan Levan, to name a few.
If both teams get their ideal lineups on the field, this could be the most intriguing series of the round.
• Tamaqua is the only other local team in action today. The seventh-seeded Blue Sox travel to Fleetwood for a doubleheader against Post 625, beginning at 2 p.m.
The Sox (6-10) didn’t end the season how they would’ve liked. They lost three straight games, allowing eight or nine runs in each, and let the North Division title slip to Valley View.
But Tamaqua is another team that can be deadly when rested and Matt Roberts, Nate MacDonald and Pete Baddick have been on fire.
The Wildcats (10-6) have been sporadic, to say the least. While they won their last five, four were against sub-.500 teams. Post 625 won both games of a doubleheader with Tamaqua 4-3 and 10-5 on June 7.
• Fifth seed Tulpehocken hosts No. 6 Wyomissing at 3 p.m. today in the other series, which was originally scheduled to play a game at each location today.
District 24 11-12
Little League
Pine Grove 5, SPN 3
PINE GROVE — Ayden Ney had two hits and two RBIs and Josh Leininger pitched a complete game as Pine Grove defeated Saint Clair/Port Carbon/New Philadelphia in a Pool 3 game Friday night.
Shea Morgan scored a pair of runs for Pine Grove, which avenged a 6-3, eight-inning loss to SPN in the pool opener June 28.
Leininger, who also pitched that game, struck out seven and scattered six hits.
Aiden Stanton had two hits for SPN.
Pine Grove (2-1) 102 200 — 5 6 2
SPN (1-1) 001 020 — 3 6 3
Leininger and Unger; Holobetz, Shirey and Shirey, Kuperavage, Stanton. W — Leininger. L — Holobetz.
HITS: Pine Grove — Morgan, Leininger, Ney 2, Koppenhaver, Wolff. Saint Clair/Port Carbon/New Philadelphia — Stanton 2, Holobetz, Shirey, Rupert, Cook, Adamick.