Onward to States

With the District Titles out of the way, we now head towards the end of the scholastic sports season. The first round of states is upon us and now we will look all of the teams and their opponents. Now there's a few asterisks here, first if I don't give much info on a team, it's primarily because I couldn't find their stats but the District 2 teams will get a Players to Watch and how they got there. With that being said, let's delve into the First round of the State Playoffs.

AA Baseball


Old Forge vs Wellsboro


Where: Canton HS


When: 4:30 PM


How they got here:


Old Forge took the District 2 2A Title


Canton took the District 4 2A Title

Wellsboro is 11-10 overall and is led by Dalton Prough, who is hitting .415 with nine RBIs. Billy Lechler and Freshman Carson Davis lead the team in RBIs with eleven. Johnny Rowland leds the Wellsboro staff with a 7-2 record with a 3.06 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Old Forge is 12-6 overall and is led by a fantastic pitching in Brendan Mozeleski who is 7-0 with a 1.95 ERA and 47 strikeouts. At the plate, Mozeleski is hitting .315 with 4 doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs. Ben Grochowski is no slouch on the mound with a 4-2 record, a 1.93 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He's even better at the plate with a .426 average, four doubles and 20 RBIs. Shane Smith, the Blue Devils catcher has been great this season, hitting .350 with four doubles, a triple and nine RBIs in the leadoff spot.

AAA Baseball


Loyalsock Twp vs Lakeland


Where: Central Columbia HS


When: 4:30 PM


How they got here:


Loyalsock Twp took the District 4 3A Title


Lakeland was the runner-up in District 2

Loyalsock is 18-3 overall and are typically a baseball power in District 4. After not making the State Tournament last year, they are back and hoping for another state championship run. Over the last nine years, they've missed the tournament twice and have won three State Championships, including back-to-back in 2013 and 2014. Lakeland got upset by Holy Redeemer in the District Final. It seems like this could have possibly been a State Semifinal but instead, it's a First Round Matchup and it's probably one of the better first round matchups. Was not able to find much on Loyalsock, but with Lakeland, their staff is incredible with senior Brad Richards, who is 6-0 with a 0.91 ERA and 61 strikeouts. At the plate, Matt Hayes is possibly their best hitter. He's hitting .389 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 15 RBIs. Catcher Adam Retzbach is their leading RBI guy with 17.

Holy Redeeemer vs Tamaqua


Where: Hanover Area HS


When: 4:30 PM


How they got here:


Holy Redeemer won the District 2 3A title


Tamaqua won the District 11 3A Title

Tamaqua is 14-6 overall. I couldn't find the stats on Towanda. The Royals are led by their pitching staff in Tony Molitoris and Jordan Choman. Molitoris is 5-1 with a 0.92 ERA and 37 strikeouts. At the plate, he's hitting .303 with two RBIs. Choman is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 31 strikeouts. At the plate, he's hitting .320 with two doubles and 12 RBIs. Tom Borum is the Royals best hitter, he's hitting .400 with five doubles, a home run and 19 RBIs.

4A Baseball


Dallas vs Athens


Where: Pittston Area HS


When: 4:30 PM


How they got here


Dallas won the District 2 4A title


Athens won the District 2 4A title

Athens is 19-2 on the season and went 13-2 in league play. Was unable to find stats on Athens other than their record. Dallas is a young team and are on a big winning streak, they have won nine straight games. They have several young players in key positions for the Mountaineers. Will McCrum has been great for the Mountaineers at shortstop, leads the team in RBIs with 11. Darren Kerdesky has been another great young player, hitting .370 with three doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs in the leadoff spot for the Mountaineers. Nick Kocher is the ace of the Dallas staff, going 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA and 42 strikeouts.

5A Baseball


Wallenpaupack vs Upper Merion


Where: Marywood University


When: 4:30 PM


How they got here


Wallenpaupack won the District 2 5A Title


Upper Merion got the 4th spot out of District 1

Upper Merion is 11-14 overall and went 8-8 in conference play. They were the No 16 in the District 1 tournament and pulled a few upsets along the way to get to states. Michael Hutchinson leads the team with a .377 average, five doubles, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBIs. Ryan Mcateer leads the team in RBIs with 13 RBIs. Wallenpaupack's strength is their pitching staff, three of them are going to college for pitching. Aaron Husson is 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Austin Gilpin is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 57 strikeouts. At the plate, he's hitting .245 with two doubles and nine RBIs. Morgan Theobald leads the team in average at .415 and Derrick Vosburg leads the team in RBIs with 14.