Eight teams will begin play on Tuesday morning vying for one of Pennsylvania's two spots (in addition to the host team) in next week's Mid-Atlantic National Regional in West Lawn. Here is a quick breakdown by region. Don't forget you can catch all of the action live on palegionball.com!
Boyertown (Host)
League: Berks County
Record: 24-21
How They Got Here: After a third place finish in the Berks County League, Boyertown lost to rival Shillington in the Berks final. The team is one of Boyertown's youngest in recent memory, with over half the team being first year players.
Doylestown (Region 2)
League: Bux-Mont
Record: 30-7-2
How They Got Here: The Tigers topped eventual runner-up Bath and Oley/Topton in the first two rounds of the regional tournament before a seventeen run outburst secured a win over Shillington in the winner's bracket final. Doylestown knocked off North Parkland before dropping game 14 to Bath by five runs. In game 15, the Bux-Mont champs got revenge with an exciting 5-4 victory to earn their first state tournament berth.
Spring City (Region 3)
League: Chester County
Record: 30-10
How They Got Here: The Red Sox were knocked off in their league championship by upstart Conestoga. As the host of the Region 3 tournament, the perennial state power won five straight games including a championship revenge win over Conestoga. En route to an undefeated tournament, Spring City also knocked off Ivy Ridge, JP Mascaro, Fort Washington, and defending state champion Bristol.
Ephrata (Region 4)
League: District 10
Record: 18-6
How They Got Here: Things didn't go quite as planned for the District 10 champions on opening day of the Region 4 tournament as they were downed by the always tough Hummelstown by 2. In another case of a first round loser winning five in a row, Ephrata rattled off wins against Upper Dauphin, Campbelltown, and Waynesboro to reach the final day. In game 14, Ephrata punched their championship game ticket with a ten run win over Spring Grove before topping Waynesboro for the second day in a row to make the state tournament.
Milton (Region 5)
League: West Branch
Record: 21-3
How They Got Here: Milton had a tough draw to open their regional tournament last week, drawing regional power Greater Pittston in the first round. In a sign of things to come, the West Branch League champions won by two before beating Towanda and Tunkhannock to secure a spot in the tournament's final game. Greater Pittston was able to extend their season by topping Milton in the "throw away" game on day 4. A rested Milton squad took on Towanda for the championship in the latter's second game of the day. In a finish that will go down in Milton lore, a bases loaded wild pitch secured the team's first state tournament bid.
Penn Hlils (Region 6)
League: Allegheny East
Record: 16-10
How They Got Here: After a somewhat lackluster regular season performance in which the team went 11-10, Penn Hills showed their firepower by taking the Region 6 tournament by storm and winning five straight contests to secure a state tournament bid. They opened up the tournament with a win over Uniontown, a win over West Mifflin, and a win over Houston in the winner's bracket final to clinch a championship game berth. After the tournament lost a day on Tuesday due to rain, Penn Hills was right back at it on Wednesday, besting Connellsville by one. In a rematch of the winner's bracket final, Penn Hills once again topped Houston en route to the regional title.
Hempfield East (Region 7)
League: District 31
Record: 30-2
How They Got Here: After entering last week's tournament with a gaudy 25-1 record, the District 31 champions did not disappoint. They opened up the week with a one run win over Blairsville before stumbling and losing to Bedford on day 2. Hempfield East sent a message on day three, beating host Latrobe by fourteen. The team couldn't be stopped from there, even by the rain which postponed their contest on Tuesday. They came out on Wednesday and topped Somerset and Marion Center to set up a rematch with Somerset in the title game. Playing on Somerset's home field due to rain at Latrobe, Hempfield East beat Somerset 4-3 to claim the regional title.
Wilcox (Region 8 )
League: Elk County
Record: 21-2
How They Got Here: Two teams entered the Region 8 tournament with incredible records, Wilcox was 16-1 and French Creek Valley was 25-1. Right off the bat, the two teams played each other with Wilcox getting an impressive eight run win in the tournament's first game. Wilcox followed it up by beating eventual runner-up Albion by 5 before defeating regional power Millcreek in the winner's bracket final. French Creek Valley was able to extend their season with a win over the Elk County champions in game 13. Wilcox emphatically showed their strength with a 12-0 win over Albion to claim the regional championship in game 15.
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