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Three months ago when spring practices started, 18 Wyoming Valley Conference baseball teams set goals of conference, district and state championships.
Three teams earned divisional titles. Four were district champs. And five are still alive for the ultimate goal of becoming state champions, as that quest begins on Monday in the first round of the PIAA tournaments.
Division and District 2 champs Hazleton Area (Division 1, Class 6A), Dallas (Division 2, Class 4A) and Lake-Lehman (Division 3, Class 3A) are joined by fellow district champion Pittston Area (Class 5A) and D2 runner-up Wyoming Seminary in Class 3A as a record five WVC hardball teams are in the state playoffs for the first time in history.
Here’s a closer look at the 5 state playoff games involving WVC teams.
CLASS 6A
Hazleton Area (18-3) vs. Downingtown East (16-6)
2 p.m., Pittston Area Primary Center
Scouting the Hazleton Area Cougars: The team is in the state playoffs for the first time since losing in the quarterfinals in 2014. The Cougars have won six in a row, including the last three in come-from-behind fashion, with two of them being by one run. Hazleton Area defeated Williamsport in last week’s D2-4 subregional coming from five runs down to win in a walk-off.
Scouting the Downingtown East Cougars: They are the No. 4 seed from District 1 and are in the state tournament for the second straight year. Last year, they dropped a 4-1 decision to Williamsport in the first round.
CLASS 5A
Pittston Area (17-5) vs. Marple Newtown
4:30 p.m., University of Scranton
Scouting the Patriots: They are making their first trip to states since 2007 and are looking for their first win in school history in the event in five appearances. They entered districts with four losses in eight games but showed no signs of stumbling in the district tournament in wins over Wallenpaupack and North Pocono.
Scouting the Tigers: They are the defending state champions and are in the event for the fourth straight year, entering this season as the No. 3 seed from District 1 beating West Chester Rustin 12-2 in the third-place game.
CLASS 4A
Dallas (17-6) vs. Hamburg (16-6)
4:30 p.m., Pittston Area Primary Center
Scouting the Mountaineers: They are getting hot at the right time, having won seven of eight with the only loss in that stretch coming by one run. They wrapped up their second district title in three years last week on a walk-off victory over Scranton Prep. They return to the state tournament after winning it all in 2017.
Scouting the Hawks: The team is in the state playoffs for just the second time in history. The Hawks’ only other appearance in the event was in 2016 when they advanced to the semifinals. They enter as the second seed from District 3 dropping an 11-3 decision to East Pennsboro in the final.
CLASS 3A
Lake-Lehman (19-3) vs. Central Columbia (17-6)
4:30 p.m., Hanover Area H.S.
Scouting the Black Knights: Claiming their first district title since 2011 last week with a win over Wyoming Seminary, Lehman is looking for its first win in the state brackets since the first round in 2007. The Black Knights enter as one of the hottest teams in the field, winning 11 of 12 with the only loss in that time coming by one run. They have outscored opponents 117-51 this season.
Scouting the Blue Jays: They lost a 1-0 decision in nine innings to Montoursville in the D4 title game and are making their first appearance in states since losing to Lake-Lehman in the 2007 first round. They are led by pitcher Dominic Coombe, who is a St. John’s recruit and tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in the D4 final.
Wyoming Seminary (15-6) vs. Montoursville (19-3)
6:30 p.m., Central Columbia H.S.
About the Blue Knights: They are in the state tournament for the first time ever, entering as the No. 2 seed from District 2 after dropping a 5-3 decision to Lake-Lehman in the district final to fall short of claiming their first district title in baseball. The loss to the Black Knights was just their third in a 16-game stretch where they outscored opponents 117-47 and recorded five shutouts.
Scouting the Warriors: They reached the state semifinals last year and earned the District 4 title last week for the second straight year with a 1-0 win over Central Columbia. In the D4 final, Cameron Wood hit a walk-off single and Logan Ott, a University of Maryland recruit, went eight innings, striking out 12.