MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) – Eight District 9 baseball and softball teams will be in action Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA playoffs.
It was a very successful Monday for D9 teams as eight of the 10 won first-round games.
The Redbank Valley baseball team pulled off the upset of the state tournament so far, clipping undefeated District 7 champion Serra Catholic, 2-1, in eight innings. The Eagles came into the game with a 23-0 record.
The Bulldogs are the only non-WPIAL team on the western side of the Class 2A bracket. They will play 7-4 Burgettstown. WPIAL runner-up Neshannock will play 7-3 Riverside in the other quarterfinal game with the winners matching up Monday in the semifinals.
All four district champions on the bottom of the Class 2A bracket (6-1 Mount Union, 7-1 Serra Catholic, 9-1 Johnsonburg and 10-1 West Middlesex) lost Monday.
There were other upsets.
The Clarion-Limestone baseball team knocked off a WPIAL champion of its own, rallying for three runs in the eighth for an 8-5 win over Union-New Castle.
The Lions and District 3’s Halifax are the only two teams in the Class A bracket that didn’t win a district title.
Following are the quarterfinal matchups involving D9 teams (all games Thursday):
SOFTBALL
CLASS A
9-1 DuBois Central Catholic vs. 7-2 West Greene at Slippery Rock University, 3 p.m.
CLASS 2A
9-1 Johnsonburg vs. 7-1 Neshannock at Heindl Field in DuBois, 3 p.m.
CLASS 3A
9-1 Karns City vs. 7-1 Avonworth at Centennial Field in Mars, 1 p.m.
CLASS 4A
9-1 Clearfield vs. 3-1 Hamburg at Centrial Columbia High School, 6 p.m.
BASEBALL
CLASS A
9-1 DuBois Central Catholic vs. 10-1 Saegertown at Slippery Rock University, noon
9-2 Clarion-Limestone vs. 5-1 Southern Fulton at 1st Commonwealth Bank Field in Homer City, 4 p.m.
CLASS 2A
9-2 Redbank Valley vs. 7-4 Burgettstown at Slippery Rock University, 2:30 p.m.
CLASS 3A
9-1 Punxsutawney vs. 10-2 Franklin at Slippery Rock University, 5 p.m.
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