PIAA Baseball First Round Capsules for Games Involving D9 Teams

Here is a quick look at the first-round PIAA baseball match-ups involving District 9 teams Monday (weather permitting).

(Cover photo of Brookville celebrating its D9 2A title. Photo by Cory Geer)

CLASS 1A

9-1 Oswayo Valley (19-2) vs. 7-3 Union-New Castle (10-7)
Where and when: 4:30 p.m. at Berwind Park, St. Marys
How they got here: Oswayo Valley won the District 9 championship beating Clarion, 4-1, in eight innings Thursday. That followed playoff wins of 2-1 over DuBois Central Catholic and 3-1 against Elk County Catholic. It was the Green Waves second D9 title in three years and they are making their third straight PIAA playoff appearance having finished as the D9 runners-up last year. Union-New Castle knows a thing or two about extra-inning games. The Scotties, who finished third in their section, beat Monessen, 3-2 in 10 innings in the WPIAL first round and then topped Rochester 7-0 in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Jeannette, 7-3, in the semifinals. They then had to beat Jefferson-Morgan, which they did 12-0, to reach the PIAA postseason.
Notable: Oswayo Valley has a team ERA of 0.86.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (6-1) Juniata Valley vs. (7-2) Greensburg Central Catholic game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

9-2 Clarion (18-3) vs. 5-2 Berlin Brothersvalley (16-4)
Where and when: 1 p.m. at Showers Field in DuBois
How they got here: Clarion beat North Clarion, 6-2, in the District 9 quarterfinals then vanquished District 10 champion Jamestown, 7-0, in the semifinals before losing to Oswayo Valley, 4-1, in eight innings in the title game. Berlin Brothersvalley beat Turkeyfoot, 13-3 in five innings, in the District 5 quarterfinals then topped Rockwood, 4-3 in eight innings in the semifinals before losing to Meyersdale, 13-10, in the title game.
Notable: Both of these teams were the No. 1 seed in their respective districts but lost in the championship game by three runs each.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (7-1) Jeannette vs. (9-3) Elk County Catholic game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

9-3 Elk County Catholic (18-5) vs. 7-1 Jeannette (15-6)
Where and when: 1 p.m. at Greater Latrobe High School
How they got here: ECC topped Otto-Eldred, 12-2, in the D9 quarterfinals before falling, 3-1, to eventual champion Oswayo Valley in the semifinals. The Crusaders rebounded to top District 10 champion Jamestown, 10-0, in the consolation game Friday. Jeannette won three extra-inning games on its way to the WPIAL title beating Western Beaver, 4-3, in eight innings in the first round then second-seeded Eden Christian, 8-6 in eight innings in the quarterfinals and rival Greensburg Central Catholic, 7-3 in 12 innings in the title game. The Jayhawks also topped PIAA qualifier Union-New Castle, 7-3, in the semifinals.
Notable: Jeannette’s WPIAL title is the first in school history in baseball and is in the PIAA playoffs for the first time ever. Elk County Catholic finished second in the PIAA in Class 1A in 2014, losing 2-1 in nine innings to Devon Prep.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (9-2) Clarion vs. (5-2) Berlin Brothersvalley game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

CLASS 2A

9-1 Brookville (12-11) vs. 5-1 Conemaugh Township (17-5)
Where and when: 4:30 p.m. at Showers Field in DuBois
How they got here: Brookville, the fifth seed in D9, beat Coudersport, 8-1, before topping top-seeded Johnsonburg 13-1 in six innings, to reach the championship game where it beat Brockway, 2-0. Conemaugh Township topped Tussey Mountain, 4-1, in the District 5 semifinals then raced past North Star, 10-0 in five innings thanks to an eight-run fifth, in the title game.
Notable: No one expected Brookville to be here. The Raiders finished the regular season at 9-11 and had to make a long trip to Coudy in the opening round and then to Johnsonburg in the semifinals. But Brookville has won 7 of 9 and they can pitch the ball to the tune of giving up seven runs in those seven wins. The Indians, meanwhile, haven’t given up more than two runs in a game since April 28 having given up seven runs in eight games since May 1 going 7-1 in those games.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (7-1) California vs. (10-2) Saegertown game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

CLASS 4A

9-1 Clearfield (15-7) vs. 7-2 South Park (20-3)
Where and when: 4:30 p.m. at Punxsutawney
How they got here: Clearfield beat 13-time defending champion Punxsutawney, 8-7, in 10 innings in the D9 semifinals then topped Bradford, 12-2, in six innings in the title game. South Park beat New Castle, 13-11, in the WPIAL quarterfinals and Hopewell, 9-2, in the semifinals before falling to Blackhawk, 3-0, in the title game.
Notable: Clearfield earned its first District 9 title since 2003 this season. The Bison coach, Sid Lansberry, has 602 career wins. The Eagles had a seven-game win streak snapped with the title-game loss.
Winner Gets: Winner of the (10-1) Slippery Rock vs. (7-3) Hopewell game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.