Five Wyoming Valley Conference baseball teams entered the PIAA playoffs on Monday.
Only two emerged — the WVC’s smallest school and its biggest school.
MMI Prep, with a PIAA enrollment of 51 boys, and Hazleton Area, with a PIAA enrollment of 1,619, will be playing Thursday in the state quarterfinals.
The PIAA enrollment differs from actual enrollment since it only counts students grades 9-11 starting in the 2024-25 school year.
District 2 Class A champion MMI (11-11) takes on a slightly bigger school in District 11 champ Nativity BVM (11-11) at 1 p.m. Thursday at North Schuylkill High School in Ashland.
District 2 Class 6A champion Hazleton Area (18-5) will try to erase ghosts of the past when it plays District 1 champion North Penn (20-5) at 5 p.m. at DeSales University in Center Valley.
Tickets for all games are $8 — plus an annoying processing fee that bumps a single ticket to $9.51 — and available only at piaa.org by clicking on the bracket of any state playoffs.
Those seeking to see a game without traveling much could head over to Wilkes University, where District 2 Class 4A softball champion Valley View is playing District 11 champion North Schuylkill at 2 p.m.
MMI Prep (11-11) vs. Nativity BVM (11-11)
Class A Quarterfinals
1 p.m. Thursday
North Schuylkill H.S.
MMI has done more with less in winning its second consecutive District 2 Class A championship and its fourth in five years. The Preppers are the WVC’s only Class A school. There is only one WVC Class 2A school (Wyoming Seminary), so their conference schedule consisted of mostly Class 3A and 4A opponents.
MMI played a school smaller than it in the first round, defeating Christian School of York (PIAA enrollment 39) by a 5-2 score.
After hitting for the cycle in the D2-A title game, Adam Frask continued his hot streak by going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Bryce Radzwich was 3-for-3.
Nativity pulled off an upset in its opener, defeating District 1 champ Dock Mennonite 7-6. Dock Mennonite entered with a 15-4 record.
Nativity’s victory showed just how a baseball game can turn no matter the teams’ records. The Hilltoppers (also known as the Green Wave) scored five times in the fourth inning, using a pair of errors and a bases-loaded walk to aid their cause.
Stephen Karinch had an RBI single in the fourth, one of only three hits Nativity had all game. Karinch is hitting over .400 while fellow sophomore Ryan Examitis and junior Ryan Grabowski are in the .380 range.
The winner plays in the semifinals on Monday against either District 4 champion Cowanesque Valley (16-4) or District 5 champion Southern Fulton (22-1).
Hazleton Area (18-5) vs. North Penn (20-5)
Class 6A Quarterfinals
5 p.m. Thursday
DeSales University
One swing of the bat by Bryant Diaz kept District 2 champion Hazleton Area alive for a state title. Diaz hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-1 victory over defending state champ Hempfield, the District 3 third seed.
Now the Cougars will try to swat away some misfortune against District 1 champion North Penn. North Penn ended Hazleton Area’s season in 2021 and 2023. The Knights also defeated the Cougars in this season’s opener 8-7 in eight innings.
Fred Corrado pitched 4.1 innings and Chris Peters tossed 2.2 as the duo held Hempfield to four hits. Both are eligible to pitch. Diaz and freshman Chris Knelly had two hits each. Dom Marino doubled and Darian Haraschak singled for the Cougars’ other hits.
North Penn banged out 13 hits in its 8-2 victory over District 3 fourth seed Ephrata. Christian Barnes fell a homer shy of the cycle. Luke Chartrand had a double and Chase Jones brought in two runs.
North Penn had nine hits and Hazleton Area had eight when the teams played on March 22.
The winner plays Monday in the semifinals against either District 1 fourth seed Neshaminy (15-7) or District 1 third seed Coatesville (19-6).
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