PIAA spring tournament preview: Seven York-Adams League teams look to make a run

The calendar has flipped to June, and schools are out across York County. But seven York-Adams League teams still have games to play as state tournaments begin this week.

The league will be represented by three teams in boys’ lacrosse, two in girls’ lacrosse, one in baseball and one in boys’ volleyball. Hanover baseball will be the first to put its season on the line, as the Nighthawks play Monday afternoon. Action in other sports is slated for Tuesday, although Central York boys’ lacrosse will play Wednesday due to its opponent’s graduation.

All PIAA spring tournaments consist of 16 teams (as opposed to 32 in basketball) and run for two weeks. The baseball quarterfinals are slated for Thursday, with the semifinals June 12 and the finals June 16. Lacrosse and volleyball will stage their quarterfinals Saturday, with the final rounds June 13 and 17.

Boys' lacrosse:Central York downed by Manheim Township in district title game

Boys' volleyball:Central York drops District 3 final at Cumberland Valley

Thursday roundup:Trio of local lacrosse teams wins third-place district playoff games

The league had eight total teams in states last year, with four squads winning a combined five games. Delone Catholic reached the 2A baseball semifinals, while Susquehannock boys’ lacrosse, York Catholic girls’ lacrosse and York Suburban boys’ volleyball all finished their seasons in the quarterfinals. 

Here’s the rundown of when, where and who each remaining local team is playing next. 

BASEBALL

Class 4A

3-2 Hanover (16-7) vs. 4-1 Mifflinburg (16-7), 4:30 p.m. Monday: Both of these teams made surprise runs to their respective district finals. The Nighthawks, who finished second in York-Adams Division IV during the regular season and were seeded sixth in the district tournament, knocked off league foe Kennard-Dale on the road before pulling off a memorable comeback in the semifinals against Northern Lebanon. Hanover turned a 5-0 deficit into a 5-4 battle against East Pennsboro in the final but fell apart late and lost 14-4 in six innings. 

Senior Chase Roberts, who in the fall became the York-Adams League’s all-time passing yardage leader while quarterbacking a struggling team, now has the biggest chance of his career on the diamond. Roberts boasts a .508 batting average and .651 on-base percentage alongside a 3.15 ERA on the mound. Justus Feeser has a 2.30 ERA as the Nighthawks’ co-ace, while Jaxon Dell has hit .458 at the plate with three homers, four triples and nine doubles.

MORE:As its season ends, Red Lion baseball takes pride in what it achieved

Mifflinburg was the fourth seed in the five-team District 4 tournament, but after walking off Danville in the play-in game, the Wildcats slugged their way to 10-4 and 7-1 victories and their first district crown since 2002. Senior Troy Dressler, a Wake Forest pledge, has hit .518 and slugged .746. With the two-way star nursing a sore arm, Mifflinburg has been buoyed on the mound by Zeb Hufnagle (1.47 ERA) and Lucas Kurtz (six strong innings in the district final). This game will be played at Central Columbia High School, an hour east of Mifflinburg and 2 1/2 hours north of Hanover.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Class 3A

3-2 Central York (17-2) vs. 7-2 North Allegheny (11-4), 6 p.m. Tuesday: The Panthers won 17 straight matches between a March 28 loss to York Suburban and Thursday’s defeat at Cumberland Valley in the district final. They’re ranked No. 4 in the Class 3A statewide coaches’ poll and they’ll have home-court advantage Tuesday. But their reward for all of this will be a clash with the No. 2-ranked Tigers, who have won the last four state tournaments.

North Allegheny lost a slew of seniors from its 2022 title team, and while the Tigers were strong all season once again, they lost three times to No. 1-ranked Shaler, including in the District 7 (WPIAL) final. Central York bested the Tigers, 25-23, in the semifinals of the Koller Classic in April, but they know a best-of-five match will be a different animal.

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The Panthers have played this season under the guidance of co-coaches John Feldmann and Landon Shorts after beloved coach Todd Goodling died in January. Central York left an empty seat for Goodling during the district final and has kept his memory alive all year. This would be an emotional season’s signature win.

BOYS’ LACROSSE

Class 3A

3-2 Central York (19-3) vs. 11-2 Parkland (17-4), 6 p.m. Wednesday: The Panthers became the first York-Adams League team to ever reach the District 3 Class 3A boys’ lacrosse final with their 11-10 overtime win against Dallastown on Tuesday, and while Manheim Township stifled Central’s title run, the program is set to host its first-ever state playoff game. And the group of senior all-stars — FOGO Brian McGarvey, attack Dayton Bagwell, midfielder Macon Myers and defenseman Sam Czech — hopes to add CY’s first state playoff win to its ledger.

Parkland finished runner-up in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 tournaments. Like Central York, the Trojans held an early lead in their district final, but Freedom erased a 3-1 deficit after the first quarter and pulled ahead late for a 9-7 win. Chase Kusko scored three goals for Parkland in the district championship, and EPC first team all-star James Hohenshilt leads the defense.

3-4 Dallastown (18-4) at 1-2 Radnor (19-3), 7 p.m. Tuesday: It’s been a breakthrough campaign for the Wildcats, who went unbeaten in the York-Adams League regular season. They’ve lost three of their last four, with blowout losses to Central York and Hempfield and the OT semifinal loss to Central. But Dallastown has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, from 90-goal scorer Evan Mitchell to YAIAA Defensive Player of the Year Sam Deardorff.

MORE:Dallastown boys' lacrosse honors 3-year-old Wesley Beam with White Out game

Radnor, meanwhile, is seeking a third consecutive PIAA title. The Raptors were the top seed in the District 1 bracket but dropped the championship game to Springfield-Delco, giving up the go-ahead goal with 3:27 left and falling 10-8. Their other two losses came by one goal apiece. Head coach John Beiger was named Central League Coach of the Year, with attack Ryan Goldstein, midfielder Nick Lucchesi and defenseman Will Gallagher as first team all-stars.

Class 2A

3-3 Susquehannock (16-4) vs. 12-1 Lansdale Catholic (15-7), 7 p.m. Tuesday: This game is slated to be played at Susquehannock despite the Crusaders being a district champion. LC won the District 12-2A title for the third consecutive year, this time overcoming rival Devon Prep for an 8-6 victory. Patch Flannery led the charge in that game, scoring three goals in the second half and finishing with two assists. 

The Warriors reached the state quarterfinals last year and hadn’t lost to a Class 2A team this spring until blowing a 9-4 lead and losing 10-9 in overtime to eventual D3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg in Tuesday’s semifinals. They rebounded with a 14-6 handling of Trinity in the third-place game. This will be the last run for Susquehannock’s quartet of senior scorers — Tristan Coleman and Dom Eckels have 59 goals each, Doug Reinecke has 56 and Ben Oestrike 44 — as well as midfielder Jake Wetzel, goalie Nick Blucher and faceoff man Brad Bennett. They’ll hope to make it count.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

Class 3A

3-3 South Western (17-6) at 1-3 Springfield-Delco (18-3), 5 p.m. Tuesday: The Mustangs are back in the state tournament after missing out last year, and they’ll once again be tasked with taking on a District 1 power. South Western’s 2021 team lost 17-0 to eventual state champion Radnor, and senior standouts Lexi Plesic and Leah Leonard don’t plan on going away easily this time. This team clinched its spot with a quarterfinal win over Red Lion and claimed third place by beating Hempfield, 7-6, in overtime Thursday.

Springfield won the Central League title this spring and was the top seed in the district draw but fell 13-12 to Penncrest on a go-ahead goal with 13.8 seconds remaining. The Cougars were knocked off in the first round of states a year ago by District 3 third-place team Wilson, so they’ll hope to avoid the same fate. Springfield’s all-stars include attack Erin DeStefano and midfielders Mia Valerio and Kylee O’Donnell.

Class 2A

3-3 York Catholic (18-5) at 1-1 Mount St. Joseph (16-6), 4:30 p.m. Tuesday: The Fighting Irish made the quarterfinals a year ago but had to slowly come into their own this season. They finished in a four-way tie atop the Y-A League, won the league tournament and punched their state ticket with a dramatic win over Wyomissing — a team that beat them 14-2 early in the year. It’s a younger York Catholic group with a first-year head coach in Jim Mullen, but the program’s high expectations haven’t changed.

Mount St. Joseph made a surprise run to the District 1-Class 2A title as the No. 7 seed, knocking off No. 5-seed and two-time defending champion Bishop Shanahan, 10-9, in the final. Ava Rossi scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the fourth quarter and finished with a hat trick. Three other Magic standouts — Kate Donovan, Annie Shields and Maggie Rezza — are Division I pledges.