DUBOIS — Area teams were well-represented atop the seedings on Thursday when District 9 released the playoff brackets and initial game schedules for baseball and softball.
In softball, three of the first four classifications saw the top seeds go to area teams — DuBois Central Catholic in A, Brockway in 2A, and Punxsutawney in 4A — while the baseball brackets saw Brookville atop the AAA seedings, as well as Punxsy (4A) and Redbank Valley (1A).
As the only 5A team in the District 9 postseason, DuBois Area will see its softball squad play in the District 6/9 subregional against the District 6 champion on May 27, while the baseball team is in the District 8/9/10 subregional and will play Allderdice a week sooner, on Wednesday, May 20, at Greenway Field in Pittsburgh.
The winner of the softball game will receive a bid to States, while in baseball, the winner of Wednesday’s game gets the D-10 champion on May 25, with a States berth on the line.
Three of the tournaments open on Monday — A and 2A softball and 3A baseball — while the A and 2A baseball brackets kick off on Tuesday.
In the A softball bracket, six entrants will vie for the one PIAA qualifier spot, with quarterfinal games featuring (5) Elk County Catholic at (4) Port Allegany and (6) Otto-Eldred at (3) Curwensville on Monday. Top-seeded DCC and second-seeded Northern Potter await the winners of those games for Wednesday’s semifinals, and the championship will be played at Heindl Field on Memorial Day, May 25, as part of a full day of games in DuBois.
In 2A softball, Brockway secured the top seed and will play Wednesday against the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal between (4) Keystone and (5) Forest Area. The other semifinal will feature (2) Cranberry against (3) Moniteau.
The 2A softball championship game will also be on Memorial Day in DuBois, as will the third-place game, and with two PIAA berths on the line, a true-second game will be played on Tuesday, May 26, if the winner of the third place game had not yet played the loser of the championship game.
The 3A softball bracket is one of the simpler ones you’ll see, as it features just two D-9 teams — top-seeded Karns City and second-seeded St. Marys. They’ll be idle through all of next week until playing on Championship Monday at Heindl in DuBois.
Things get more complicated after that, though, as the D-9 champion will need to win a subregional game against the District-10 runner-up on Wednesday, May 27. If the D-9 champ wins that game, they’d advance to States, but they’d also play a game for PIAA seeding purposes on Friday, May 29.
The 4A softball bracket is also a simple one on the D-9 level, as top-seeded Punxsy and second-seeded Clearfield play on Memorial Day for the district title.
The winner of that game will then meet Somerset in a subregional on Wednesday, May 27, with a berth to the PIAA championships on the line.
In baseball, the A bracket features two area schools — second-seeded DCC and third-seeded ECC — playing each other in Thursday’s semifinals at Brockway High School. The A tournament begins on Tuesday, May 19, with a quarterfinal game between (5) Coudersport and (4) Port Allegany. Top-seeded Clarion awaits the winner of that game, and the championship will be played at Showers Field on Memorial Day. Two teams will advance to States from A.
In AA baseball, two teams from a seven-team bracket will also qualify for States. Redbank Valley received the sole bye, with quarterfinal games on Tuesday, May 19, featuring (5) Kane at (4) Brockway — (6) Cranberry at (3) Curwensville — and (7) Smethport at (2) Moniteau. The semifinals will be held on Thursday, and the championship game on Memorial Day at Showers.
The 3A baseball bracket includes four entrants, headed by the Brookville Raiders, who will play fourth-seeded A-C Valley/Union at Stern Field on Monday in the semifinals.
The other semifinal — between (2) Karns City and (3) St. Marys — will be played immediately before that at 4 p.m., also at Stern, and the winners will play on Wednesday in DuBois. The D-9 champion will then play a subregional at a District 5 site on Memorial Day.
Last, but certainly not least, the 4A baseball bracket mirrors the softball one, with top-seeded Punxsy playing second-seeded Clearfield on Memorial Day at 6:30 p.m. at Showers Field for the D-9 title. The winner of that will play a subregional game with District 5, also at Showers Field, on Memorial Day.