Schuylkill League adjusts playoff schedules, moves baseball/softball quarterfinals to Monday
The view from the broadcast table at Walter Stump Stadium as Pine Grove hosted Pottsville Thursday for a Schuylkill League Division I contest
This week’s rainy weather has already affected the Schuylkill League baseball and softball playoffs.
Schuylkill League officials decided at their meeting Wednesday to move the quarterfinal round of both playoff tournaments from Saturday to Monday to give teams fighting for playoff spots time to complete their regular-season games.
Both baseball and softball will follow a Monday-Tuesday-Thursday schedule for next week’s playoffs, with the baseball playoffs being held at Stump Stadium in Pine Grove and the softball playoffs at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field.
Entering games played Wednesday afternoon, Tamaqua, Tri-Valley and Blue Mountain had clinched Division I baseball playoff spots, while Schuylkill Haven has wrapped up the Division II title. The other two playoff berths from Division II and the order of finish in Division I will be determined in games played over the next three days.
In softball, Williams Valley is the Division II champion, with Tri-Valley and Schuylkill Haven having clinched Division II playoff positions entering Wednesday. In Division I, Pine Grove, North Schuylkill, Tamaqua and Blue Mountain were vying for the three spots. By the end of the night, North Schuylkill had clinched the Division I title; Pine Grove wrapped up the No. 2 seed; and Tamaqua clinched the No. 3 seed in the big-school division.
The two division champions in both baseball and softball receive a bye into Tuesday’s semifinals. Here’s a look at the revised playoff schedule for both sports:
BASEBALL
Saturday, May 10
Any necessary tiebreaker games at North Schuylkill, 11 a.m.
Monday, May 12
Quarterfinals at Pine Grove
Game 1 — Division 2 2nd place vs. Division 1 3rd place, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2 — Division 1 2nd place vs. Division 2 3rd place, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13
Semifinals at Pine Grove
Game 3 — Game 2 winner vs. Division 2 champion (Schuylkill Haven), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Division 1 champion, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 15
Championship at Pine Grove
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Monday, May 12
Quarterfinals at Blue Mountain
Game 1 — Division 2 2nd place vs. Division 1 3rd place, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2 — Division 1 2nd place vs. Division 2 3rd place, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 13
Semifinals at Blue Mountain
Game 3 — Game 2 winner vs. Division 2 champion (Williams Valley), 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 — Game 1 winner vs. Division 1 champion, 6:30 p.m.
