HS Baseball: The Crystal Baseball makes its return for districts
Tri-Valley's baseball team pictured with the 2025 District 11 Class AA championship trophy (Photo courtesy of Tri-Valley's Athletics X account).
The District 11 baseball playoffs begin this week, and we’re bringing back an old friend.
Maybe not a friend to all, but the Crystal Baseball has made its way to T102 Sports Now to predict the District 11 games.
Left to waste away in the back of Leroy Boyer’s shed, an anonymous source found the Crystal Baseball, shined it up and got it ready for the 2026 baseball postseason.
Don’t worry, the Crystal Baseball has been following along since its last use. Let’s test the years of experience and see if we can make the correct calls.
CLASS A
Nativity is only Schuylkill League team to qualify in this four-team bracket that opens with semifinal games Tuesday.
Seeded second, the Hilltoppers (6-14) are seeking their third straight Class A championship. With a deep pitching staff led by Stephen Karinch, Ryan Grabowski and Ryan Examitas and a scrappy lineup, Nativity could add another title.
Nativity opens district play with a semifinal game against No. 3 Lincoln Leadership Academy (7-13) at 6:30 p.m. at North Schuylkill’s Robert Wetzel Field. You can listen to that game live on WPPA 1360 AM/105.9 FM.
On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Bethlehem Christian (5-6) will face off against No. 4 Moravian Academy (2-18) at 1:30 p.m. at Easton High School. The final will played Saturday, May 23, at a site and time to be determined.
Nativity has reached the District 11 Class A championship game the past six years dating back to 2019, winning the last two. The Crystal Baseball predicts the Hilltoppers make it three straight crowns.
Championship: Nativity over Bethlehem Christian
CLASS AA
Will history repeat itself?
Or can a team knock off the Bulldogs?
Tri-Valley (17-5) has won the last two District 11 Class AA titles and 14 district titles since 1999. Led by a strong senior class, the Bulldogs had won nine straight games and captured the Schuylkill League Division I crown before falling to Blue Mountain in Friday’s Schuylkill League title game.
As the top seed in the seven-team field, Tri-Valley receives a bye in the quarterfinals and won’t play until the semifinals Sunday, May 24, at North Schuylkill. The final is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, at North Schuylkill.
DISTRICT 11 PLAYOFF BRACKETS: Get a complete look at the brackets for all six classifications in the District 11 baseball playoffs here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2026/05/18/district-11-baseball-playoffs/
The quarterfinals are this Wednesday, May 20. In one quarterfinal, No. 2 Marian (16-4) hosts No. 7 Minersville (8-12) in what could be an interesting game.
The Colts and Miners played twice during the regular season in a pair of Schuylkill League Division II games, with Marian winning both contests by one run — 10-9 and 8-7.
The Colts have had an impressive season and have found an ace on the mound in Roman Bednarek. Marian also ended the regular season hot, winning 10 straight games to claim their first Schuylkill League division title since 2019.
Can Marian stay hot, or could the Miners string together an upset behind a pitcher who’s been in big games before in Nolan Plesnarski?
The Marian-Minersville winner advances to play the winner of No. 3 Williams Valley (14-8) and No. 6 Shenandoah Valley (12-8). The Vikes and Devils will also be playing for the third time after splitting their two Division II games. Shenandoah Valley won 3-2 in Shenandoah on March 26, while Williams Valley took the rematch 10-0 on April 21 in Tower City.
The Vikings have enjoyed some success despite a young team. The theme for the ballclub has been streaks, pairing together both wins and losses throughout the season. Could the Vikings string together some wins behind a dominant freshman pitcher in Cayden Witmer? Or could Shenandoah Valley, behind their senior ace Chase McCole, prove veteran experience wins?
Back to the Bulldogs.
Tri-Valley will play the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between No. 4 Executive Education (11-8) and No. 5 Schuylkill Haven (12-9). That game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Scherersville Park Field 1 (1950 Mauch Chunk Rd, Allentown, PA 18104).
Executive Education has played some area teams, losing to Panther Valley 12-0 while beating Shenandoah Valley and Weatherly during the regular season. Led by Lackawanna commit Randiel Araujo, the Raptors are looking to advance.
In their way is the Scott Buffington-led Hurricanes, who are in the District 11 playoffs for the 43rd straight season. Haven is a young squad (just one senior) that was able to string together some key wins and led eventual champion Blue Mountain by one run midway through their Schuylkill League quarterfinal. Led by Alan Evans and Chase Yoder, the Hurricanes could be a threat if they get some timely offense and solid pitching and play good defense.
Who wins this bracket? It seems like the veteran experience and deep pitching can carry the best team through the tournament, and because of that the Crystal Baseball likes the Dawgs to 3-peat.
But don’t be surprised if there are a few upsets along the way. It’s possible for quarterfinal teams to throw their ace both Wednesday and Sunday, which could be a bonus for several teams in this bracket.
Championship: Tri-Valley over Marian
Dark horse: Schuylkill Haven
CLASS 3A
Pine Grove is the only Schuylkill League team in the six-team Class 3A field, getting into the playoffs despite having a 7-13 record.
Action in this bracket starts Tuesday with quarterfinal action.
Allentown Central Catholic (12-9) is the top seed, followed by defending champion Notre Dame-Green Pond (14-7). Both teams receive a bye in Tuesday’s quarterfinals and do not play until Saturday, May 23, in semifinal games at DeSales University. The championship game is scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, at DeSales University.
An interesting quarterfinal game is Salisbury Township (10-10) against Northern Lehigh (10-11). The teams met early in the season with Northern Lehigh winning 4-3. Since then, both teams have sputtered into the playoffs, with both squads losing their last four games. The winner advances to a date with Notre Dame-Green Pond.
Pine Grove had a rough season but did score key Schuylkill League Division I wins over North Schuylkill and Pottsville. The Cardinals open with a quarterfinal Tuesday at No. 3 Palmerton (12-9).
The key for Pine Grove is to play with intensity and enthusiasm from start to finish. With Chandler Sirbaugh coming back and Wyatt Snyder on the hill, the Cards have a chance to make some noise. But they have to do the little things right and play fundamentally sound baseball for seven innings every game.
The Palmerton-Pine Grove advances to a semifinal matchup with Notre Dame-Green Pond, which was upset in the opening round of the Colonial League playoffs.
ACC has had some quality wins against some bigger schools, including a first-round upset of top-seeded Liberty in the opening round of the EPC playoffs, and has a few Division II and Division II commits on its roster.
The Crystal Baseball likes experience in this bracket as well.
Championship: Allentown Central Catholic over Palmerton
Dark horse: Salisbury
CLASS 4A
Possibly the most interesting bracket, No. 2 North Schuylkill (13-6) is the only Schuylkill League team in this six-team field.
The bracket features an experienced Saucon Valley (16-4) squad that has won a District 11 championship in three of the last four seasons as the top seed.
Both the Spartans and Panthers receive quarterfinal byes and advance to the semifinals set for Sunday, May 24, at sites still to be determined. North Schuylkill will most likely play at Blue Mountain.
In Wednesday’s quarterfinals, defending champion and No. 3 seed Northwestern Lehigh (13-9) will host No. 6 Wilson Area (9-11). The Tigers come into the tournament losing five of their last eight, including a 10-0 loss to Blue Mountain. Wilson has collected some wins after dropping five straight early in the season.
The other quarterfinal matchup features No. 5 Lehighton (11-12) at No. 4 Jim Thorpe (10-10). Fresh off their run in the Colonial League tournament that featured upset wins over Saucon Valley and Northwestern Lehigh, the Indians look to stay hot. The teams played May 5, with the Olympians victorious 4-0. Could Lehighton head coach J.C. Dietz continue to dial up some magic with his squad playing good baseball at the best time?
Of the six classes in this year’s District 11 Tournament, Class 4A might be the toughest to pick. It’s a collection of teams from the Colonial and Schuylkill leagues, all of which have had great wins at some point this season but have also had some mind-boggling losses.
North Schuylkill has the pitching depth in Millersville commit Stephen Minahan and hard-throwing righty Chase Slotcavage but will need to play good defense behind them. The Spartans were streaky early in the season but won six of their last seven, including a win over Notre Dame-Green Pond. They’ve had some really good wins and some really bad losses. Which Spartans team will show up?
Any team could make a run, but Saucon Valley has the experience. The Crystal Baseball again likes the experienced teams.
Championship: Saucon Valley over North Schuylkill
Dark horse: Lehighton
