What to know as York-Adams League spring championship week begins

The York-Adams League’s spring sports tournament week is here, with champions set to be crowned in five sports in the coming days.

The madness begins with the county baseball tournament, a one-day sprint Monday. Boys’ volleyball begins Monday and concludes Tuesday, while softball will be contested Monday and Wednesday. The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse semifinals and finals are set for Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

And all of this simply adds to the buildup for the PIAA District 3 playoffs, which begin Friday in baseball and next week in other sports. District champions will be decided in all five sports by June 1, with state tournaments all in the books by mid-June.

Add in the boys’ tennis postseason — which has been in full swing for multiple weeks now — and the upcoming district and state track and field meets, and this is perhaps the busiest high school sports stretch on the calendar. Here’s what’s coming up:

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

Baseball: Monday’s traditional format will include semifinal matchups at 3:30 p.m. before the 6:30 title bout at Red Lion. But unlike in years past, the 2023 bracket will pit the Division I and II champions — Dallastown and Susquehannock — against each other in the semifinals, with D-III’s Bermudian Springs and D-IV’s Delone Catholic on the other side.

Dallastown’s Conner Barto pitched a gem to lead the Wildcats past the Warriors, 2-1, in their cross-divisional matchup March 27. And Bermudian Springs beat Delone, 4-2, on April 24 as part of the Eagles’ current 11-game winning streak. Those teams will square off at Dallastown in the semis, with Dallastown-Susquehannock taking place at Red Lion.

Softball: Division I champion South Western will battle D-II winner Northeastern at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Susquehannock, with D-III Littlestown and D-IV Delone Catholic squaring off at Spring Grove. The final is set for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Spring Grove.

South Western and Littlestown will be favored to reach the final — the Mustangs beat Northeastern, 10-1, in their crossover game April 10, while the Thunderbolts held off Delone for a 5-1 win April 19. The teams posted a combined record of 37-2 in the regular season, led by ace pitchers Jayda Koontz and Chelsey Stonesifer.

Boys’ volleyball: Central York grabbed the No. 1 seed with its dramatic five-set victory over Northeastern on Thursday, and the teams could meet again Tuesday for the league tournament title. First, though, the Panthers will have to handle business against No. 4-seed York Catholic, while Northeastern faces a tough test from third seed and defending champion York Suburban.

All matches will be played at Dallastown, with Central York and York Catholic beginning the action at 6 p.m. Monday and Northeastern-Suburban to follow. The championship match is slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Boys’ lacrosse: This bracket was set before the regular season even finished, and it’ll finally kick off at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Top-seeded Dallastown, after posting a perfect 13-0 league record, will battle No. 4 South Western at Central York. Central is the No. 2 seed and will match up with Susquehannock at Red Lion in a rematch of last year’s county final and a low-scoring battle this April.

The title game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Susquehannock. 

Girls’ lacrosse: This is the most wide-open tournament of the week, as four teams shared the league’s regular-season title with 10-2 records. Red Lion had the inside track to secure the crown outright but suffered a road loss at Kennard-Dale on Monday before beating Eastern York on Tuesday. The Lions ultimately shared their achievement with South Western, Susquehannock and York Catholic.

The league released the bracket over the weekend, with Wednesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal matchups pitting Red Lion against South Western (at Central York) and Susquehannock against York Catholic (at Red Lion). The final will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at Susquehannock, after the boys’ championship game.

South Western earned regular-season wins over both Red Lion (11-8 on March 28) and Susquehannock (7-6 on April 6) but lost 11-10 at York Catholic on April 13. The Lions beat Susky and York Catholic by one goal apiece, while the Warriors’ 11-5 win over the Irish was the lone laugher among the quartet. It’s anyone’s guess how this week unfolds.

DISTRICT OUTLOOK

Baseball: While county tournament games do not count toward district power rankings, a handful of contests with playoff implications remain. Northeastern currently holds the 12th and final spot in Class 6A with a game left Monday against Red Land, who’s a bubble team in 5A. South Western is 20th in that class (which has 16 spots) and needs serious help with its own regular season complete.

Dallastown, despite Friday’s 8-1 loss to Cedar Cliff, remained at No. 2 in Class 6A, with division foes Red Lion at No. 8, Central York at No. 9 and Northeastern at No. 12. Susquehannock is third in the 5A rankings, Spring Grove is 12th and South Western is hoping to sneak in from 18th. 

Bermudian Springs and Kennard-Dale are Nos. 1 and 3 in 4A, respectively, with Hanover sixth and Littlestown on the bubble in 11th (the Thunderbolts can help their cause with a win Tuesday vs. Boiling Springs). And Delone Catholic is on track to be the No. 4 seed in a 2A tournament with four talented teams.

Softball: The 6A rankings have Dallastown sixth, Northeastern 11th and Central York 12th. The Panthers (in the house at 13-7) got help from No. 13 Carlisle, which lost Saturday to Northern York and might not be able to unseat Central with a win in its final game Monday.

South Western is third in 5A, with Susquehannock at No. 9 and New Oxford at No. 13. West York is 18th but likely won’t sneak into the top 16, as neither the Bulldogs nor the teams they’re chasing have games remaining. 

In Class 4A, Eastern York is 11th but has games this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that could easily vault the Golden Knights into the top 10. Kennard-Dale, meanwhile, is 14th and will miss the playoffs.

Littlestown will be the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A tournament and the only York-Adams representative in that six-team field (Biglerville is ninth and appears out of the picture). Delone Catholic and Fairfield are Nos. 1 and 2 in Class 2A, so the Division IV co-champions could be on a collision course for a district title.

Boys’ volleyball: The brackets aren’t official, but every local squad appears set for seeding. York-Adams regular season co-champs Central York and Northeastern rank third and fourth, respectively, in Class 3A. Dallastown follows at No. 8, with Red Lion at No. 10. 

York Suburban will be the No. 4 seed in the Class 2A bracket, with York Catholic sixth. The league had a clear top six this season, and none of the other seven teams were in serious playoff contention.

Boys’ lacrosse: Dallastown will lead the local contingent as the District 3 Class 3A No. 2 seed, with Central York right behind at No. 3. Both teams will have byes in the first round of the 12-team tournament, while No. 6 South Western will open districts at home and No. 10 Red Lion will begin on the road.

Reigning Class 2A champion Susquehannock will be seeded second behind unbeaten Cocalico. New Oxford sits seventh, while Eastern York and York Catholic appear locked into the No. 11 and 12 spots, respectively.

Girls’ lacrosse: The six teams that battled for county playoff spots are all bound for districts. Red Lion will be the No. 2 seed in Class 3A, with No. 7 South Western and No. 10 Dallastown squaring off for the chance to face the Lions. New Oxford will finish 13th, one spot out of the postseason.

No local squads will have byes in the 2A tournament, but No. 5 Susquehannock and No. 6 York Catholic will have first-round home games, while No. 9 Kennard-Dale opens on the road. Spring Grove closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak but ultimately finished 14th in the rankings.

COURT ORDERS

Dallastown boys’ tennis, on the heels of its second consecutive District 3 Class 3A championship and sixth overall, has earned the No. 1 seed in the PIAA tournament and will battle Harriton — the No. 5 seed from District 1 — in the opening round at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Hershey Racquet Club. The Wildcats would earn the right to keep competing in Hershey with a win, as that venue will host the quarterfinals Friday and final rounds Saturday.

The spring has already featured multiple memorable moments for Dallastown in Hershey, as Hayden Koons finished second in the district singles tournament last weekend before the Wildcats took the team title Wednesday. This weekend was the district doubles tournament, and the tandem of Andrew Chronister and Jacob Horn took third place in Class 3A to advance to states. Chronister and Koons had paired to win the York-Adams League doubles tournament the previous week.

Dallastown’s pairing of Bobby Nicholson and Neil Patel reached the second round of this weekend’s event, beating Susquehannock’s Derek Baughman and Colin Brusse — who replaced Red Lion’s Cooper Wheeler and Andre Nadeau in the field — before losing to eventual champions Aidan and Tyler Mahaffey of Palmyra. Central York’s Josh Haupt and Kai MacLennan were eliminated in the opening round.

Bermudian Springs’ Parker Sanders and Eli Snyder finished fourth in the District 3 Class 2A doubles tournament, just missing a berth in states. Biglerville’s Guillaume Schmitz and Sean Sneed reached the second round before falling to Lancaster Country Day’s championship tandem of Freddie Bloom and Michael Georgelis. Hanover’s Brian Corona and Charlie Zitto also reached the second round, while Jared Solorzano and Nolan Chronister went down in the first.