Three area teams begin state championship quests today

As the Spring-Ford Rams take the field today at Great Valley High School, they will not only be in search of a second championship game appearance in three years in the PIAA state tournament, but they will do so boasting new status in the state rankings. According the CBS Sports/Max Preps, the team has leap-frogged over Central Mountain (Mill Hall, Pa.) and Forward (Elizabeth, Pa.) to move into the number one spot in the state.

The Rams (22-4 overall), who have won eight consecutive games since their 3-0 loss to Owen J. Roberts on May 6 and have outscored their opposition at a 77-25 clip since then, will battle Spring Grove for the right to move on and face the winner of the Monsignor Bonner/Council Rock South in the PIAA state quarterfinals on Thursday.

Spring Grove will step onto the turf boasting a 16-9 record with 187-167 edge in runs scored this season as it enters the tournament as the third seed from District Three.

Led by seniors Lukas Rohrbaugh (.393 batting average, 21 runs, 17 RBI, 2 HR) and Derrick Schnetzka (310, 21 runs, 17 RBI) along with sophomore Levi Krauss, who carries a .582 slugging percentage and 17 RBI, will present challenges for the Rams pitching staff, which until Friday’s District One final, had allowed just nine earned runs in the previous eight games.

Either senior Allen Rohrbach (3.23 ERA) or Krause (2.85 ERA) will more than likely handle the starting pitching duties for the Rockets as the duo has combined for 77 innings pitched this season.

The Rockets (ranked 82nd in the Keystone State) have a collective .337- team batting average with .418 on base to compliment a gaudy .489 slugging percentage, as they make the trek from Spring Grove to take on Spring-Ford.

In the past two weeks, the Rams have rocketed themselves, as Spring- Ford has moved up 285 spots in the national rankings to move into the list of top teams in the nation.

The Lady Rams will battle for their playoff lives on Monday as Spring-Ford makes the journey through the coal regions of the Keystone state to Sunbury’s John L. Long Field to take on the District Four champion Williamsport, which enters the state tournament, winner of eleven games in a row outscoring opponents 104-44 through the regular season.

 The Millionaires (17-4) are currently ranked seventh in the state and will be competing in the PIAA championship tournament for the first time as the Central Penn League champions, while the Rams which are 20-7 overall and have dropped two consecutive games after reaching the District One semi-finals where the team fell to Hatboro-Horsham, who eventually won the district title for the first time school history.

Spring-Ford's two headed monster of Haleigh Williams and Kristin Robinson, which has been successful all year for manager Tim Hughes, will more than likely be the plan of attack as the lineup featuring Maura Rose, Dru Heller, senior Kelsey Harris and sophomore Alexis Bower, who also handles the majority of the pitching duties for Williamsport.

Deme Kanakis, Liz Bauer, Steph Diegel, Becca James and Kristin Robinson will have to continue with the hot bats for the Rams, as the Millionaire’s did not allow a run in the District championship run. 

The winner will face the winner of Hatboro-Horsham (1-1)/ Governor Mifflin (3-3) on Thursday in the state quarterfinals at a location to be determined.

 Pope John Paul II softball will travel to West Chester East High School to play Donegal in the opening round of the PIAA class AAA tournament at 4 p.m.

Note: Statistics and PA rankings are according to MaxPreps/CBSsportswire, PIAA.org, Districtone.org, independent scoring and news media and are subject to reported games.