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One team is a fixture in the state tournament. The other has never been there.And yet, both Wyoming Valley West and Northwest bring a similar feeling into the start of the PIAA baseball tournament Monday.In a season where hitting was down across the Wyoming Valley Conference, the Spartans and Rangers bucked the trend on their way to District 2 titles in Class 4A and Class 2A, respectively.They each led their division in hitting during the regular season, and the offensive numbers continued into the playoffs. They were the two highest scoring teams in any of the four district brackets with Valley West putting up 26 runs in three games (8.6 per) and Northwest finishing with 34 in four (8.5 per).And both feel they have another level they can reach for states.CLASS 4AFor the Spartans and their next opponent &#8212; District 3 runner-up Governor Mifflin out of the Berks (County) League &#8212; there are plenty of PIAA veterans, with both teams having reached the big stage last June. Valley West went to the finals while Mifflin was knocked out in the first round.One player in the matchup is making his third appearance at states as Spartans senior Ryan Hogan was on the varsity squad as a freshman in 2013. When he takes the field at 4:30 p.m at Pittston Area, it will be his seventh career PIAA game.In other words, he has a pretty good idea of what a successful team looks like. And while the Spartans are coming off of a 10-0, six-inning win in the district final, he doesn&#8217;t believe they&#8217;ve peaked yet.&#8220;No. No,&#8221; Hogan said after earning his third D2 gold medal. &#8220;If we keep playing like this, we&#8217;re in good shape. But it&#8217;s starting to come together right now. These past two games we&#8217;ve played our best brand of baseball all year, definitely. Without a doubt.&#8220;Between fielding, hitting, pitching, we&#8217;re on right now. And I hope it keeps up. And it&#8217;s going to, I think, roll on to (Monday) and throughout.&#8221;His coach agreed that the squad still hasn&#8217;t hit its full potential just yet.&#8220;I don&#8217;t think so either,&#8221; said John Milius, who will be coaching his 12th PIAA game in 11 seasons at Valley West. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think our hitting is where it should be yet. Were getting there. A little more consistent. But I think we can make some noise.&#8221;The Spartans have fared well in the PIAA opener, winning their last four matchups against the District 3 No. 2 seed in this round.This year&#8217;s opponent is having arguably the best two-year stretch in program history. Governor Mifflin hadn&#8217;t reached states until last season and has now made it there in back-to-back years.Last season, the Mustangs won the third-place game in the D3-4A tournament. This year as the No. 9 seed, they reached the finals for the first time ever before falling 7-4 to Ephrata.CLASS 2AThis may be Northwest&#8217;s first trip to states, but the Rangers aren&#8217;t going to be content with just getting there.Though they have been known best this season for outslugging teams and racking up hits up and down the lineup, they&#8217;ve shown they can win a pitching duel or two as well.Look no further than the tense district final against Hanover Area. Brian Hardiman and Reese Godfrey allowed just one run in nine innings. Though he got a no-decision against the Hawkeyes, Hardiman also started the semifinals against a tough Holy Cross team and pitched well.&#8220;He&#8217;s done that all year for us,&#8221; coach Lou DiPasquale said. &#8220;He&#8217;s just been fantastic for us.&#8221;Hardiman, a junior, has had plenty of support from an impressive group of seniors that has set a new standard for Northwest baseball.Hitting one through five at the top of the lineup, Eric Evans, Brandon Reno, Andrew Boberick, Doug Campbell and Bryce Harrison have all taken turns providing clutch plays in the postseason. Godfrey is also a senior.&#8220;I feel like we earned this,&#8221; Boberick said. &#8220;I mean, we&#8217;ve been working for this forever. For it to actually pay off is just really special. You can&#8217;t ask for anything better.&#8220;We&#8217;re still playing, and we&#8217;ve been playing together since we&#8217;ve been kids. To be able to finally put it all together in our senior year, we&#8217;re just going to go with it.&#8221;Up next is District 4 champ North Penn-Mansfield. And in the D4-2A bracket, any team not named Loyalsock is a big-time underdog. This is the first time since 2011 that the Lancers &#8212; who won the state crown in 2013 and 2014 &#8212; didn&#8217;t reach states, falling to Mansfield 6-3 in the district semifinals.Not bad for a Tigers team that thought it would still be competing in Class A until midway through the spring because of PIAA confusion over enrollment numbers.This will be Mansfield&#8217;s second state appearance and first since 2004.When the teams meet at 4:30 p.m. at Hanover Area, it will be a chance to build on a breakthrough campaign.&#8220;We&#8217;ll keep winning games, and after every win, it&#8217;ll be, &#8216;Wow, we&#8217;re still playing,&#8217; &#8221; Boberick said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going on June and we&#8217;re still here together.&#8220;While it lasts, we&#8217;re going to enjoy it. This is it. This has been fun.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Northwest starter Brian Hardiman throws a curve ball to a Hanover Area batter in the District 2 Class 2A baseball championship at PNC Field in Moosic on Monday. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_Northwest-HanoverBB_4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Northwest starter Brian Hardiman throws a curve ball to a Hanover Area batter in the District 2 Class 2A baseball championship at PNC Field in Moosic on Monday. Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Derek Levarsedlevarse@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>PIAA BASEBALLTOURNAMENTMonday&#8217;s gamesClass 4A&#8226; Valley West vs. Governor Mifflin4:30 p.m., Pittston Area Primary CenterClass 2A&#8226; Northwest vs. North Penn-Mansfield4:30 p.m., Hanover Area High School</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley West, Northwest baseball hoping to peak at states