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Taste of the Mountain offers a little something for everyone

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Fine Arts Fiesta keeps party going to very end

Some District 2 softball team has to be the upstart.It happened last year with sixth-seeded Pittston Area advancing to the D2-3A championship game. A year before that, it was sixth-seeded Lakeland, which played for the 2A crown. And in 2014, fourth-seeded Tunkhannock played for the 3A title.The best place to look in the PIAA&#8217;s new six classifications is in Class 4A. It&#8217;s basically the old 3A field and it&#8217;s where upsets seem likely to happen.Nanticoke (13-0) comes in as the top seed in the D2-3A playoffs. The Trojanettes, though, understand how tough the bracket will be.&#8220;We respect everybody,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Ryan Stetz said. &#8220;We like to think we have as good a chance as anyone. We&#8217;re going to play loose and play with confidence and give it our best shot.&#8221;Nanticoke had two tough battles with seventh-seeded Dallas to conclude the Wyoming Valley Conference season. Third-seeded Tunkhannock (9-4) had one as well. Afterward, Tunkhannock coach Bob Hegedty acknowledged Dallas could be troublesome in districts. He mentioned Berwick (2-11) as well.Two-win Berwick? Well, the Dawgs nearly upset D2-6A top seed Hazleton Area to close out the regular season, falling 4-3.The focus, though, will be on Nanticoke as well as second-seeded Valley View (11-3). Valley View dominated the D2-3A field at one time, winning four consecutive championships from 2010-2013. The Cougars have been a perennial Lackawanna League power despite not getting a district title the past three years.&#8220;I think we&#8217;re peaking at the right time and I feel confident going into the district playoffs,&#8221; Stetz said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve had quality pitching and good defense and we can win a game offensively in many different ways. We have power, we have speed and if we have to bunt, we&#8217;ll bunt.&#8220;There are no guarantees in the districts, but we&#8217;re comfortable with what we have.&#8221;CLASS 6AThe new 6A field is essentially the old 4A bracket, with District 4&#8217;s Williamsport once again part of the process.Hazleton Area (12-1), which has won five consecutive D2-4A titles, is the only WVC team in the four-team playoff. Once again, the Cougars are favored to make it to states. However, there is some concern. The team is a mix of veterans and newcomers and things haven&#8217;t always gone smoothly. The Cougars lost 7-0 to Nanticoke during the regular season, needed to rally to defeat Wyoming Valley West 10-9 and squeezed past two-win Berwick 4-3 to close out their WVC schedule.The Cougars will host Scranton (4-9) in Monday&#8217;s only district game while Williamsport (8-7) travels to Delaware Valley (9-4) on Wednesday in the other semifinal.CLASS 5AThe plan for the subregional with District 11 was for a four-team bracket with two D2 teams, one D11 team and a wild card based on the D11 power rankings. However, there is a stipulation that any team gets in with a .500 or better overall record. That put Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West in. Only D11&#8217;s East Strousburg North missed the field.Pittston Area (6-7) was a bit of a Cinderella in the D2-3A playoffs a year ago, going from the sixth seed to the championship game where the Patriots lost 5-0 to Abington Heights. A similar run appears unlikely. While the Patriots won five in a row in the middle of the season and lost two games by one run, they are young and probably a year away.Valley West (7-6) has a veteran team, but the lack of offense could be the Spartans&#8217; downfall in the subregional. They&#8217;ve scored one run four times and have been shut out once, although a 10-9 late-season loss to Hazleton Area showed the team is capable of producing runs.CLASS 4ANanticoke (13-0) is the top seed and is looking to make amends for a semifinal loss in last year&#8217;s D2-3A playoffs. The Trojanettes get the winner of the Berwick (2-11) at Crestwood (4-9) game. Berwick defeated Crestwood 8-5 on April 27.Wyoming Area (7-6) overcame a late-April swoon to get the fourth seed. The Warriors open with a home game against West Scranton (6-7).Tunkhannock (9-4) is the third seed. The Tigers are a very complete team, although some defensive issues have popped up from time to time. They get the winner of the Coughlin (0-13) at Scranton Prep (5-8) game. Coughlin hasn&#8217;t won a WVC game since 2014.If Dallas (5-8) can get some run production, it could cause some noise. The Mountaineers open with a home contest against Honesdale (1-12), but a victory would mean a very tough matchup with Valley View (11-3).CLASS 3AThe field is highlighted by Holy Redeemer (13-0), which has won the last two PIAA Class 2A state championships. Bumped to 3A under the new alignment, the Royals shouldn&#8217;t miss a beat. They returned eight starters from last season, outscored their WVC Division 3 opponents 158-1 and don&#8217;t have a weakness. Their only loss was 3-2 in eight innings to Bethlehem Catholic in a non-conference game on April 8.Hanover Area (8-6) travels to Lake-Lehman (9-5) in a battle of WVC teams that could be the best matchup in the quarterfinals. Hanover Area defeated the Black Knights 8-7 on April 10 then lost to them 4-0 on May 8.GAR (0-14) at Meyers (6-8) will be Tuesday. The winner of the opening round game isn&#8217;t expected to advance any farther.In the Lackawanna League, Mid Valley (12-1) and Montrose (11-1) are considered the likeliest opponent for Redeemer in the title game.CLASS 2AWyoming Seminary (8-6) and Northwest (9-5) are the only WVC teams in the eight-team bracket. They play Tuesday at Northwest. Seminary edged Northwest 5-4 on April 5. Northwest won 13-3 in six innings on May 1.The winner will probably play No. 1 seed Holy Cross (11-2). Holy Cross and second-seeded Elk Lake (10-2) are expected to battle for the title.CLASS ADistrict 2 is in a subregional with District 11. MMI Prep, the WVC&#8217;s only Class A school, failed to make the six team field consisting of one D2 team (Forest City), four D11 teams and a wild card, which also came from District 11.District 11 power rankings were used to determine the qualifiers.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_clip-soft.jpg</photo0><caption0>Taylor Baloga pitches against Tunkhannock. 4/19/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>DISTRICT GIRLS SOFTBALLD2/4 CLASS 6ASemifinalsMonday&#8226; No. 4 Scranton (4-9) at No. 1 Hazleton Area (12-1), 4:30 p.m.Wednesday&#8226; No. 3 Williamsport (8-7) at No. 2 Delaware Valley (9-4), 4:30 p.m.ChampionshipWednesday, May 31&#8226; Neutral site, time TBAD2/11 CLASS 5AQuarterfinalsTuesday&#8226; No. 5 North Pocono (8-8) at No. 4 Pottsville (12-8), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 6 Wyo. Val. West (9-7) at No. 3 Southern Lehigh (16-4), 4 p.m.&#8226; No. 7 Pittston Area (7-7) at No. 2 Wallenpaupack (12-4), 4 p.m.SemifinalsFriday&#8226; North Pocono/Pottsville winner at No. 1 Abington Heights&#8226; WVW/Southern Lehigh winner vs. Pittston Area/Wallenpaupack winner, at site of higher seed.ChampionshipTuesday, May 30&#8226; Neutral site, time TBADISTRICT 2 CLASS 4AFirst RoundTuesday&#8226; No. 9 Berwick (2-11) at No. 8 Crestwood (4-9), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 11 Coughlin (0-13) at No. 6 Scranton Prep (5-8), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 10 Honesdale (1-12) at No. 7 Dallas (5-8), 4:30 p.m.QuarterfinalsFriday&#8226; Crestwood/Berwick winner at No. 1 Nanticoke (13-0), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 5 West Scranton (6-7) at No. 4 Wyoming Area (7-6), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; Scranton Prep/Coughlin winner at No. 3 Tunkhannock (9-4), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; Dallas/Honesdale winner at No. 2 Valley View (11-2), 4:30 p.m.SemifinalsTuesday, May 30(at site of higher seed)&#8226; Crestwood/Berwick/Nanticoke winner vs. West Scranton/Wyoming Area winner&#8226; Prep/Coughlin/Tunkhannock winner vs. Dallas/Honesdale/Valley View winnerChampionshipThursday, June 1Neutral site, time TBADISTRICT 2 CLASS 3AFirst RoundTuesday&#8226; No. 9 Carbondale (1-11) at No. 8 Dunmore (3-9), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 10 GAR (0-14) at No. 7 Meyers (6-8), 4:30 p.m.QuarterfinalsFriday&#8226; Carbondale/Dunmore winner at No. 1 Holy Redeemer, 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 5 Hanover Area (8-6) at No. 4 Lake-Lehman (9-5), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 6 Lakeland (6-6) at No. 3 Montrose (11-1), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; Meyers/GAR winner at No. 2 Mid Valley (12-1), 4:30 p.m.SemifinalsTuesday, May 30(at site of higher seed)&#8226; Dunmore/Carbondale/Redeemer winner vs. Hanover/Lehman winner&#8226; Montrose/Lakeland winner vs. Meyers/GAR/Mid Valley winnerChampionshipThursday, June 1Neutral site, time TBADISTRICT 2 CLASS 2AQuarterfinalsTuesday&#8226; No. 8 Blue Ridge (4-8) at No. 1 Holy Cross (11-2), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 5 Wyo. Seminary (8-6) at No. 4 Northwest (9-5), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 6 Riverside (5-7) at No. 3 Lackawanna Trail (9-3), 4:30 p.m.&#8226; No. 7 Old Forge (5-7) at No. Elk Lake (10-2), 4:30 p.m.SemifinalsFriday(at site of higher seed)&#8226; Blue Ridge/Holy Cross winner vs. Wyo. Seminary/Northwest winner&#8226; Riverside/Trail winner vs. Old Forge/Elk Lake winnerChampionshipWednesday, May 31&#8226; Neutral site, time TBADISTRICT 2/11 CLASS AQuarterfinalsTuesday&#8226; No. 5 Forest City (7-10) at No. 4 Mahanoy Area (10-10), 4 p.m.&#8226; No. 6 Nativity BVM (7-13) at No. 3 Tri Valley (12-8), 4 p.m.SemifinalsThursday&#8226; Forest City/Mahanoy Area at No. 1 Williams Valley (15-5), time TBA&#8226; Nativity/Tri Valley winner at No. 2 Notre Dame-ES (13-6), time TBAChampionshipTuesday, May 30&#8226; Site and time TBA</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

H.S. SOFTBALL: Nothing is certain as WVC teams begin quest for D2 titles