Magee struck out 13 and allowed three hits in the Polar Bears District 3 championship win over Mechanicsburg.
The high school softball postseason continues with the state tournament scheduled to begin Monday.
The field of championship contenders includes five Sentinel area teams: Cumberland Valley (Class 6A), Northern and Mechanicsburg (Class 5A), and East Pennsboro and Trinity (Class 4A).
Following is a look at the local first-round matchups.
Garnet Valley (21-3) at Cumberland Valley (17-5)
When/where: 4 p.m. Cumberland Valley
How they got here: The Jaguars finished sixth in the District 1 tournament after earning the No. 3 seed. They defeated Conestoga before consecutive losses to Downingtown East, Central Bucks South and Pennridge. Meanwhile, the Eagles captured District 3 gold for the first time since 2014, defeating rival Central Dauphin in Thursday’s championship game.
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Next up: The winner advances to face either District 1 runner-up Haverford or District 11 runner-up Easton in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Cumberland Valley softball clears district quarterfinal hurdle with 9-7 win over Warwick
Notes: Garnet Valley lost to Penn Manor in last year’s first round. Cumberland Valley last qualified for the state tournament in 2015 when it advanced to the finals before a losing to Parkland. The Eagles have won seven straight games. Their last loss came in a 5-4 decision against Central Dauphin May 4. After allowing 14 hits and seven earned runs in the district quarterfinals, CV’s Sydney May allowed seven total hits and three total runs in the semifinals and finals, striking out 20 batters to five walks. Eight Eagles have driven in at least one run this postseason.
Class 5A
Armstrong (19-2) at Mechanicsburg (22-3)
When/where: 4 p.m. Mechanicsburg
Lacey, DeMaio deliver in Mechanicsburg’s District 3 softball semifinal comeback win over Greencastle
How they got here: Armstrong, the top seed in the WPIAL tournament, advanced to the finals for the third straight year before losing 11-7 to Trinity. Mechanicsburg reached the finals of the District 3 tournament for the first time and lost 4-0 to Northern.
Next up: Thursday’s quarterfinals pit the winner against either District 11 champion Pocono Mountain East or District 1 runner-up West Chester Rustin.
Notes: Armstrong won last year’s WPIAL title and rode the momentum to a berth in the state championship game for the second straight year, where it lost to Pittston Area. Mechanicsburg is making its maiden voyage into the state tournament. The Wildcats’ three losses came against Cumberland Valley (Class 6A), Greencastle-Antrim (Class 5A) and Northern (Class 5A), who all qualified for the state tournament. Both teams field leaders at shortstop in the River Hawks’ junior Emma Paul and the Wildcats’ senior Lauren Paul. Armstrong has averaged 8.5 runs per game this postseason while Mechanicsburg held opponents to eight runs across four district playoff games.
When/where: 4:15 p.m., Northern
How they got here: The Hatters reached the semifinals of the District 1 tournament, losing to eventual champion Oxford before taking the third-place game with a 15-9 victory over Upper Dublin. The Polar Bears entered the state tournament by way of their first District 3 title with a 4-0 win over Mechanicsburg in the championship game.
Next up: The winner advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals, facing either District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara or Upper Dublin, the District 1 fourth-place team.
Notes: The Polar Bears outscored their opponents 41-7 through four playoff games. Meanwhile the Hatters outscored their opponents 38-26. Northern’s four losses have come against Cumberland Valley (Class 6A), Greencastle-Antrim (Class 5A) and Mechanicsburg, who all qualified for the state tournament. The Polar Bears last reached the state tournament in 2005 when they advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals. Four Polar Bears – Hannah Keith, Sammy Magee, Hailey Irwin and Sabrina Paulin – hit home runs during the district playoffs. Amya Lundy hit two postseason home runs for the Hatters while Alyssa Tooley and Tess Kearney hit one each.
East Pennsboro softball falls to Lampeter-Strasburg in District 3 title game
Class 4A East Pennsboro (16-3)
vs. Jersey Shore (13-9) When/where: 4:30 p.m., Elm Park, Williamsport
How they got here: The Panthers advanced to the District 3 title game for the second time in program history before falling to Lampeter-Strasburg 10-2. The Bulldogs won the District 4 title, defeating Montoursville in the title tilt.
Next up: With a win comes a trip to the quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday against either District 11 champion Blue Mountain or District 12 runner-up Swenson.
Notes: Both teams are making their first state tournament appearances since 2018. East Pennsboro advanced to the quarterfinals while Jersey Shore suffered a first-round defeat. The Bulldogs won a pair of one-run games to qualify for the state tournament, defeating Shamokin 6-5 and Montoursville 4-3 to earn the District 4 crown. East Pennsboro opened the district postseason with a 5-4 win over Middletown. The 10 runs the Panthers allowed in the District 3 final were the most they allowed since a 12-8 loss to Fleetwood May 4, the only other time they’ve allowed a double-digit total.
When/where: 2 p.m., Hempfield Area (Greensburg)
How they got here: The Leopards made a run to a WPIAL title with a 10-0 quarterfinal win over West Mifflin and one-run victories over Elizabeth Forward and Montour. The Shamrocks lost in the District 3 semifinals to East Pennsboro but bounced back with a 2-1 win over Berks Catholic in the third-place game.
Next up: The winner advances to the quarterfinals against either District 10 champion Cathedral Prep or District 7 bronze medalist Elizabeth forward.
Notes: The Shamrocks are making their first trip to the state tournament while the Leopards are back in the tournament for the first time since 2018. Prior to its district semifinal loss to East Pennsboro, Trinity had won nine games in a row. Belle Vernon’s Tom Roddriguez earned his 300th career victory in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Outside of the East Pennsboro semifinal loss, the Shamrocks and pitcher Maddie Smith allowed three runs or fewer in their other eight games in the month of May, a stretch that included three shutouts.
Tim Gross is the sports editor at The Sentinel and cumberlink.com. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at: @ByTimGross