HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: District to return to usual schedule

Chuck Curley, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·3 min read

Apr. 17—Back to normal.

That was the theme Friday as the District 11 Committee detailed its spring sports championships in a virtual media press conference through Microsoft Teams.

Hosted by District 11 Chairman Bob Hartman, the athletic director at Whitehall High School, the virtual media conference featured a welcome by Dr. John Hauth, the senior network administrator of sports medicine relations for St. Luke's University Health Network, and presentations on each of the six spring sports by their respective sport chairs.

Unlike basketball, the District 11 baseball and softball playoffs will not be open tournaments. The criteria for teams to qualify for the postseason remains the same — teams must win 50 percent of their games, either overall or in league play — with each bracket having a minimum number of qualifiers.

Fans will be permitted to attend all District 11 baseball and softball playoff games, although the district will abide by any attendance policies set forth by the host schools.

Here's a recap of the three major sports that affect Schuylkill League schools:

Baseball

The District 11 baseball playoffs will begin with first-round contests in classes 2A, 4A and 6A on Saturday, May 22, if needed.

In classes A, 3A and 5A, quarterfinal games will be Monday, May 24; semifinals on Thursday, May 27; and championship games slated for Memorial Day, Monday, May 31.

In classes 2A, 4A and 6A, quarterfinal games are set for Tuesday, May 25; semifinals on Friday, May 28; and championship games held on Tuesday, June 1.

Games will be played at the field of the higher-seeded team in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The championship games will be played at neutral fields, if possible.

District 11 will not use Coca-Cola Park for its baseball finals this year due to scheduling conflicts with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Minimum number of qualifiers in each class will be four for classes A, 2A, 3A and 5A, six in Class 4A and eight in Class 6A. District 11 gets two state qualifiers in Class 3A and 4A, with the Class 3A bracket being part of a subregional with District 1.

Softball

The District 11 softball playoffs will begin with first-round contests, if needed, in all six classes on Monday, May 24.

In classes A, 2A, 3A and 4A, quarterfinal games will be Tuesday, May 25; semifinals on Thursday, May 27; and championship games slated for Tuesday, June 1.

In Class 5A, quarterfinal games are set for Tuesday, May 25; the semifinals for Tuesday, June 1; and championship game scheduled for Thursday, June 3.

Games will be played at the field of the higher-seeded team in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The championship games will be played at neutral fields, if possible.

Minimum number of qualifiers in each class will be: Class A (4), 2A (6), 3A (8), 4A (6), 5A (4) and 6A (8). District 11 is part of a subregional with District 1 in both Class 2A and 3A.

Track and Field

Blue Mountain will be the host of this year's District 11 Track and Field Championships.

The 2A competition will be Tuesday, May 18, with the Class 3A meet to be held Wednesday, May 19.

The order of events will follow the same schedule that is used at the PIAA Track and Field Championships, with some slight time alterations due to the Eagles' Nest only having one sand pit. There are no limits to qualifiers, following the guidelines used in previous years.

District 11 Track and Field Chairman Bryan Geist, the athletic director at Northern Lehigh, said fans will be permitted for the track championships and that the District 11 Committee will work with Blue Mountain to set capacity limits for fans.

The PIAA Track and Field Championships are slated for Friday-Saturday, May 28-29, at Shippensburg University.

All of the playing dates and fan information for every spring sport are posted on the District 11 website, www.districtxi.com.

Contact the writer: lboyer@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6026; @pubsportsboss on Twitter