Prep Baseball Report

2017 Season Preview: PIAA Class 2A Preseason Super 16



By Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting

and PBR staff

Pennsylvania calls itself a Commonwealth, not a state, which means we like to eschew the norm. Our team rankings aren't a standard Top 25, but rather an effort to predict what everyone is striving for: state tournament berths. Instead of going down a rabbit hole by attempting to order teams from various parts of the state who play against vastly different levels of competition, we are going to try to compare apples to apples a bit more. Each update, we will present the schools we think are in the best position to earn state tournament berths out of their respective districts. Below are our predictions, in bracket order, for how we see the PIAA class 2A state tournament shaping up. A Watch List for each district is also included, with the teams on it (and undoubtedly a few we overlooked) absolutely in the mix to make the March to Medlar.

Note: X-Y under "Berth" = [District]-[Bid]. For example, 4-2 is the runner-up from District IV.

2017 Preseason PIAA Class 2A Super 16
Berth School Notes
4-1 Bloomsburg Area Panthers return two-thirds of the line-up, plus get two significant contributors, including the projected staff ace, back from injury.
2-1 Northwest Area The Rangers suffered some attrition on offense, but welcome back the bulk of a pitching staff that led the way to last season's 2A district title.
     
12-1 Neumann-Goretti 2016 2A state champ has a new coach and lots of innings to replace, but plenty of arm talent in the pipeline and a young offense that is maturing.
1-1 Christopher
Dock
Mennonite
This one looks like a coin-flip between the Pioneers (last year's 1A district champ) and Devon Prep (last year's 2A district champ). Dock has an experienced 1-2 rotation combo, fronted by a bona fide ace who proved he could beat the Tide last season.
     
11-1 Schuylkill Haven Area Gunning for its third trip to the state tournament in four seasons, the Hurricanes will need a youth infusion on offense, but return a trio of pitchers with significant experience.
4-2 South Williamsport Area New coach with more than a quarter-century of experience at the collegiate level inherits a team that graduated just one from last season.
     
3-1 Camp Hill No doubt suffered some attrition, but they boast the top two prospects in the district in this classification, both of whom will have a big impact on the mound and at the plate.
6-2 Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic Marauders feature a physically imposing 1-2 rotation punch and go five-deep with experience on the mound, while also featuring a solid returning line-up core.
     
7-1 Serra Catholic Defending WPIAL champ is poised for a run at a third straight state tourney berth behind a quartet of experienced arms and a line-up that returns two-thirds of its starters.
10-2 Lakeview Were one win away from a state tournament berth in the old 2A, from where most of their primary competition has moved up to 3A. Sailors welcome back their 1-2 rotation punch and two-thirds of their line-up, including an impact presence behind the plate.
     
9-1 Johnsonburg Area Up-for-grabs district. Rams graduated just one and feature an upperclass-laden roster that is a co-op with Ridgway Area HS.
5-1/
8-1
Conemaugh Township Area A trio of strike-throwers who logged nearly 70% of the team's innings are back, along with more than half of the regular starting line-up.
     
6-1 Bishop McCort Catholic Crushers have some holes to fill, but return a staff ace and a group of upperclassmen coming off a district title and state runner-up appearance.
7-2 California Area String of five straight state tourney berths was snapped last season, but the Trojans welcome back eight line-up regulars plus two experienced arms, not to mention getting back their 2015 staff ace from injury.
     
10-1 Rocky Grove
Orioles can roll out three experienced pitchers plus virtually their entire line-up from last season after graduating just one player off a 2016 state quarterfinalist team in the old class 1A.
7-3 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart The perennial contender Chargers brings back their entire pitching staff and the bulk of their line-up.


Watch List
District I: Devon Prep
District II: Blue Ridge, Old Forge, Holy Cross, Lackawanna Trail
District III: York Catholic, Newport, Halifax Area
District IV: Troy Area, Wellsboro Area
Sub-region V/VIII: North Star
District VI: Bellwood-Antis, Portage Area, Blairsville
District VII:
Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Bishop Canevin, Shenango, Neshannock
District IX: Coudersport,Cranberry Area, Redbank Valley
District X: West Middlesex, Cochranton, Mercer Area
District XI: Minersville Area, Marian Catholic
District XII:
MaST Community Charter

Season Preview Content