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The District Three softball championships begin Monday afternoon with 14 Lancaster-Lebanon League teams in the mix across Class 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A. Thirteen of the 14 teams are in action Monday, with Northern Lebanon opening play Thursday.
Here’s a look at Monday’s L-L pairings and a broad look at each of those four classes.
Class 6A
Defending champion Penn Manor and finalist Manheim Township are back in the field, but as, respectively, the No. 10 and No. 6 seeds.
Thirteen-time champion Chambersburg (18-2) is the top seed, with eight-time champion Central Dauphin (19-2) seeded second.
Newly crowned L-L champion Warwick (17-5) hosts Central York (13-7) at 7 p.m. Central York is 17-21 overall in district play, losing to Manheim Township in last year’s 6A quarterfinals.
Manheim Township (14-6) hosts Northeastern (14-7) at 4:30 p.m. Northeastern is 7-20 overall in districts, losing to Lampeter-Strasburg in the 5A consolations.
Ninth-seeded Hempfield travels to No. 8 seed Wilson (14-6) at 4:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are 4-14 overall, with their last win in the 2016 first round.
Penn Manor (14-6) opens defense of its title at Dallastown (15-5). Dallastown is 13-23 overall, last losing to Hempfield in the 2022 first round.
Class 5A
Defending champion Exeter (13-7) enters as the No. 7 seed.
Solanco (20-2) is the No. 1 seed and hosts Lower Dauphin (10-10) at 4:30 p.m. The Golden Mules look to shake off a streak of first-round losses in 2021 and ’22.
Lower Dauphin was 3-7 halfway through the season, turning it around after an upset win over Donegal. Overall, LD is 36-28 in district play, losing to Mechanicsburg in the ’22 consolations.
As the No. 15 seed, Elizabethtown (10-10) travels to second-seeded Mechanicsburg (19-2) for a 4:30 p.m. game. The teams met in the second game of the season, with Mechanicsburg rallying for a 7-6 victory. The Wildcats are just 3-14 in districts.
Three-time District Three champion Donegal (19-3) is the No. 4 seed and hosts New Oxford (11-9), which brings a five-game losing streak into the meeting. The Colonials, 12-15 overall, last won a district game in 2012
In an all-L-L matchup, Section Three runner-up Manheim Central (13-7) hosts Section Two runner-up Ephrata (14-7) at 6:30.
The Mountaineers, 19-21 in districts, fell to Penn Manor in the 2021 6A bronze-medal game. Their lone district title came in 1990. The Barons won back-to-back championships in 2011-12, are 27-25 overall and are looking to come back from a first-round loss to Lower Dauphin in 2022.
Class 4A
Defending champion Hamburg (17-4) comes in as the No. 2 seed. Top-seeded East Pennsboro (14-3) made its only title appearance in a 2018 4A loss to West Perry.
Lampeter-Strasburg (9-10) battled to stay relevant after an 0-4 start and nailed down the 10th and final berth in the tournament.
The Pioneers, 3A champion in 2007 and 5A champ in 2021, travel to No. 7 Fleetwood (12-7) for a 6:30 p.m. start at Lyons Ballfield. Fleetwood is 1-3 in championship games, 25-15 overall.
No. 5-seeded Trinity (15-5) travels to Northern Lebanon (16-5) on Thursday, with a 2:30 p.m. start to accommodate Trinity’s Baccalaureate ceremony that evening.
The Vikings look to break two streaks, a current three-game slide and a four-game district streak dating back to the 2019 4A semifinals. Trinity is 9-12 in district play.
Class 3A
York-Adams champion Littlestown (21-1) is the top seed, looking to return to the championship game for the first time since the 2003 2A tournament.
Defending champion Kutztown (17-5) is seeded second and hosts Lancaster Catholic (11-8) at 6 p.m. at Kutztown Park.
The Crusaders cracked the field as the seventh and final qualifier and make just their sixth tournament appearance. Kutztown, the Berks County runner-up, is 73-31 overall in districts.
Upper Dauphin (16-4), the 2022 2A champion, moves up a class and takes the No. 4 seed, hosting Annville-Cleona (12-7) at 4:30 p.m.
The Trojans have played in four of the last five title games and are 35-28 overall. The Dutchmen won five titles, 1992, ’95, ’96, ’98 and 2006, losing in the 2011 and ’12 2A title games, and are 41-29 overall in district play.
Pequea Valley (12-9) won six of seven late in the season to earn its place as the No. 6 seed. The Braves travel to third-seeded Susquenita (17-3) for a 4:30 p.m. start. Susquenita, the returning 3A runner-up, is 17-15 overall, winning a title in 2019.
