Playoff predictions: How seedings could look in the 2024 District 10 baseball postseason
The District 10 baseball postseason is set to begin May 20 with five champions being crowned over eight days. District 10 meets on Friday to determine the brackets in Class 1A-4A. There are no teams in Class 5A and Erie plays McDowell as the only teams in 6A.
Here's a look at what the playoffs might look like if they started today. Fans should keep in mind that weather has played a big factor this spring as far as getting more games in and we do not have access to the Rating Index points system.
Class 1A
Quarterfinals
3 Union City vs. 6 West Middlesex
4 Cambridge Springs vs. 5 Cochranton
Byes: 1 Saegertown, 2 Youngsville
Breakdown: With Kennedy Catholic not fielding a team this year, there are just nine Class 1A teams in District 10. Jamestown, Reynolds and Rocky Grove have all struggled this season, leaving six teams in the Class 1A bracket. The question is: where do you put West Middlesex? The Big Reds have a schedule with plenty of Class 2A teams in region play. The big key is West Middlesex lost to Cochranton 3-1. If one game means a lot, the Big Reds would have to drop behind the Cardinals into the sixth spot. Saegertown is a clear No. 1 followed by Youngsville as the second seed. Union City and Cambridge Springs are currently tied at 7-7 in region play. Union City has an easier end to the region schedule as Cambridge Springs has another battle with Youngsville on Monday. The Bears likely win both games and move to three and Cambridge Springs goes to four. Cochranton rounds out the field at No. 5.
D-10 standings, schedules: Pore through District 10 baseball, softball box scores, schedules, results
Class 2A
Quarterfinals
3 Sharpsville vs. 6 Maplewood
4 Greenville vs. 5 Seneca
Byes: 1 Lakeview, 2 Wilmington
Breakdown: It's tough to know what District 10 will do on the decision to take six or eight teams in this playoff class. The first thing to do is determine the top seeds. Lakeview dominated Region 1 and has a strong resume but Wilmington is still in the running for the top seed. The two powerhouses clash on Monday. If Wilmington wins, despite being one game back of Lakeview in the standings, the Greyhounds would have a season split with Lakeview and wins over 3A Conneaut and 4A Grove City. Lakeview can assure itself the top seed by taking care of Wilmington the second time around. Taking a look at resumes, Sharpsville and Greenville are easy picks for the 3 and 4 seeds with quality non-region wins.
The question is: where do you go after the top four seeds? Maplewood is 10-7 but four region losses to 1A teams in the region. Seneca and Northwestern have losing records but they take on 3A teams in region play. If D-10 were to take six teams, Seneca would likely be 5 as the Bobcats beat Saegertown, while Maplewood was mercy-ruled by the Panthers twice. Maplewood or Northwestern would be the 6 and a tough discussion as well.
Class 3A
Quarterfinals
1 Mercyhurst Prep vs. 8 North East
2 Harbor Creek vs. 7 Girard
3 Fairview vs. 6 Conneaut
4 Oil City vs. 5 Titusville
Breakdown: Class 3A is another class where it isn't clear whether District 10 will take six teams or take a full field of eight. The wrench in the system is the Girard-Conneaut situation. Both teams have played teams above them close and both have quality wins. D-10 could stick to seven teams but it might be better to go with a full eight, which puts North East in the postseason.
The big question is where to put Oil City in the seeding. The Oilers are the top 3A team in Region 2 behind several 4A teams. Oil City has several quality wins over teams like Hickory and Erie High, but the Oilers also lost to Fairview. If that head-to-head game means something, the top four seeds are easy with Mercyhurst Prep, Harbor Creek, Fairview and Oil City.
Titusville is next in the standings, but the Rockets haven't wrapped up the 5 seed just yet. Conneaut has several big wins over bigger schools and is one game back of Titusville. Conneaut and Titusville meet on Wednesday, which could be for the 5 seed and the loser drops to 6.
Class 4A
Quarterfinals
1 Cathedral Prep vs. 8 Warren
2 Meadville vs. 7 Fort LeBoeuf
3 General McLane vs. 6 Grove City
4 Sharon vs. 5 Slippery Rock
Breakdown: Here's what is so tough about the Class 4A bracket: There is almost no crossover play and the two regions aren't close to balanced. Region 2 teams are tagged with a bunch of 3A teams and the Region 5 teams have two chances a year to play a 6A team to possibly raise their ratings index points.
Cathedral Prep has dominated all season and its only losses are to out-of-state powers so the Ramblers are the easy pick for No. 1. Meadville has been solid all year and went 5-0 outside of region play.
The third seed appears to be between Sharon and General McLane. When comparing the teams, McLane likely has a higher ratings index with two wins over 6A Erie High, while Sharon has a loss to 2A Greenville. If McLane is the three, Sharon moves into 4 and Slippery Rock is the 5. Grove City is 6 and Fort LeBoeuf is 7. The last spot is tough between Hickory and Warren and could be decided by the rating index.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: District 10 baseball playoffs: Predicting the 2024 playoff seedings
