Pennsylvania

American Legion Baseball

While league tournaments are ongoing across the state, a handful of teams have already clinched a spot into state regionals.  As of Sunday morning, the following teams have qualified for their regional tournament.

Region 2

Muhlenberg (Schuylkill-Berks, host)

Nor-Gwyn (Bux-Mont, regular season champion)

North Parkland (Lehigh Valley, regular season champion)

Region 3

Spring City (Chester County, host)

Region 4

Fredericksburg (Lebanon County, host)

Spring Grove (York-Adams, regular season champion)

Region 5

Canton (Bradford-Tioga, host)

Athens (Bradford-Tioga, champion)

Swoyersville (Wyoming Valley, regular season champion)

Region 6

Connellsville (Fayette County, host)

Blackhawk (Beaver County)

Hopewell (Beaver County)

Uniontown (Fayette County)

Region 7

Clearfield (Central Penn, host)

Blairsville (Indiana County, regular season champion)

Indiana (Indiana County)

Region 8

Albion (Erie County, host)

St. Marys (Elk County)

French Creek Valley (Crawford-Venango)

Cochranton (Crawford-Venango)

Crawford-Venango

Franklin defeated French Creek Valley for the league title.  The league champs had a tough time at regionals, losing both of their games.  They dropped their opener by two runs to Wilcox and were eliminated 13-0 by Albion.  French Creek Valley lost a close one on opening day, losing to Millcreek 1-0.  They bounced back with a 13-3 win over Youngsville on day two.  FCV kept the bats rolling in their next game, they topped Warren 11-1.  After a postponement, the team eliminated Fox Township 9-4.  Eventual champion Millcreek handed them their second loss in game 14.

Elk County'

Fox Township defeated Wilcox for the league championship.  Both teams had strong showings at the regional tournament with Wilcox making it to the title game.  The two teams met in the winner's bracket final, with Fox Township opening with wins over Youngsville and Millcreek.  Wilcox defeated Franklin and Warren to make it to game 11.  Wilcox edged their league partners 4-3 in that one with Fox Township losing their next game to French Creek Valley.  Wilcox lost consecutive games to Millcreek to end their run, losing by scores of 5-2 and 9-0.

Erie County

Perennial regional power Millcreek won the league and Albion hosted the regional tournament.  Albion represented the league well, going 1-2 and getting eliminated on the tournament's third day by Millcreek.  They opened with a one run loss to Warren, 7-6, but bounced back on day two with a 13-0 win over Franklin.  Millcreek commenced their tournament run with a 1-0 win over French Creek Valley before dropping a game to Fox Township 11-3.  After that, they won out, beating Albion 10-0, Wilcox 5-2, French Creek Valley 12-2, and winning the title over Wilcox 9-0.

Warren County

Warren won the league's regular season title while Youngsville took the playoff title to qualify for the tournament.  Youngsville had a tough time at the tournament, going 0-2 with losses to Fox Township (5-3) and French Creek Valley (13-3).  Warren won a close one 7-6 over Albion in their opener.  After that they had trouble keeping their opponents off the scoreboard as they dropped two straight games to Wilcox 12-2 and French Creek Valley 11-1.

Cambria County

Bedford defeated Claysburg 9-2 to win the league title.  Somerset, also representing the league, was the host of the regional tournament.  Somerset topped Marion Center by a run on the opening day.  The hosts followed that with two consecutive losses, losing to Unity and eventual champion Latrobe.  Bedford had a tougher time, going 0-2 during the tournament.  They lost their opener 12-6 to Blairsville and were eliminated by a 6-4 margin by Latrobe.

Central Penn

Mifflin County claimed the league's regular season title and one regional spot.  Philipsburg won the league's postseason tournament to earn the second league slot at regionals.  Mifflin County handed Latrobe its only loss of the tournament on the first day, beating them by a run.  The team's good fortune continued with wins over Blairsville (6-2) and Unity (9-2).  The team lost game 13 to league rival Philipsburg before they were defeated by Latrobe in the regional championship.  Philipsburg lost its first game of the tournament to Unity but bounced back with victories over Marion Center (15-11), Blairsville (8-6), and Mifflin County (10-5) before they were topped by Latrobe in game 14.

District 31

Unity defeated Latrobe for the league title, though both teams earned a spot at regionals.  Unity opened the tournament with a couple of wins, besting Philipsburg (5-3) and Somerset (7-0).  The team lost its next two, including the winner's bracket final against Miffin County.  Latrobe exacted revenge in game 12 as they eliminated Unity 3-0.  Latrobe dropped its regional opener to Mifflin County before making a run to the title.  En route, they handled Bedford (6-4), Somerset (10-0), Unity, Philipsburg (8-7), and a mercy rule title game win over Mifflin County 12-1 in seven innings.

Indiana County

Blairsville claimed the league's regular season title to earn a berth, while Marion Center won the league's postseason tournament.  Marion Center had a tough go of it at regionals, dropping both of their games.  They opened with a 3-2 loss to Somerset and dropped a 15-11 decision to Philipsburg.  Blairsville won their first match-up, beating Bedford 12-6 before losing consecutive games to Mifflin County (6-2) and Philipsburg (8-6).

Despite the rain, a lot of leagues were able to complete games tonight.  League updates have been posted so far for Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.  We'll continue to update the site throughout the night so be sure to check back to see how your favorite team fared.

Once a common site for regular and postseason legion baseball games, Balliet Stadium in Coplay has played a diminished role since it sustained damage during Superstorm Sandy several years ago.  A committee seeking funds to help renovate the stadium and restore it to its previous prominence has been formed.

For more information on the stadium and how you can help, take a look at the following story on the Morning Call's website: Story

Allegheny East

Monroeville and Springdale were the league's two representatives in the regional tournament.  Monroeville won it's regional opener 10-9 over Uniontown.  The team was not as fortunate in their next two days, dropping games to eventual champion Blackhawk and Connellsville.  Springdale went 0-2 at the tournament, losing a run-rule shortened game against Blackhawk and another to Uniontown.

Allegheny South

Bethel Park and West MIfflin were the league representatives in the regional tournament.  Once at regionals, Bethel Park had a tough time.  The team lost its opener to Ambridge-Baden 8-3 an was eliminated by Connellsville 15-1 in 7 innings.  West Mifflin had a better go at it, making it to the tournament's championship game by way of victories over Connellsville, Uniontown, Ambridge-Baden, and again over Connellsville.  Blackhawk topped them by six runs for the regional title.

Beaver County

Longtime regional power Blackhawk won the league's championship series two games to zero over River City.  River City was expected to assume the league's second berth into the regional but was forced to hand that role over to Ambridge-Baden due to a lack of players.  The Beaver County teams did not disappoint and both won their first two match-ups, resulting in a rematch in the tournament's winner's bracket final.  Blackhawk, the eventual champion, bested Ambridge-Baden in a shortened game.  It was a rough day for the team that saw them dropped from the tournament after a second ten run loss, this time at the hands of West Mifflin.  Blackhawk dropped game 13 to Connellsville, a game played on the tournament's final day due to weather delays.  In the deciding championship game, Blackhawk topped West Mifflin and won the tournament 6-0.  The regional champs had a tough time getting the bats going and went 1-2 at the state tournament.

Fayette County

Connellsville and Uniontown represented the league at regionals.  Both teams enjoyed some success, with Uniontown 1-2 an Connellsville finishing at 3-2, just a game away from the championship.  Uniontown opened the tournament with a loss to Monroeville before bouncing back against Springdale, winning by eight runs.  The team was eliminated on the tounament's third day by West Mifflin.  Connellsville dropped its opener by twelve to West Mifflin before going on a run.  The team topped Bethel Park and Monroeville.  Connellsville handed Blackhawk its lone loss of the tournament 11-7 in game 13 before bowing out against West Mifflin in the next game.

Bradford-Tioga

Mansfield-Wellsboro defeated Athens 7-3 in the league final, claiming the league's lone bid into regionals.  The team got off to a quick start at regionals, downing West Scranton in the tournament opener.  The Bradford-Tioga champions didn't fare as well the rest of the way, dropping consecutive games to Swoyersville and South Scranton.

District 11

South Scranton defeated cross town rival West Scranton 3-0 in the league championship.  Both teams qualified for regionals with South Scranton taking District 11's #1 slot.  West Scranton had a rough go of it at regionals, losing two morning games on the tournament's first two days to Mansfield-Wellsboro and Milton.  South Scranton was downed by Jersey Shore on opening day before rebounding with wins over Berwick and Mansfield-Wellsboro.  The District 11 champions were eliminated from contention by eventual champion Greater Pittston a day later.

Susquehanna Valley

Berwick claimed the league's lone spot into the regional tournament.  Faced with a tough opening game match-up, Berwick was dropped into the loser's bracket by regional power Greater Pittston.  On day two, the team was eliminated by South Scranton.

West Branch

Jersey Shore defeated Milton to claim the league's #1 slot at regionals.  Milton got off to a slow start and was downed by Swoyersville on the tournament's opening day.  The 2012 regional champs bounced back with a win over West Scranton.  Their tournament championship hopes were dashed again by Jersey Shore, this time by just a run.  Before that win, Jersey Shore opened the tournament with a win over South Scranton and a loss at the hands of eventual champion Greater Pittston.  Jersey Shore eliminated Swoyersville before being eliminated on the tournament's final day on another loss to Greater Pittston.

Wyoming Valley

Swoyersville claimed the league's regular season title and was awarded the league's host spot at regionals.  Greater Pittston was the league's playoff champion and took the second slot.  Both teams qualified for the winner's bracket final by winning their first two games.  Swoyersville defeated Milton and Mansfield-Wellsboro while Greater Pittston topped Berwick and Jersey Shore.  Swoyersville got the better of Greater Pittston in game 11, pushing themselves into the championship round.  Greater Pittston bounced back with a win over South Scranton while Jersey Shore topped the undefeated Swoyersville in game 13.  On the tournament's final day, Greater Pittston eliminated Jersey Shore before exacting revenge and beating Swoyersville 7-5 for the championship.

For our new and old visitors alike, a brief history of this site.  The site is funded, updated, and maintained strictly through the tireless work of our devoted volunteers and advertisers, many of whom donate hundreds of hours of their time per year.

The Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Fan Site was created in the Spring of 2010 by a few fans who are deeply passionate about our nation's past time. For years we've spent summer nights out at baseball diamonds across the state, taking in some of the best amateur baseball the country has to offer. We know that thousands of fellow fans across the state share our loyalty to the game, though up until then there really was no place for fans to congregate.

Some of the better known teams that have more prolific histories have information and press coverage more readily available than the vast majority of teams in the state. With over three hundred senior legion level teams, it becomes nearly impossible to find information for some teams. That's why we're here. We decided the best way to give Pennsylvania Legion Baseball its proper due was to dedicate a website to its teams and their rich history.

We greatly appreciate the kind words and positive sentiment we've received in reference to the site. We've seen visitors from around the world, literally, right down to just about every town in the state.

We always love to hear feedback from our visitors, and we respond quickly to any correspondence sent our way. As always, any help you'd like to offer will be accepted graciously. We're always looking for contributors and writers, so let us know if you're interested. No experience of any kind is necessary!

Send all correspondence to [email protected] and you'll hear back from us soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Cumberland County

Hampden Township qualified as one of the league's two entrants with the regular season title.  They defeated Red Land 11-0 in the league championship.  Red Land earned the league's second spot by topping Mechanicsburg to earn a berth into the championship game and regional round.  Both teams got off to hot starts in regionals and Hampden Township downed Red Land 8-0 in the winner's bracket final.  Both teams were ultimately eliminated by eventual champion Spring Grove who topped Hampden Township by a run in extra innings to claim the state tournament berth.

Dauphin County

Hershey defeated Paxton 2-1 to take the league title.  The winning run was scored on a sixth inning steal of home.  The team had a rough go of it at regionals, dropping their opener to host and York County champion Hanover and then were defeated by Franklin County champion McConnellsburg on the second day.

Franklin County

McConnellsburg defeated Fayetteville 5-3 for their first ever Franklin County League title.  They were shut out on the tournament's first day by Red Land before they bounced back in an elimination game against Hershey.  Champion Spring Grove knocked the team out of the tournament with a 5-3 defeat on the third day.

Lancaster County

Ephrata defeated Penn Manor 4-3 to claim their third straight league championship.  The team dropped it's regional opener to Hampden Township before bouncing back with a one run win over Campbelltown in a day two elimination game.  Ephrata continued its run with wins over Hanover (9-2) and Hampden Township (14-5).  The team was eliminated from contention by Spring Grove on the final day.

Lebanon County

Campbelltown won its second straight league championship with a 6-4 win over Myerstown.  The team swept the final best of three games series.  They had a tough go at things in regionals where they dropped consecutive one run losses to Spring Grove and Ephrata.

York County

Hanover, the #8 seed in their league tournament, had already secured a regional bid by way of hosting duties, but defeated Spring Grove, the league's #4 seed, 18-1 in the York County championship.  The teams' stellar play continued into regionals as both teams won their opener, with Hanover defeating Hershey and Spring Grove topping Campbelltown.  Hanover dropped an extra inning game to Red Land before being eliminated from the tournament by Ephrata on day three.  Spring Grove lost via the mercy rule on day two but once again bounced back to win four straight games over McConnellsburg, Red Land, Ephrata, and Hampden Township to claim the regional championship.  Spring Grove won it's first two games at states before losing to Berks County teams Boyertown and Twin Valley.

The second in a series looking back on last season's league champions.

Chester County

Downingtown qualified as the league's first regional participant by way of their regular season title.  Spring City won the league's postseason tournament.  Spring City ended up going winless in the regional tournament while Downingtown swept their way into the title and the state tournament.

Greater Norristown

Mount Carmel won the program's first league championship in 33 years by topping J.P. Mascaro 2-1.  The team won it's first two games at regionals but ultimately fell short after a loss in the winner's bracket final and ensuing contest knocked them from contention.

Lower Bucks

Falls had already qualified for the regional tournament by way of their hosting duty, but did one better and made the tournament on their own accord by knocking off Bristol in the league's championship.  Bristol took the league's second spot.  Both teams did some damage in regionals but were ultimately knocked out of postseason contention by eventual champion Downingtown.

Lower MontCo

Morelanders won the league tournament for the first time since 2008 and ended Fort Washington's four year run of consecutive titles.  The team topped the league's regular season champion, Huntingdon Valley, 6-5 to win the title.  They won their first game of regionals before dropping their next two games.

Main Line

Wayne won their fourth league title in six years by beating out league rivals Upper Darby, Nether Providence, and Broomall-Newtown.  They won their regional opener over Spring City before falling in their next two contests.

Philadelphia

Loudenslager defeated Bustleton to win the Philadelphia County League.  The team had made it into the championship the year before but fell short to Ivy Ridge.  They had a tough go of it at regionals, dropping their first two games.

Playoff scores and schedules from around the state continue to be updated.  Please click on each region's main page for the leagues in that region.  Know a score or playoff matchup and don't see it on the site?  Please email it to us at [email protected].

Postseason league tournaments gear up across the state this week, so we thought we'd take some time to take a look back at which teams represented their league in state regionals last season.  First up, Region 2.

Berks County

Twin Valley and Boyertown went back and forth all season, and the postseason was no different.  Twin Valley took the Berks and Region 2 title's while Boyertown claimed the PA state title.  Both teams played well in Mid-Atlantics with Twin Valley eventually eliminating Boyertown.

Bux-Mont

Pottstown had it's best season in recent memory and topped Plumstead in the league title game.  They also beat out some tough teams in Pennridge, Souderton, and Doylestown.

Lehigh Valley

North Parkland won the regular season and postseason title.  They went undefeated in the league playoffs and topped Salisbury for the title.  Salisbury also represented the league as the second entry into the regional tournament.

Northampton County

Nazareth topped Easton two games to one to win the league championship series.  Easton also advanced to the regional tournament as the league's second entry.

Schuylkill-Berks

Oley/Topton beat Pine Grove two games to zero to claim the league title.  Oley/Topton took the South division title while Pine Grove won the league's North division.

With thirteen teams remaining in the league, the Schuylkill-Berks League has adopted a somewhat modified playoff format.  The league's top three teams have received byes in Wednesday's commencement of double elimination action.  Muhlenberg (South 1), Southern Area (North 1), and Tamaqua (North 2) will await the results of five best of three series that run this weekend.

Yesterday's results and today's scheduled games are as follows:

Best of 3, Game One, Saturday, July 5

Hamburg 11, Wyomissing 9

Fleetwood 9, Kutztown 1

Tulpehocken 8, Oley/Topton 5

Schuylkill Valley 5, Pottsville 0

Pine Grove 4, Valley View 2

Best of 3, Game Two, Sunday, July 6

Wyomissing @ Hamburg (Hamburg leads series 1-0)

Kutztown @ Fleetwood (Fleetwood leads series 1-0)

Tulpehocken @ Oley/Topton (Tulpehocken leads series 1-0)

Pottsville @ Schuylkill Valley (Schuylkill Valley leads series 1-0)

Pine Grove @ Valley View (Pine Grove leads series 1-0)

League playoff brackets and results will be posted on the regional pages which can be accessed by clicking on the region name in the navigation bar at the top of the site.  

If you have a league playoff bracket or even some of the matchups, please email them to us at [email protected] and we will get it posted to the site as soon as possible.  Thanks for your help!

As you may have heard, several years ago the national legion rule's committee adopted a new eligibility rule that prohibited the use of college freshmen on legion baseball teams beginning in 2015.  Earlier this season, that rule change was officially rescinded.  Any player who has not turned 19 years old before January 1st is eligible to participate in that summer's legion baseball season.

Last season, the only thing that could stop West Mifflin's march to a Region 6 title and state tournament berth was perennial regional power Blackhawk and the state's top pitcher, Brendan McKay.  Though they finished one win shy last year, this year's squad appears poised to build on that past success.

Few teams across the state have played as well as West Mifflin this season.  It's not just the gaudy league record, to this point 14-0 in the Allegheny South League, it's also the way in which they're winning.  In fourteen league contests the team has outscored opponents 125 to 18.  In two early season contests against Elizabeth, West Mifflin pitchers surrendered five runs in each game.  Excluding those two games, the WM pitching staff has allowed just eight runs in twelve games.

To start it all off, West Mifflin pitcher Luke Hils tossed a five inning no-hit shutout to aid his team's ten run mercy rule victory over Upper St. Clair.  A second inning outburst propelled the team past Houston 4 to 3 in a game that would begin a string of five games in five days.  Following the pair of victories over Elizabeth, West Mifflin continued its dominance in a short 15-0 win over Carrick.

The team's offense jumped all over Moon in its next game, to the tune of fifteen hits and a 9-2 victory.  A doubleheader against Peters Township was the next task, and West Mifflin handled it well, outscoring their opponent in a big win and topping them twice 14-0 and 8-1.

Between June 23rd and 30th, West Mifflin played five games.  Their pitching staff surrendered two runs.  It began with another run rule victory, 15-1 over Keystone Oaks.  The team's second no-hitter of the season, this one by Josh Fodor, helped West Mifflin take both ends of a doubleheader with South Park, beating them 11-0 and 3-0.  While Bethel Park mostly kept the bats at bay in the next contest, it was once again Luke Hils leading the way.  He tossed a shutout in support of his teams 2-0 victory.

Things haven't gone any different for West Mifflin this week.  They once again used terrific pitching to win a pair of games, 9-1 over Moon and 8-0 over Houston.

The team returns to action with a doubleheader this evening against Chartiers Valley.  They'll round out the regular season with games against Bethel Park and Keystone Oaks.

American Legion Baseball has crowned a national champion eighty-six times since 1926, every year in that span besides 1927 when no national tournament took place.  Pennsylvania is home to three national champions: Boyertown in 1982 and 1987 and Yardley in 1996.  Interestingly enough, Boyertown topped Yardley in the state championship that year.

Pennsylvania has also had its fair share of national runner-ups.  The first was Levittown in 1970.  They were defeated by West Covina, California.  As a prelude to its first national title, Boyertown finished second in the nation to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1980.  Close to clinching their second consecutive national title in 1983, miscues ultimately led to Boyertown losing the championship game against Edina, Minnesota.  The only other national championship round appearance for a PA team came in 1988 as Boyertown once again missed out on back-to-back titles, they were defeated by a team from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Philadelphia hosted the first ever national championship in 1926, but it wasn't until Boyertown won the title on their home field in 1982 that the state hosted the tournament again.  Boyertown's Bear Stadium is the only Pennsylvania location to play host to the tournament, doing so three times (1982, 1991, and 1994).  In recent years, the tournament has been located at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, North Carolina.

We've compiled a list of interesting facts about the history of ALB national championships.

• Representatives from New York (Yonkers, 1926 and Buffalo, 1929) won two of the first three titles.  No team from New York has won since.
• As a whole, California has won seventeen national championships.
• Ohio has accounted for seven titles, including a record five by Cincinnati Post 50 who won all of their titles between 1944 and 1958.
• Puerto Rico has won three titles, back to back wins by Rio Piedras in 1973 and 1974 and by Guaynabo in 1984.
• New Jersey has won four championships, with defending national champion Brooklawn owning three of them.

Schedules for the following leagues have been updated within the last day. You can view the standings pages by scrolling over the region name at the top of the page and then clicking on the league name.

Don't see your league listed or have more up to date standings and results? Please forward them to us at [email protected] or on Twitter @palegionball, thanks!

Region 2

Berks

Bux-Mont

Lehigh Valley

Northampton County

Schuylkill-Berks

Region 3

Chester County

Greater Norristown

Lower Bucks

Lower MontCo

Main Line

Philadelphia County

Region 4

Cumberland County

Franklin County

Lebanon County

York County

Region 5

Wyoming Valley

Region 6

Fayette County

Region 7

Cambria County

Central Penn

District 31

Indiana County

We'd like to take the time to spotlight an interesting feature of the site.  We have archived postseason tournament information and results since the inception of the site in 2010.  Under the postseason tab you can find state regional, state tournament, national regional, and World Series brackets and results for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

In addition, every senior legion state champion dating back to 1926 is listed under the home tab and then by scrolling to 'PA ALB Information' and finally to the 'State Champions' link.

We are pleased to announce that www.palegionball.com will be providing live streaming radio coverage of the 2014 Pennsylvania State Legion Baseball Tournament from Boyertown. The tournament will commence on Tuesday, July 29th and run through August 2nd. Our staff will provide live audio of every game of the tournament.

Once again, the audio will be streamed through Spreaker.com and the Spreaker smartphone apps. Any person with an internet connection for their computer or cell phone service with an Apple or Android phone will be able to listen live from anywhere in the world.

The site is actively seeking advertising partners for the tournament. The broadcasts offer a unique opportunity to engage a local and statewide audience. All proceeds benefit the future expansion of the site.

For more information on the streams or to inquire about advertising, please email us at [email protected]

Please help us spread the word and make this year's broadcasts the most listened to yet!