Pennsylvania

American Legion Baseball

Here’s a look back at the 2009 season for Region Three:

Norchester and Kennett were at the top of the Chester County League a year ago, winning the North and South Conferences, respectively.  Each had a 16-2 record in league play in the regular season.  The Central Conference was won by Downingtown, which finished at 12-6. Other playoff qualifiers included Exton, Spring City, Caln, Phoenixville, and Westtown.  The playoffs were a double-elimination affair with the first three rounds played at thehome of the higher seeds, with the remaining games hosted by Norchester at Owen J. Roberts High School.  The big surprise of the playoffs was regular season co-champion Downingtown’s elimination in two gamesby Exton and Phoenixville.  However, the end result of the playoffs was not a surprise as Norchester defeated Exton 14-7 for yet another Chester County League title.

Last year marked another successful season for the Golden Generals of Fort Washington, winners of both the regular season and playoff crowns in the Lower Montco League.  Fort Washington finished with an 18-2-1 league record finishing ahead of the other playoff qualifiers Warminster, Horsham, and Roslyn.  For the most part the double-elimination playoffs went as planned with Fort Washington knocking off Roslyn, before beating Warminster in the Winner’s Bracket Final and then dispatching the Warriors again a couple of nights later for the Lower Montco title.

There are few certainties in life, but JP Mascaro’s success in the Greater Norristown League may be close. Last summer the Haulers brought home their seventh consecutive league title, running away with it in the process. JP Mascaro finished 19-2 in the regular season, achieving regular season glory by six games.  The five other teams that qualified for the league’s double-elimination playoffs were Presidential Catering, Collegeville, Whitpain, Paul’s Auto, and Valley Forge.  JP Mascaro ran through the playoffs, defeating Collegeville at Methacton High School in the final 8-6.

Ivy Ridge continued its recent dominance for the Philadelphia County League last year, finishing with only one league loss, and defeating Bustleton 6-5 in 8 innings for the playoff title.  The Panthers set a torrid offensive pace throughout the season, scoring over 200 runs in league play.  In addition to Bustleton, Loudenslager and Rhawnhurst also had successful seasons, but could not match the power of Ivy Ridge.  Following a league title and regional berth in 2007, the Del Val Senators had a disappointing campaign, finishing near the bottom of the league standings.

Concord paced the Main Line League last summer with a 14-2-1 record, finishing the regular season just ahead of Narberth and 2007 League Champion Wayne.  Narberth wound up being the more successful team in the playoffs and claimed the league’s playoff title and its accompanying berth in the Region Three Tournament.  Joining Narberth in the somewhat surprising final matchup was Springfield, which had finished the regular season at 8-6-1.  Narberth had to fight from behind twice to claim a 10-9 victory and survival into the next round of the Legion playoffs.

Bristol knocked off traditional Lower Bucks power Yardley Western to win that league’s title in 2009.  Although Bristol finished only third in the regular season standings, Post 382 caught fire in the playoffs to grab the league’s regional berth.  Bristol first swept their semifinal series with Falls, a team that dealt Bristol three losses in the regular season.  In the finals, Bristol dropped the first gameof the series to Yardley 6-5, but rebounded with a 6-1 victory in Game Two tof orce a third and deciding game.  There, Bristol dispatched Yardley 12-5 to be crowned champion.

The 2009 Region Three Tournament was hosted by the Spring City Red Sox at Royersford’s Ram Stadium. Joining the Red Sox were Chester County foe Norchester, Main Line Champ Narberth, Greater Norristown rep JP Mascaro, Ivy Ridge from Philadelphia, Bristol from the Lower Bucks League, and Fort Washington and Warminster from the Lower Montco League.  Norchester, Fort Washington, Warminster, and Bristol were first day victors, with Norchester and Fort Washington meeting on day three in the Winner’s Bracket Final.  Norchester won this battle, and after eliminating Bristol in Game 13 of the tournament, beat league rival Spring City to claim another regional title and a trip to Bear Stadium in Boyertown for the State Tournament.

2009 Region Three Tournament Results

First Round

Norchester d. Narberth

Fort Washington d. JP Mascaro

Warminster d. Ivy Ridge

Bristol d. Spring City

Loser’s Bracket

Narberth d. Ivy Ridge (Ivy Ridge eliminated)

Spring City d. JP Mascaro (JP Mascaro eliminated)

Winner’s Bracket

Norchester d. Warminster

Fort Washington d. Bristol

Loser’s Bracket

Spring City d. Warminster (Warminster eliminated)

Bristol d. Narberth (Narberth eliminated)

Winner’s Bracket

Norchester d. Fort Washington

Championship Qualifier Round

Spring City d. Fort Washington (Fort Washington eliminated)

Norchester d. Bristol (Bristol eliminated)

Championship Round

Norchester d. Spring City (Spring City eliminated, Norchester advances to State Tournament)