With league playoffs just a few weeks away, teams around the state have begun to position themselves for their respective league tournaments in pursuit of coveted regional tournament berths. In Pennsylvania's Region Two, a number of close races are starting to develop. The regional tournament this year will be held at West Lawn's Owls Field at Ted Palka Park.
In the Berks County League, the league race remains wide open. And while only the league's tournament champ will join league rival West Lawn at regionals, the top seeds will get homefield advantage for the first two rounds. The league playoffs will then shift to Shillington for their conclusion. At the moment, just a few games separate the top of the league from the bottom. League and region newcomer Norchester has rebounded after a poor start in their non-league schedule and perennial power Boyertown is near the top as well. However, Daniel Boone and Exeter has scored big wins in recent days, and all of the teams remain in the hunt for the regular season title as the league season approaches its halfway point.
Over in the Bux-Mont League, Souderton, Pennridge, and Doylestown have begun to separate themselves from the pack. The league will send two teams to West Lawn, and the regular season champion will claim one of those spots. At this point, Souderton holds a half game lead over Pennridge, with Doylestown a game behind. Nor-Gwyn, typically at or near the top of the league has struggled to this point, and is in danger of missing the playoffs.
Up in the Lehigh Valley League, North Parkland finds itself as the current leader. Like the Berks League, the Lehigh Valley League will only send its playoff champ to regionals. Southern Lehigh appears to be North Parkland's most serious challenger right now, but there is still plenty of time for others to make a move to the top. Northern Valley and Fullerton, the league's regional reps a year ago, find themselves in the middle of the pack.
Familiar teams highlight the top of the standings in the Norco League. Bath and Nazareth lead the way with 10-1 and 8-1 records, respectively. Both teams appeared in last year's regionals at Nor-Gwyn. Kemp Post and Roseto lead their divisions, but are a few games behind Bath overall. The league will send just one representative to regionals, so the playoff competition should be especially fierce. Nazareth defeated Bath 8-0 in their only meeting so far.
While several teams in the Schuylkill-Berks League got late starts due to high school playoffs, the league has now kicked into full gear. In the Schuylkill Division, perennial title challenger Southern Area leads the way. The A's hope to book a return trip to regionals following their 0-2 showing a year ago. Minersville has also gotton off to a strong start. In the Berks Division, Muhlenberg holds a half game lead over Oley/Topton. Oley/Topton just began their season, but they have started very strong, and it looks like the division title will likely come down to the Patriots and A's. The Schuylkill-Berks League will send two teams to the regional tournament.
League standings can be found at the dropdown menu for Region Two. If you'd like to write a roundup for your region, or if you have scores or updated standings to submit, then can be sent to palegionbaseball@gmail.com.
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