Even after a surprising loss yesterday, NorChester still had one more loss between themselves and a painfully early ending to their season. Their matchup tonight was none other than their longtime rival, the Spring City Red Sox. NorChester got the best of the Chester County League in southeastern PA in the regular season, claiming the league's first berth to the regional tournament by finishing first.
Spring City fought their way back in the league's playoffs, topping NorChester for the league crown and the second berth into this week's Region 3 Tournament.
Seeing these two teams squaring off on day three of regionals is no surprise, though most expected it would come in the winner's bracket final with both powers fighting for a spot in the championship round. After a first round loss for Spring City, one that had more than its fair share of controversy, the Red Sox bounced back to narrowly edge Philly champ Ivy Ridge 3-2 on Sunday.
NorChester cruised to an 8-0 win over host Warminster on day 1, before succumbing to the Haulers of JP Mascaro in game 8 of the tournament. That set up today's inevitable showdown, with much more on the line than any of the teams' previous encounters.
Spring City proved that what they did in the Chester County Playoffs was no fluke, as they handed the Bulldogs a season ending 9-6 defeat earlier today in Warminster. NorChester was widely considered to be one of, if not the best, teams in the state this year. With a wide open field, and many perennial powers from around the state faltering this year, it appeared NorChester's title for the taking.
What will be remembered as more suprising than anything, is the way with which NorChester bowed out of the state legion playoffs. After all, their lone victory came against the host team. For a team that has represented Pennsylvania in national regionals several times over the past couple of years, the Bulldogs will certainly be more than upset with the way things ended.
Spring City will move on to Tuesday's action, still one loss from elimination. With the way the Red Sox have performed so well under pressure so far this postseason, they are showing proving that they believe that the state's top team will in fact hail from the Chester County League. Only time will tell, but Spring City has positioned themselves well to make a run at the regional title.
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