Mifflin in strong position to earn District 3 home opener as deadline approaches
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Gov. Mifflin could enter the District 3 Class 5A baseball tournament as the No. 2 seed, and that might not be such a bad thing.
In the seven years since the PIAA expanded to six classifications a No. 1seed has never won the Class 5A or 6A championship in District 3.
The Mustangs are among eight Berks teams in strong position to qualify for the District 3 Tournament, which opens May 17 with games in Class 6A, 5A, 4A and 1A. The tournament opens in Class 3A and 2A on May 20.
With less than two weeks to go before the May 14 cutoff date the Mustangs are the highest-seeded Berks team in any of the six classifications. They are in line for a home opener, along with the other top seven highest-seeded teams in the 16-team Class 5A field.
Click here to find District 3 power ratings
Twin Valley is No. 5 and Muhlenberg No. 7. Mechanicsburg, the only unbeaten team in District 3, is the No. 1 seed.
In Class 6A, Wilson is No. 6 in the power ratings and in position for a home opener; to earn a first-round bye the Bulldogs will have to finish among the top four teams. They have just two games left to improve their position, today against Reading High and Friday in a Berks League Division I showdown at Gov. Mifflin. The Bulldogs won the first meeting against the Mustangs, 6-5 in eight innings.
Wilson had been as high as No. 2 in the power ratings before losses to top-seeded Red Lion and Muhlenberg within the last week.
The Bulldogs reached the district championship game last season, falling to Cedar Cliff 7-1.
In Class 4A, Fleetwood is No. 5 and Berks Catholic No. 6 in the power ratings entering play Wednesday. Both teams are looking at a first-round bye if they hold one of the top six spots; to earn a home-opener they’ll have to move up to No. 4.
Oley Valley is No. 4 in Class 3A and in position for a home-opener. Only the top seed in 3A earns a first-round bye.
Kutztown, the defending champ in Class 2A, is No. 4 in the power ratings; only the top four qualify.
The Cougars beat Halifax 5-1 last year for their sixth district championship; only Oley Valley, with nine, has more district titles among Berks teams.
Kutztown was Berks’ only district champ last year. Wilson and Muhlenberg also qualified for the PIAA Tournament.
There were no Berks champs in 2022.
Gov. Mifflin has never won a District 3 championship; it has reached the title game three times, as recently as 2021 when it lost to Wilson. The Mustangs went into last year’s tournament as the No. 2 seed but lost at home in the opening round to Berks I rival Exeter, 4-1.
All games through the semifinals will be played on the home field of the higher-seeded team. The championships will be played at neutral sites. Last year, championship games were played at FirstEnergy Stadium, Cumberland Valley, Wenger Field in Fredericksburg and Memorial Field in Hershey.
The championship games in Class 2A and 1A are scheduled for May 23; the other four championship games are scheduled for May 28.
The PIAA Tournament begins June 3.
