District 3 Softball: Breaking down the playoffs that include 8 Sentinel-area teams (2024)

The 2024 District 3 softball playoffs are scheduled to begin with first-round games Monday. Eight Sentinel area teams qualified for the tournament in their respective brackets released by District 3 officials Friday.

Here’s a quick overview of the playoff fields in each classification.

To review the full list of final District 3 power rankings, click here.

Class 6A

Schedule: First round, Monday; quarterfinals, Thursday; semifinals, May 28; championship, May 30.

Number of teams that qualified: 12 (top 4 advance to states)

Local teams with first-round games: No. 7 Carlisle vs. No. 10 Northeastern (12-7)

Local teams with quarterfinal games: No.1Cumberland Valley (hosting No. 8 Penn Manor or No. 9 Central York)

Notes: Northeastern went 0-3 against Mid-Penn teams during the regular season. … Cumberland Valley is the defending Class 6A champion. The Eagles defeated rival Central Dauphin in the final. Two wins for each team would set up a rematch.

Class 5A

Schedule: First round, Monday; quarterfinals, Thursday; semifinals, May 28; championship, May 30.

Number of teams that qualified: 16 (top 4 advance to states)

Local teams with first-round games: No. 4 Mechanicsburg vs. No. 13 Susquehannock; No. 14 Shippensburg at No. 3 Northern.

Notes: Northern defeated Mechanicsburg in last year’s Class 5A final The teams are once again at the opposite ends of the bracket. … The Wildcats won their second consecutive Mid-Penn Keystone Division title and lost to Cumberland Valley in the conference championship game. … Northern swept its two-game regular-season series with Shippensburg during the Mid-Penn Colonial schedule. … Shippensburg has reached the quarterfinal round in each of the last three seasons.

Class 4A

Schedule: First round, Monday; quarterfinals, Thursday; semifinals, May 28; championship, May 30

Number of teams that qualified: 10 (top 3 advance to states)

Local teams with first-round games: No. 9 Big Spring at No. 8 Berks Catholic.

Local teams with quarterfinal games: No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 East Pennsboro.

Notes: The matchup between the Bulldogs and the Saints is a repeat from last year’s quarterfinals when Berks Catholic pulled off a 3-2 victory in Newville. … Big Spring reached the final in 2022 and lost to Hamburg. … Trinity and East Pennsboro split a pair of Mid-Penn Capital games during the regular season. The Shamrocks went on to win the division…. Trinity moved up to Class 4A from 3A prior to last season and finished third in their first Class 4A tournament.

Class 3A

Schedule: Quarterfinals, Monday; semifinals, Thursday; championship, May 28

Number of teams that qualified: Seven (top 2 advance to states)

Local teams with quarterfinal games: None.

Local teams with semifinal games: None.

Notes: Biglerville enters the tournament as a top seed with a 17-2 record. The Canners are in the dance for the first time since 1994.

Class 2A

Schedule: Semifinals, Thursday; championship, May 28

Number of teams that qualified: Four (champion advances to states)

Local qualifiers: None.

Notes: Newport, seeded third, won last year’s tournament.

Class A

Schedule: Championship, Wednesday

Number of teams that qualified: Two (Winner advances to PIAA play-in game against No. 1 team from District 1).

Local qualifiers: None.

Notes: The championship game features No. 1 Halifax (4-16) vs. No. 2 Greenwood (3-17). Halifax won both regular-season games between the two teams. They split a pair of regular-season games after Halifax won last year’s title.