Matt Corbett's high school baseball column: Those teams you don't want to play

May 07, 2008 05:52 am

— You've seen them before. And they're back again this season.
They're the teams nobody wants to play when the playoffs roll around.
You know the type. Perhaps it's a team that has underperformed during the regular season but is peaking at the right time. Perhaps it's a young team that suffered growing pains, but suddenly its freshmen are playing like sophomores and its sophomores like juniors. Perhaps it's a veteran team that got off to a slow start before hitting its stride.
Whatever the situation, this season's TYDWTPs (teams you don't want to play) appear to be Danville and Mifflinburg. After struggling around .500 much of the season, the Ironmen and Wildcats have answered the bell in the second half of the strenuous Susquehanna Valley League schedule.
While Selinsgrove, Shikellamy, Jersey Shore and Montoursville have pretty much met expectations to date -- the Seals and Bulldogs may well decide the regular-season title today when they clash at Jersey Shore -- Danville and Mifflinburg will likely be the wild cards in the District 4 Class AAA tournament.
Neither is offically in at this point -- each needs one more win at 9-7 -- but let's assume they get in. Who wants to play these guys?
Consider what has happened in just the past couple of weeks. On April 25, the Ironmen and Wildcats spilt a doubleheader (one of which was the completion of a suspended, extra-inning game.) That kept them pretty much in place.
Three days later, Milfflinburg handled Central Columbia 3-1 and Danville hammered Lewisburg 13-1. The next day, the Ironmen posted a 9-6 victory over Milton to improve to 8-6, while Mifflinburg fell to 7-7 with a loss to Hughesville.
Two days later, Danville held on to upset SVL co-leader Selinsgrove 9-8, while Mifflinburg defeated rival Lewisburg -- which won the first meeting between the two -- to get back to a game over .500.
On Monday, it was Mifflinburg's turn to knock off a front-runner, when the Wildcats stunned a one-loss Jersey Shore team 3-2 to reach the playoff precipice.
On the same day, Danville came very close to knocking off another powerhouse before falling to Montoursville 3-2.
The Warriors provide a common thread here. On April 18, Mifflinburg picked up its biggest win of the season, rallying from a seven-run deficit to edge Montoursville 10-9 in what may prove to be a season-changing outcome.
We're going to give the Ironmen and Wildcats the benefit of the doubt and pencil them in the District 4 Class AAA bracket.
And while Selinsgrove, Jersey Shore, Shikellamy and Montoursville will remain the Class AAA favorites, Danville and Mifflinburg will certainly add spice to an already loaded field. After all, they're this year's TYDWTPs.
n E-mail comments to mcorbett@dailyitem.com