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Central top-seeded in baseball, softball

District 6 playoffs

Central garnered top seeds in two sports as District 6 announced its playoff pairings for Class 3A, 2A and 1A in baseball, all six classes for softball and both classifications in boys volleyball on Friday afternoon.

The Scarlet Dragons easily outdistanced seven other entries to nail down the No. 1 spot in the Class 3A baseball tournament. Meanwhile, the Lady Dragons edged out fellow Altoona Mirror area teams Philipsburg-Osceola and Penn Cambria for the highest slot in the Class 3A bracket for softball.

All three of the top seeds that were announced in baseball are from the Mirror area: Juniata Valley will attempt to win a third straight D6 title as the top team in 1A, while Portage secured the pole position in 2A.

Glendale’s softball team and Altoona’s and Bishop Guilfoyle’s volleyball squads also are seeded first. The D6 playoffs in volleyball begin on May 18, with baseball getting underway on May 19 and softball on May 22.

A total of 28 teams from the Mirror area are entered in the brackets that were announced on Friday.

The District 6 champion in 2A in two of the last six years, the Central baseball team opens the postseason hosting eighth seed Ligonier Valley on May 19 with a possible semifinal showdown looming with fourth-ranked Philipsburg-Osceola on May 22 if both win their playoff openers. Penn Cambria is the second seed in the field and hosts Huntingdon in the quarterfinals.

Portage begins its trek for a D6-2A baseball crown at home against Moshannon Valley on May 20, a prelude to a possible semifinal encounter with 2016 champion Bishop McCort in the semis. The other half of the bracket kicks off with sixth-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle traveling to No. 3 Bellwood-Antis.

Juniata Valley drew a bye into the D6-1A semifinals, so the Green Hornets won’t play until May 23. Claysburg-Kimmel is the only area team in action in the quarterfinals in Class 1A and is seeded fifth.

The Central softball team will be battling with three other schools from the area in search of the Class 3A crown. The Lady Dragons have a bye into the semifinals, where they’ll host the winner of the Cambria Heights/Ligonier Valley game. Philipsburg-Osceola got the second seed, while Penn Cambria is third.

Glendale also has a pass into the semifinals in 1A on May 25, when the Lady Vikings will host either Portage or Homer-Center. Claysburg-Kimmel is the second seed and Bishop Carroll is third — Claysburg hosts Moshannon Valley in the quarters on May 22.

At No. 3, Northern Cambria is the highest area seed in Class 2A. Bellwood-Antis is eighth and opens at top-seeded Conemaugh Valley on May 22.

Altoona will be hosting a softball game as the second seed in Class 6A on May 22, while the Lady Lions face State College for the right to play Mifflin County at Penn State on May 24. Hollidaysburg is the third seed in Class 5A and plays at DuBois, while Huntingdon is the fourth seed in 4A and travels to Bellefonte — both of those games also will be May 22.

Dates for the volleyball finals have yet to be determined, but the tournaments will open on May 18 when Huntingdon travels to Forest Hills for a Class 2A match; the winner meets top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle in the finals. Altoona and State College are the only teams entered in Class 3A.

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