It may have taken three days as well as weathering a rare May arctic blast, but Tuesday's District 3 softball semifinal-round matchups are etched in stone:
Class AAAA
Cumberland Valley vs. Central Dauphin, Messiah College, 4:30 p.m.;
Hempfield vs. Daniel Boone, Millersville University, 6:30 p.m.
Class AAA
Twin Valley vs. Manheim Central, Millersville University, 4:30 p.m.;
Donegal vs. Greencastle-Antrim, Carlisle HS, 4:30 p.m.
Class AA
Brandywine Heights vs. Schuylkill Valley, Lyons Park, Fleetwood, 4:30 p.m.;
Pequea Valley vs. Susquenita, Lebanon Valley College, 4:30 p.m.
Class A
Championship game
Greenwood vs. Millersburg, Wednesday, Halifax HS, 4:30 p.m.
PLAYOFF NOTES: Semifinalists in the top three classes have an aggregate record of 224-50 and some intriguing matchups are on tap.
Three games to watch in particular are Susquenita-Pequea Valley in AA, Twin Valley-Manheim Central in AAA and CV-CD in Class AAAA.
Pequea Valley knocked off No. 2 Delone Catholic 2-1 but Susquenita is pitching rich, can hit deep in the order and has tremendous leadoff speed.
It's a Berks vs. Lan-Leb showdown in AAA as Manheim Central pitcher Sara McKee has thrown two shutouts. Twin Valley has yet to yield a run, either, winning a 1-0 thriller over Northern on Thursday.
Cumberland Valley has beaten Central Dauphin twice by a combined 18-2 score and thus earns the favorite's role. CD is peaking, winning seven of its last eight.
Look for more about the semifinals on Pennlive on Tuesday.
LD'S SEASON ENDS: Lower Dauphin has been known for its powerful pitching the past four or five seasons or even more. Cumberland Valley ended LD's season on Thursday in the Class AAAA quarterfinals by pinning a 9-2 loss on the Falcons.
While LD wasn't its typical self this season, the Falcons still managed to win 16 games, and coach Steve Alcorn heaped praise on senior pitcher Steph Knaub.
"Our pitching wasn’t as strong as it had been in the last four or five years, but Steph Knaub pitched her rear end off for us,'' Alcorn said after Thursday's game with CV.
"She did a great job for such a small kid. A lot of heart, a lot of drive, a lot of desire. A hard worker. I just can’t say enough about her. She’s a great kid.''
Tiffany Grubb was LD's other pitcher but a shoulder injury prevented her from playing against CV.
The Falcons' hitting attack went south a bit during the team's final few games as LD averaged just 5.5 runs per game over the final four games. They managed just one hit against Cumberland Valley ace Kayla Sullenberger.
"We didn’t hit the ball,'' Alcorn said. "You gotta hit the ball, you gotta score runs and we just didn’t do that.''