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By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

With the main portion of the summer evaluation season over, it's time to turn the mirror on ourselves and see how our pre-season predictions for the top teams in the state worked out, continuing today with PIAA Class AAA. Since we broke up the state tournament berth forecast by district, we'll do the analysis that way as well.

District I (1 bid)

How we saw it: Holy Ghost Prep
How it played out: Holy Ghost Prep

After falling one win short of a state berth in 2014, the Firebirds were not to be denied this year, winning both of their district playoff games via mercy-rule in five innings.

District II (1 bid)

How we saw it: Abington Heights
How it played out: Abington Heights

The Comets won their third district title in a row, rolling unchallenged through the district bracket into the title game before dispatching bitter rival Valley View for the fourth time that spring (and third time in a row in the district playoffs).

District III (4 bids)

How we saw it: Greencastle-Antrim, Middletown Area, West Perry, Northeastern
How it played out: Donegal, Spring Grove Area, Twin Valley, Manheim Central

While we were pretty locked in for the rest of class 3A, things went off the rails for us in District III. Not only did none of our favorites earn state berths, but Donegal was the only one among the four state participants who we had among our pre-season top eleven in the district. With state bids on the line, Greencastle-Antrim and Middletown fell to Spring Grove and Twin Valley, respectively, in the district quarterfinals. Entering the bracket with a 19-3 record, West Perry suffered an agonizing 1-0 upset in round one. Northeastern missed the post-season by percentage points in the power rankings.

District IV (1 bid)

How we saw it: Jersey Shore Area
How it played out: Jersey Shore Area

Make it one for the thumb for the Bulldogs, who captured their fifth straight district crown. They had to work for it, however, as Shikellamy rallied for four runs over the final two innings in the district title game before Jersey Shore tallied the clincher in the first extra frame.

Sub-Regional V/VI (1 bid)

How we saw it: Somerset Area
How it played out: Bellefonte Area

Bellefonte bounced back in a big way from a 6-12 season a year ago to capture a state bid. Two one-run victories in the sub-regional, including the championship game against back-to-back district champ Somerset, did the trick.

District VII (3 bids)

How we saw it: West Allegheny, Montour, West Mifflin Area
How it played out: Knoch, West Allegheny, Montour

Despite finishing behind Chartiers Valley in WPIAL Section 3, West Allegheny and Montour rose to the occasion in the WPIAL playoffs. Eventual state champ Knoch was on the preseason radar as one of the top dozen teams in the WPIAL, but certainly exceeded expectations. West Mifflin entered the WPIAL playoffs 13-2 against in-state competition, but were ousted in round one by Montour.

Sub-Regional VIII/IX (1 bid)

How we saw it: Punxsutawney Area
How it played out: Punxsutawney Area

This one was a bit of a gimme. Punxsutawney has earned a state bid every year since 2004. We will continue to copy-and-paste our prediction for them until someone proves on the field that we shouldn't.

District X (1 bid)

How we saw it: Cathedral Prep
How it played out: Cathedral Prep

The Ramblers entered the post-season with only one loss against an in-state school (2-1 to 4A McDowell) and had little trouble into the district title game, where they had an answer for every challenge Slippery Rock Area threw at them.

District XI (1 bid)

How we saw it: Tamaqua Area
How it played out: Pottsville Area

We saw three primary contenders for this state bid and that's how it played out. Pottsville KO'd Tamaqua in the semifinals (its third win in 2015 of three runs or less over the back-to-back district champ) before quelling Blue Mountain in the district title game.

District XII (2 bids)

How we saw it: Archbishop Wood, Franklin Towne Charter
How it played out: Archbishop Wood, Franklin Towne Charter

Wood captured the Philadelphia Catholic League regular-season and tournament crowns. FTC ran away from the rest of 3A in the Philadelphia Public League regular-season before taking home the PPL tournament title.