That is if they can get out of districts. And that is a daunting fast because year after year, District produces elite softball. Last year was no different with South Williamsport and Northeast Bradford reaching state championships. Escape District 4 and one is about as prepared as a team can be moving forward.

The following is a look at the four District 4 tournaments which open this afternoon. Williamsport (16-3) plays through District 2 and earned the top seed after capturing a second straight HAC-I championship. The Millionaires will host either Scranton or Wilkes-Barre in Thursday’s semifinals at Millionaire Mountain.

Class AAAA

(4 teams, champion

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Montoursville's Julie Friel (7) crosses the plate during a high school softball game against Loyalsock at Short Park on Tuesday.

advances)

It was like election night Saturday afternoon as Jersey Shore, Central Columbia and defending champion Athens all jockeyed for the top seed. The Bulldogs took the spot and face No. 4 Midd-West in Friday’s semifinals, while Central plays Athens.

Jersey Shore (14-5) captured the championship in 2023-24 before Athens dethroned it, 1-0 in last year’s semifinals. The Bulldogs finished second to Williamsport in the HAC-I and have won five of their last six games. A nice mix of senior leadership and exciting young players has helped pave the way. Shortstop Dani Miller and second baseman/pitcher Lynna Clark both have topped 100 career hits, while Lexi Frey has enjoyed a strong season at the plate and in the pitching circle. Freshmen like Amelia Thomas, Aubree Reichard and Maddi Thomas and Sophia Wrench all have made big contributions and senior outfielder Mya Lehman has provided consistent offensive and defensive production.

Midd-West won the 2024 Class AAA district crown and reached last year’s 4A final. The Mustangs (12-7) split two games with Central and won their last two regular season contests by a 22-3 margin. Emma Wagner has 8-2 with a 1.82 ERA and is hitting .431. Freshman Olivia Dorman is hitting .545, Wagner has 28 RBIs and four batters are hitting .404 or higher.

Central (16-4) has won nine of its last 10 games with its lone loss coming against undefeated Mifflinburg. Sophomore Teddi Snavely is an excellent pitcher and the offense has been raking, scoring 53 runs in the last five games. Central won its rematch against Midd-West and also defeated Hughesville, 11-7 last Tuesday.

Zoe Furman (22) of Montgomery triples in the second inning against Benton in Montgomery. The Montgomery Red Raiders won 21-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Athens (15-4) suffered a huge blow when it lost pitcher Gretchen Hiley, who had 204 strikeouts in 106 innings, to an arm injury in last week’s 4-3 win at Lake-Lehman. Still, the NTL-I champions remain strong with Hiley’s older sister Maddie Hiley allowing just four hits in six innings against Lake-Lehman as Athens handed it just its second loss. She also leads the team with a .340 average and 16 RBIs.

Tournament sleeper–Midd-West: All four teams are legitimate title contenders, so might as well go with the No. 4 seed. This seems like a field as even as it was in 2023 when Jersey Shore took the crown as the No. 4 seed in a four-team field.

Projected final: Central over Midd-West.

Class AAA

(8 teams, top two advance)

This is one of the more loaded District 4 fields in recent memory with all eight teams looking dangerous. Top-seeded Mifflinburg (19-0) went undefeated and has battered several quality teams, including defending champion Loyalsock (10-0) but this tournament is anything but a coronation.

Mifflinburg has been building toward this season the last three years and features several four-year starters, including pitcher Taylor Stewart who is 18-0 with a 1.06 ERA. The lefty has allowed 58 hits in 106 innings and struck out 141. She also is hitting .480 for a balanced offense which possesses three .400 hitters and five players with at least 20 RBIs.

No. 8 Wellsboro gets the first crack at Mifflinburg and is not the typical eighth seed. Sophomore pitcher Ady Frantz has had a sensational season, pitching well against a rugged NTL-I field while fanning 212 batters in 109 1/3 innings. She also is hitting .468, while Haylie Smith is at .339. Catcher Teagan Novinger has thrown out six runners trying to steal and coach Greg Carr has a terrific young foundation in place going forward, similar to last decade when he led Wellsboro to its first district title in 2015.

The winner of Wellsboro-Mifflinburg plays either No. 5 North Penn-Liberty or No. 4 Hughesville in the semifinals. North Penn-Liberty (14-4) has impressive wins against Athens and Towanda and pitcher Elyna Booth is 12-4 with a 1.38 and 169 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings, while Bucknell-bound Haley Litzelman is hitting. 518. Freshman Julia Kaczynski is having a terrific debut season, hitting .449.

Hughesville (14-5) reached last year’s final and has big wins against Athens and North Penn-Liberty late this season. The Spartans had never won more than 12 games in a year before 2025 but now are 31-12 the past two seasons. Maddie Smith and Addison Henninger and have been pitched well and the offense has surged late in the season, production coming throughout the order, five players hitting .350 or higher. The Spartans have only one senior, Kiana Peck who played a fantastic game last Thursday against North Penn-Liberty.

Defending champion Loyalsock earned the No. 2 seed after winning a fourth straight HAC-III championship. The Lancers closed strong, winning three games last weekend, including a 1-0 victory at Holy Redeemer. Easton Waller threw a one-hit shutout, fanning nine and went 2-0 with three hits allowed and 24 strikeouts in two starts last weekend. Kinsie Phillips hit two home runs in those games and Shyla Fulp and Maddie Wertz both had four hits in a doubleheader sweep of Southern Columbia. The Lancers return several starters from last year’s team as well and host No. 7 Warrior Run Thursday.

The winner of that game will play either Towanda or Montoursville. No. 3 Towanda (14-4) has won six of its last eight games with the only losses coming against Athens and Tunkhannock in extra innings. Pitcher Leia Cobb is one of the district’s best, going 14-4 with a 1.06 ERA, while allowing 49 hits and striking out 198 in 112 2/3 innings. Brooklyn Evans ignites the offense, hitting .473 with three home runs and 24 RBIs.

No. 6 Montoursville (14-6) closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak and also has a standout pitcher in Julie Friel. The senior has struck out 40 in her last three starts and has a 1.88 ERA. Seniors Emily George and Kayleigh Sheleman both are having strong seasons as is freshman Trinity Belle who has 23 hits in her debut season. Like all the teams in this field, Montoursville is a battle-tested group, producing wins against Central, Loyalsock and Hughesville.

Tournament sleeper–Warrior Run: The Defenders (11-9) won their last four regular season games and reached the 2023 final as a No. 6 seed. Warrior Run gets another shot against Loyalsock and has some dangerous hitters, including Maura Woland and Makenzie Heffner in the top half of the lineup. Pitcher Mackenzie Litchard also has thrown well down the stretch.

Best quarterfinal–North Penn-Liberty at Hughesville: Just five days after playing one of the year’s most exciting area games at Hughesville, these familiar foes meet again. Hughesville won that thriller, 4-3 in nine innings with Booth and Smith both escaping enough jams to make Houdini smile and North Penn-Liberty rallying from three down in the sixth to force extra innings. This is the third straight year these teams are playing in the playoffs with each having a victory.

Projected semifinals: Mifflinburg over North Penn-Liberty; Towanda over Loyalsock. Projected final: Mifflinburg over Towanda,

Class AA

(3 teams, champion

advances)

For the first time since 2021, this field will crown a champion other than South Williamsport. Undefeated Northwest (20-0) awaits the winner of Williamson-Wyalusing. No. 3 Williamson (13-7) is making its third straight playoff appearance and has won four straight games, including impressive closing victories against Wellsboro and Northern Potter. Olivia Gee threw an eight-inning four-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Northern Potter and Kenna Thomas is another strong pitcher who is 7-3 with a 1.57 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings. Lexi Smalley is hitting .404 and Thomas has 26 RBIs.

Wyalusing (14-6) defeated Williamson, 8-0 at midseason as Addison Fluck threw a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts. Fluck did not pitch when Northwest defeated Wyalusing, 13-7 last month and is 12-4 with a 0.26 ERA, allowing just 49 hits in 107 innings and striking 123.

Northwest ran roughshod over every Mid-Penn team not named Montgomery or Bucktail and dropped an extra-inning heartbreaker against Troy in last year’s semifinals. Pitchers Jenna Robaczewski and Natalia Ninotti each have enjoyed dominant seasons and Northwest is hitting a collective .447 with Ava Ruckle putting up video game numbers of 14 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Projected final: Wyalusing over Northwest.

Class A

(4 teams, top two advance)

Cowanesque Valley crashed the Mid-Penn party with it being the lone non-Mid Penn team in this four-team field. The No. 3 Indians (10-10) also are quite dangerous, cutting their teeth while playing several games against the loaded NTL-I field.

CV faces No. 2 Montgomery (14-6) today at Elm Park and is seeking its first district crown since 2003. Shortstop Zeraya Wilson is a defensive whiz who is hitting .492 with 19 RBIs. Pitcher Lilah LeBarron is hitting a team-high .515 with 29 RBIs, while also striking out 92 batters in 84 innings. Sophomore Raegan Watson hits .448 for a team with a bright future as well since Wilson is its lone senior starter.

Montgomery also prepared well for the postseason, playing a demanding non-conference schedule which included games against 3A qualifiers North Penn-Liberty and Warrior Run. The Red Raiders also blanked Canton, 13-0 in its regular-season finale, a strong performance given Canton downed top-seeded Bucktail, 15-0 early this season. Madisyn Miller hits .508 with 32 RBIs and center fielder is one of the field’s best defenders, also hitting .459 with 34 RBIs. Ramona Kroll, Addison Greger and Chloe Gordner also are full-time starters hitting above .400 while Ava Hartman, Arianna Snyder and Jenna Houseknecht all have thrown quality innings.

Bucktail (14-4) is seeking its third championship in four years and fourth consecutive state tournament/district final appearance, facing Sullivan County. The Bucks feature a dangerous offense and Kendall Wagner, Kelsie Wagner and Haleigh Dent all homered in last week’s 7-3 loss against Northwest. Kendall Wagner is having a monster season, hitting .745 with 23 extra-base hits and 40 RBIs. She, Eva Sockman and Lola English all have topped 100 career hits with Sockman also going over 100 RBIs. They and Rebekah Conway all are hitting above .400, while Kelsie Wagner and Carrie Ditty both have thrown well.

Sullivan (10-8) is making its fifth straight tournament appearance, the best run in program history. Despite some heavy graduation losses, Sullivan made it back and is trying for its second final appearance in three years after pushing eventual state finalist Northeast Bradford hard in last year’s semifinals. Miley Dickinson, Charley Insinger and Mariah Hallabuk all have 18 RBIs and four-year starting pitcher Emilia Viveiros has 335 career strikeouts.

Projected final: Cowanesque Valley over Bucktail.