And that was just the regular season.

For a second straight year, South Williamsport played District 4 Class AA’s toughest schedule. For a second straight season, the Mounties are district champions.

In a year filled with playoff-type games, South again has played its best baseball at playoff time and repeated as district champions Tuesday when it defeated top-seeded Southern Columbia, 4-1. Like last year, South (14-7) vanquished the field’s top two seeds, Southern and Montgomery, winning exciting games each time.

“We have faced good pitchers and good teams all the time,” shortstop Levi Butler said following a 3-2 semifinal win against Montgomery. “It definitely prepares you for games like this.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport pitcher Cole Gerber (3) is congratulated by team mates after striking out the Southern batter for the third out with runners on base.

It certainly does. That’s the point. South is not part of a league, so when Casey Waller became the team’s coach in 2021 he pushed for a demanding schedule which would consistently test his team. His son Chase has adopted the same philosophy after taking the reins a year ago and it continues paying huge dividends.

South has played in five straight district finals, won three championships during that span, and will compete in the state tournament for a fifth consecutive season Monday when it travels to District 3 champion Halifax.

It’s been far from easy, but embracing the hard so often has helped South become the district’s best.

“We’ve been here all season. Nothing is new. We’ve been in close games all year with very good teams,” senior catcher Trace Wertz said after going 1 for 2 with an RBI against Southern. “We may complain about how hard a season we have, but at the end of the day it helps us a lot.”

That has shown in both playoff wins. South rallied from a 2-0 fifth inning deficit against Montgomery and Penn State-bound pitcher Briar Persing, avenging a 3-0 regular season loss. Persing had thrown 12 straight scoreless innings against South this season but experience hardened the Mounties and convinced them they could rally.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South Williamsport team mates are all smiles after their 4-1 win over Southern Columbia for the District IV Class AA baseball championship at Central Columbia Tuesday.

They had done so before this season, winning four games in their final at-bat. They made it five that night as Butler’s seventh inning single and clutch pitching from Cole Gerber and Chance Quimby earned the Mounties the 3-2 win.

“We play a ton of good teams and close games,” Gerber said. “Just being in those games gives you a lot of confidence.”

It was a similar story last year. South was the last team in the playoffs as a young squad with just one senior went 10-10. The Mounties were one strike from elimination before Gerber hit a game-tying seventh inning double at North Penn-Mansfield and Jax Miller dropped a perfect ninth inning RBI bunt.

The last team in became the last team out. South knew it was better than that record indicated last spring and proved it, first winning a 7-4, eight-inning thriller against Southern before erasing a one-run fifth inning deficit and beating Montgomery, 3-2. Different order this year, but nearly identical results.

“We play tough competition all year. I told the guys you’re battle-tested. You’re going through adversity when you play the Montoursville’s the Williamsport’s the North Schuylkill’s, Wellsboro’s, Hughesville’s Troy’s and Warrior Run’s of the world,” Waller said. “It’s a loaded schedule. I told them when adversity hits us in the face, we’ll be better for having that schedule.”

Different year, same result. No District 4 AA or A team played a more demanding schedule in terms of winning percentage. Only 6A Williamsport and 3A champ Mifflinburg, as well as Hughesville, played teams with higher combined winning percentages.

South stared down 4A champion Montoursville, 3A runner-up Warrior Run, and 6A/HAC-I champion Williamsport among others. Only five of 19 regular season opponents did not reach the playoffs and/or having winning records. So, while South lost extra-inning heartbreakers against Montoursville and Williamsport, it gained valuable experience.

Going through the hard times has helped South experience the best of times in late May again. Sure, South would like to win every game but it also is not willing to sacrifice vital postseason preparation for a few rollover wins. Iron sharpens iron and South embracing that mentality again has made it the district’s sharpest AA team.

“It might not be pretty being 12-7, but that’s a good season with the schedule we play. We’re not going to be an 18-3 type deal or something, but I said all that stuff is outside noise and outside noise is outside noise,” Waller said. “I’m worried about this team right here and I know what this team is capable of. It’s a group of guys who don’t budge when things don’t go hard.”

That was evident again Tuesday. Southern (15-4) also faced a challenging regular season schedule and steamrolled through Mifflinburg and Mount Carmel late in the season before defeating Muncy,11-2 in the semifinals. It also features a potent lineup and deep pitching. Still, South entered respectful, but confident.

This was the latest in a series of excellent opponents South has played, so it was ready and poised. On cue, Gerber and Quimby combined on a four-hitter, 10 players reached base and the defense made no errors.

“We’ve been here before. The moment is not too big,” Wertz said. “We know we’re more than capable. We just play hard and stick together and go one inning at a time and play our ball.”

So many players have been through the fire that they welcome it. Look at the last two years, pick a player and one can find spots where he delivered something crucial which helped South win a thrilling playoff game. Whether it was Marc Molina hitting a two-out, go-ahead single in the eighth inning a year ago against Southern, Jaymes Carpenter belting a two-run triple in the final against Montgomery, Butler going off in the playoff rematch against Montgomery or center fielder Jonah Caputo making hustling catches, South has featured a pipeline of heroes.

The regular season is not all sunshine and rainbows but the playoffs are the regular season on steroids. South lost some gut-wrenchers earlier this season, but doing it all it can to create a heavyweight schedule has certainly helped it land some impressive knockout blows at the most important time.

“None of them are scared of the moment. We have a lot of guys who are ready and hungry and just waiting to go in and make their plays,” Waller said. “These guys are just so level-headed. They don’t flinch.”

South faces another fantastic opponent Monday when it battles Halifax (21-1). The regular season was a gauntlet in itself; districts even fiercer. States are another bear but this is a team which was a hit from reaching last season’s Final 4, so it know it belongs here.

This is what all those regular season games were for. This is what all that offseason work was for. Nobody knows what will happen, but South certainly is as ready as it can possibly be.

“A lot of guys were thrown into the fire last year and they’re ready for the moment,” Waller said. “We have a good group of seniors. Those guys have built and sustained the culture that we’ve built here in South Williamsport. These guys are baseball players.

“You look at them and you know that they’re gamers.”