Midseason YAIAA softball rankings
The first half of the season has proved the cliche of games aren't played on paper. Take a look at the GameTimePA.com preseason softball rankings as proof of that, and compare them to these midseason rankings below:
1. Dallastown (11-1) -- Catcher Sam Hartman and Kayla Merriman returned, but these Wildcats have proven to be much deeper after graduating a number of seniors from last year's squad for coach Jeff Deardorff and his staff. Dallastown's three-run seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie against No. 2 Susquehannock, which showed what the 'Cats can do in the clutch.
2. Susquehannock (9-1) -- The Warriors nearly beat Division I frontrunner Dallastown, but handed defending division and league champion Central York a 5-2 loss on Thursday. Maddy Staub has been a hitting machine, and the trio of Sara Lynch, Staub and Megan Green have combined in the circle for this 9-1 start.
3. Central York (9-2) -- The preseason No. 1 is far from out of it. Key games on the schedule for Central include: at Red Lion on Monday, April 28 and Dallastown on Friday, May 2.
4. Delone Catholic (7-1) -- The defending Division IV champs are off to another solid start and have shown some toughness. One example is Shayna Rider. Last week against Kennard-Dale, she shook off a bloody gash on her left knee to score an insurance run and had a hand in the game-sealing outs to beat the Rams.
5. Red Lion (6-2) -- The Lions won their own four-team invitational last weekend. A year ago, Twin Valley walked away with the title. Not this time. Katie Shultz's 11 strikeouts in the finals led the Lions. Just two losses so far, and both have come in league play.
Also: 6. Kennard-Dale (10-3), 7. West York (8-2), 8. South Western (5-5), 9. Bermudian Springs (6-4), 10. Dover (4-5).