Our very own Phil Glatfelter put together this L-L League girls’ softball playoff preview box. Enjoy:

LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE
SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

WHEN: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday.

WHERE: All games at Garrett Field in Willow Street.

SCHEDULE: Saturday — Warwick vs. Manheim Central, 10 a.m.; Donegal vs. Hempfield, noon; Pequea Valley vs. Elizabethtown, 2 p.m.; Solanco vs. Annville-Cleona, 4 p.m. Monday — Solanco-Annville-Cleona winner vs. Donegal-Hempfield winner, 5:30; Pequea Valley-Elizabethtown winner vs. Warwick-Manheim Central winner, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday — Final, 7 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Donegal comes in with the best record, going 16-0 in a tough Section 3 and winning 17 games in a row after losing its first two. … Solanco, which won Section 2, had the next best mark at 16-2, 14-2 despite dropping its season-finale to section runner-up Elizabethtown (14-5, 13-3). … Warwick (15-4, 14-2 Section 1) is riding a 13-game winning streak, outlasting Section 1 runner-up Hempfield (15-3, 13-3) and Cedar Crest, which missed the playoffs despite going 15-4, 12-4. … Lampeter-Strasburg (14-4, 12-4) won’t be back after winning the last two titles, tying for second but losing the tie-breaker with Manheim Central (15-4, 12-4) in Section 3. … Pequea Valley rolled to the Section 4 crown, finishing 16-2, 14-2. Annville-Cleona earned the final playoff spot, coming in with the worst record in the tournament, 9-10, 9-7 L-L Section 4.

LAST YEAR: Courtney Eckman tossed a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts as Lampeter-Strasburg won the championship with a 3-0 win over Cedar Crest. Leadoff hitter Amber Moyer singled up the middle for the only hit. Eckman walked just one. The Pioneers got to the final by beating Solanco 1-0 and Warwick 4-3.

NEXT STEP: District 3 Tournament. All teams with .500 or better records are eligible. Play-in games are May 16. The first round begins Tuesday, May 20.

NOTABLE: With tough-luck spectators Cedar Crest and Lampeter-Strasburg — a combined 29-8 — on the sidelines, Hempfield and Manheim Central take their place. Everyone else returns from last year’s tournament. … With L-S out, Solanco is the participating team that most recently won the L-L League title. The Mules were champs in 2005, beating Donegal 2-1 in 9 innings in the championship game. … Two of the four first-round games feature rematches: Warwick-Manheim Central and Donegal-Hempfield. In both cases, the teams that lost the first time — Warwick and Donegal — went on to win section titles. Central beat the Warriors 3-0 on March 28 and Hempfield topped the Indians 2-1 March 24. … Donegal’s other loss was a 3-2 setback against Warwick. Like the Indians, the Warriors got off to a slow start, going 2-4, including Section 1 losses to Hempfield and Cedar Crest, both by 1-0 scores. … PV’s only losses were in crossovers, both by 2-1 scores against L-S (10 innings) and Donegal. … Solanco had the league’s best overall record until losing its season finale to Elizabethtown, 4-2.