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Revisiting our 2014 Preseason Team Rankings: PAISAA

December 8, 2014

By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

This week we will be grading ourselves on our preseason team rankings to see what we got right and where we were off base in 2014. We will begin today with the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA), private schools throughout the state (although they happen to mainly be located in eastern PA) that do not compete under the PIAA umbrella.

2014 Pre-season PAISAA Top Five

1. Malvern Prep
2. Penn Charter
3. The Haverford School
4. Mercersburg Academy
5. Germantown Academy

What We Got Right

Malvern Prep (27-9) and Penn Charter (20-6) tied for the Inter-Ac regular-season championship and split their regular-season series. Malvern captured the PAISAA tournament crown, while Penn Charter fell in the semifinals in a heartbreaking one-run game to a Perkiomen School team that it swept a double-header from earlier in the spring.

The Haverford School (18-10) finished tied for third place in the Inter-Ac and lost to Malvern Prep in the PAISAA semifinals, a game that was a scoreless tie until Haverford's ace pitcher had to exit due to injury. The Fords recorded regular-season wins over Malvern and PIAA class AAAA runner-up Conestoga, while losing a one-run game to PIAA class AAAA champion La Salle.

Where We Were Off Base

In addition to its run to the PAISAA championship game, Perkiomen School (20-5), a team we listed in the pre-season Others to Watch category, went 5-5 against Inter-Ac competition during the the course of the spring. The Panthers return a strong nucleus and could make another run in 2015.

Final Thoughts

We did a solid job here, although we won't pat ourselves on the back too much. The Inter-Ac tends to dominate the PAISAA tournament, and last season was no different, with three of the four semifinalists hailing from that league. There are also significantly less independent schools to track than PIAA programs, which makes identifying the top teams much easier.

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