Six Times News area baseball teams have qualified for the upcoming District 11 baseball playoffs.

This year’s tournament has many features, including Saturday and Sunday games before Memorial Day, a number of semifinal contests and four championship games at DeSales University, and plenty of regular season rematches.

Three local clubs will begin their quest for a district title on Tuesday, while the other three won’t start until Wednesday.

Marian, participating in the Class 1A field, has the highest seed among the six area squads. The Colts are seeded second and, with just four teams in the bracket, are already in the semifinals. Tony Radocha’s team will meet fellow Schuylkill League foe Nativity on Tuesday at Pine Grove. The two met on May 5 with Marian gaining a walk-off 5-4 victory. The winner of Tuesday’s game advances into Friday’s championship contest, which will be played at Schuylkill Haven.

Also playing on Tuesday are Palmerton and Panther Valley. Both clubs are part of a six-team Class 3A field.

The Blue Bombers, led by first-year mentor Tyler Svetik, have gained the No. 3 seed and will host sixth-seeded Salisbury in a quarterfinal matchup.

The two Colonial League teams played twice during the regular season, with Palmerton gaining a pair of close wins. The Bombers edged the Falcons 4-2 on April 11, and then posted a one-run victory (4-3) on April 27. The team that comes out on top will face second-seeded Palisades in the semifinals on Saturday at Saucon Valley.

The fourth-seeded Panthers, meanwhile, won’t have a rematch in their quarterfinal game on Tuesday. In fact, they won’t even face a team within the district. PV, coached by Rich Evanko, will host No. 5 MaST Community Charter, from Philadelphia. The 3A bracket is technically a sub-regional which includes both District 11 and District 1.

If Panther Valley, the Schuylkill League Division 3 champions, can get past the Panthers (yes, MaST Charter has the same nickname as PV), it will face top-seeded Notre Dame-Green Pond in the semifinals. That game will be played Saturday at DeSales.

The 4A bracket, which opens play on Wednesday, features a pair of Times News area clubs - sixth-seeded Northwestern and eighth-seeded Jim Thorpe.

The Tigers, who qualified for the Colonial League playoffs and reached the semifinals, travel to Pine Grove to take on the third-seeded Cardinals. The contest will be played at night with a first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. If Northwestern, coached by Chad Cooperman, can pull out a road win, it would face either North Schuylkill or Saucon Valley in the semis.

Thorpe, meanwhile, enters the tournament as the last seed in the bracket but won’t feel over matched when it takes on No. 1 seed Blue Mountain. The two teams both compete in Division 1 of the Schuylkill League and met two times during the regular season. The Olympians - coached by Joe Marykwas, split the two games with the Eagles, who went from fourth in the rankings to the top seed by virtue of winning the league title. Thorpe gained a 5-2 victory on April 20, while Blue Mountain registered a 4-1 decision on May 9.

The 4A semifinals are scheduled for Tamaqua on Sunday, with the title game to be played at DeSales.

Pleasant Valley will also be in action on Wednesday in the 6A quarterfinals.

The Bears, seeded seventh, have a touch match-up in their opening playoff contest. PV, led by TJ Murphy, travels to Bethlehem to take on No. 2 seed Liberty. The Hurricanes lost only one regular season game but were upset in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference postseason and dropped from the top spot.

The two teams did not meet during the regular season.

The 6A semifinals and finals are both slated for DeSales, with the semis taking place on Sunday.

DISTRICT 11 BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

(Dates and times are subject to change)

Class 1A

Tuesday, May 24

Semifinals

No. 1 Tri-Valley vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-ES at Schuylkill Haven, 2 p.m.

No. 2 Marian vs. No. 3 Nativity at Pine Grove, 4:30 p.m.

Friday, May 27

Championship

Tri-Valley-Notre Dame ES winner vs. Marian-Nativity winner at Schuylkill Haven, TBA

Class 2A

Sunday, May 29

Semifinals

No. 1 Shenandoah Valley vs. No. 4 Minersville at Pine Grove, 7 p.m.

No. 2 Schuylkill Haven vs. No. 3 Executive Education Academy at Pine Grove, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 1

Championship

Shenandoah Valley-Minersville winner vs. Schuylkill Haven-Executive Education Academy winner at Pine Grove, 7 p.m.

Class 3A

Tuesday, May 24

Quarterfinals

No. 5 MaST Community Charter School at No. 4 Panther Valley, 4:30 p.m.

No. 6 Salisbury at No. 3 Palmerton, 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 28

Semifinals

Panther Valley-MaST Community Charter winner vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-GP at DeSales University, 11 a.m.

Palmerton-Salisbury winner vs. No. 2 Palisades at Saucon Valley, 1 p.m.

Tuesday, May 31

Championship

Semifinals winners at DeSales University, 3:35 p.m.

Class 4A

Wednesday, May 25

Quarterfinals

No. 8 Jim Thorpe at No. 1 Blue Mountain, 4:30 p.m.

No. 5 Allentown Central Catholic vs. No. 4 Bethlehem Catholic at Freemansburg, 4 p.m.

No. 6 Northwestern at No. 3 Pine Grove, 7 p.m.

No. 7 North Schuylkill at No. 2 Saucon Valley, 4:15 p.m.

Sunday, May 29

Semifinals

Jim Thorpe-Blue Mountain winner vs. Allentown Central Catholic-Bethlehem Catholic winner at Tamaqua, 1 p.m.

Northwestern-Pine Grove winner vs. North Schuylkill-Saucon Valley winner at Tamaqua, 4 p.m.

Wednesday, June 1

Championship

Semifinal winners at DeSales University, 3:35 p.m.

Class 5A

Saturday, May 28

Semifinals

No. 4 Pottsville vs. No. 1 Southern Lehigh at DeSales University, 6 p.m.

No. 3 Bangor vs. No. 2 Pocono Mountain East at DeSales University, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 31

Championship

Southern Lehigh-Pottsville winner vs. Pocono Mountain East-Bangor winner at DeSales University, 7 p.m.

Class 6A

Wednesday, May 25

Quarterfinals

No. 8 Stroudsburg at No. 1 Emmaus, 4 p.m.

No. 5 Northampton at No. 4 Nazareth, 4 p.m.

No. 6 Easton at No. 3 Parkland, 4:45 p.m.

No. 7 Pleasant Valley at No. 2 Liberty, 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 29

Semifinals

Stroudsburg-Emmaus winner vs. Northampton-Nazareth winner at DeSales University, 3 p.m.

Easton-Parkland winner vs. Pleasant Valley-Liberty winner at DeSales University, 12:05 p.m.

Wednesday, June 1

Championship

Semifinal winners at DeSales University, 7 p.m.