The baseball season may have ended in the state tournament (or district tournament) for some teams, but area players are still lacing up their cleats and pounding their mitts.

Marple Newtown's Chris Orlando (pictured) knows this all too well.

He and his Delaware County teammates dropped a close one to Chester County, 9-7, Monday in the first round of the Carpenter Cup Classic. Their opening-round loss in the 16-team all-star tournament was Delco's seventh in nine years.

And the sweltering heat and humidity at UPenn's Meiklejohn Stadium only made matters worse. Said Sun Valley catcher Joe Maloney, who strapped on his equipment for six brutal innings: "I've played in some hot ones before and this one, wow, it was the first real hot one of the year."

The game offered a chance for younger players, like junior shortstop Ronny Tanner of Haverford, a first chance to play before major-league talent scouts and college coaches. And here's a preview story for Monday's game (sorry for the belated post).

Also in the Carpenter Cup, the Catholic League franchise, which features six players from Delco schools, will open its play Wednesday in a 9 a.m. game at UPenn. Monsignor Bonner's reps are Conor Kerins, Rob Benedict and Lou Tomasetti. Cardinal O'Hara has Bill Pace, Tom Coyle and Mike Baselice on the team.

Let's hope the weather cools off by gametime.

With two Delaware County team's in Thursday's District One Class AAA title game, you knew one team would have to go home unhappy.

Sun Valley, on the strength of a five-run fifth inning, wore the Class AAA crown in a 7-5 win over Marple Newtown. Catcher Joe Maloney hit a home run to lead off the inning and get things going for the Vanguards, who have won 21 straight games.

It also marked a third consecutive come-from-behind win in the playoffs for the Vanguards. They rallied with a two-run walkoff homer in the quarterfinals, scored two runs on a seventh-inning single in the semifinals, and erased early 1-0 and 2-1 deficits against the Tigers. Interestingly, right fielder and pitcher Pat Sheridan was key in all three games.

Both teams will play Monday in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA state tournament. Sun Valley will take on Fleetwood, the District Three runner-up, while Marple Newtown will face District Three champ Muhlenberg. More to come soon on those games.