When Southern Fulton won the PIAA championship last year, it became the 25th Class A baseball champion crowned.
Eden Christian Academy would like to be the 26th. The Warriors will take on Dock Mennonite Academy in the Class A final Friday at Penn State.
The first Class A baseball state champion was Camp Hill from District 3 in 1999.
Three years later, Greensburg Central Catholic became the first WPIAL team to win Class A baseball gold in 2002.
Five PIAA Class A champions have come from District 7 — Greensburg Central Catholic (2002), Neshannock (2004), Serra Catholic (2011) and Vincentian Academy (2016 and 2018).
Only three District 1 schools have captured PIAA Class A championships — Dock Mennonite (2005, 2006, 2010), Devon Prep (2014) and Faith Christian Academy (2024).
Here is a look at Friday’s PIAA Class A baseball championship game at Penn State:
Class A
Eden Christian Academy (19-4) vs. Dock Mennonite Academy (14-5)
10:30 a.m. Friday, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at Penn State
Broadcast: Video on PCN-TV; Radio on PIAA Radio Network
Coaches: Mark Feldman, Eden Christian Academy; Erik Kratz, Dock Mennonite
Path to Penn State: Eden Christian Academy defeated District 9 runner-up Clarion in the first round, 7-6; District 10 champion West Middlesex in the quarterfinals, 6-1; District 9 winner Elk County Catholic in the semifinals, 5-1. … Dock Mennonite Academy knocked off District 3 champion Christian School of York in the first round, 7-4; District 11 winner Nativity BVM in the quarterfinals, 10-4; District 6 runner-up Homer-Center in the semifinals, 4-1.
District postseason: Eden Christian Academy had a first round bye, then eliminated Carmichaels in the quarterfinals, 12-2; Western Beaver in the semifinals, 7-0; Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL championship game, 5-1. … Top-seeded Dock Mennonite Academy ousted Church Farm School in the semifinals, 15-1; Plumstead Christian in the District 1 championship game, 4-0.
Players to watch
Eden Christian Academy: Senior Brady Hull has been white hot with the stick in the state playoffs. In the Warriors’ three victories, Hull is a combined 7 for 10 with two doubles and a home run. He was also the winning pitcher in the semifinal win over Elk County Catholic, pitching six innings and allowing only three hits with five strikeouts. In that win, seniors Josh Tilden and Luke Burford combined for three hits and three runs driven in. Senior Noah Emswiler has three postseason wins with victories in the district semifinals, the WPIAL finals and the state quarterfinals. In his 21 innings of work, he has allowed 11 hits and struck out 30, including a record-tying 15 in the district title game win over previously unbeaten Greensburg Central Catholic.
Dock Mennonite Academy: The Pioneers have two players hitting over .500 for the season, including Ethan Kratz, the son of the head coach and former major league catcher Erik Kratz. The younger Kratz is batting .534 with three homers and 23 runs batted in. Also enjoying a big season at the plate is Mason Bicht, who is hitting .519 with a home run and a team high 29 RBIs. Riley Kling was the winning pitcher in the state semis, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks and striking out seven. Kling helped himself by going 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI triple.
Streaks: Eden Christian Academy has won eight straight since losing to Seton LaSalle, 8-2, on April 27. The Warriors have won 18 of their last 19 games. … Dock Mennonite Academy has won six games in a row since losing to Delaware County Christian, 8-7, on May 11. The Pioneers had a seven-game winning streak back in April.
Quotable: “We are grateful for the opportunity to compete for a state championship for the third straight year,” Eden Christian Academy coach Mark Feldman said. “This group has worked hard all year, and they have continued to compete no matter what challenges have come their way.
“Dock Mennonite is a very talented and well coached baseball team. We have a lot of respect for what they have accomplished this year. They do a great job in all phases of the game.”
Factoids
• In five appearances, Eden Christian Academy is 12-4 all-time in the PIAA baseball playoffs. This will be the Warriors’ second straight state championship game and their fourth in the last six years.
• Dock Mennonite Academy has an all-time record of 22-14 in the PIAA playoffs in this, its 18th appearance. This is the fourth time the Pioneers have played in the Class A state title game.
• While the Warriors have reached the state title game three times prior to this season, they are still in search of their first PIAA crown. They fell to Halifax in the 2021 title game, 9-1. Two years ago, the Warriors fell to Faith Christian Academy, 4-1. Then a year ago, Southern Fulton rolled to a convincing, 14-3 win.
• Unlike the 0-3 state title record for Eden Christian, the Pioneers are a perfect 3-0 in the PIAA finals. Twenty-one years ago, they defeated Homer-Center in the 2005 finals, 6-1. They repeated in 2006 by beating Villa Maria Academy, 9-0. The most recent state championship for Dock Mennonite was in 2010 when they whitewashed Serra Catholic, 10-0.
• In the 2024 PIAA title game, Jacob Janicki had two of the Warriors’ four hits. Brady Hull started and suffered the loss. In the 2025 state finals, Eden Christian jumped out a 3-0 lead, then Southern Fulton scored the next 14 runs, including five in the fourth inning and seven runs in the seventh inning.