Ambler in search of another crown

Can Ambler repeat? Will Lansdale find its way into the championship circle for the first time since 1960?

Can Norristown recapture its glory days?

Will anybody miss Collegeville?

Those are just some of the questions waiting to be answered as the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League playoffs begin this week.

Ambler, which waltzed through the regular season with nary a bump in the road, has to be the favorite.

But will a distinct lack of power come back and bite the Brewers in the nether regions, or will its pitching be ample enough to overcome their lack of the long ball?

Can the Tigers of Lansdale finally roar their way into the winner’s circle for the first time since the hippies marched on Washington? Well, let’s find out. But first things first. The quarterfinals begin Monday at the site of the higher seed:

Will there be any firstround upsets?

Let’s analyze:

Ambler (24-2-5) vs. Royersford (8-21-1)

Analysis: The Brewers shouldn’t have much difficulty here.

The Blue Jays have a couple of reliable bats in Matt Boyde (.304) and David Clay (.292), but not much more offensively.

Meanwhile, the Brewers can turn to Chris Hens (.372, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 1.039 OPS) and Eric Ruhland (.303, 3 HR, 22 RBI) for power or Nick Fasano (.322, 10 RBI) and Phil Pierfy (.356) for consistency.

But it’s on the mound where the Brewers have their biggest advantage.

Ambler posted the lowest team ERA in the league (1.81) and there wasn’t a close second. Its rotation of Andy Noga, Pete Moore and Kevin Long is probably the league’s best.

Meanwhile, the Jays’ staff features a legitimate stud in Sean Esch (5-3, 2.21 ERA, but not much more.

Pitching will prevail here as the Brewers win on the mound and on the field.

Ambler in 3.

Lansdale (21-9) vs. King of Prussia (1020-0)

Analysis: The Tigers enjoyed a banner year.

And while it’s unlikely they’ll be halted in this series, this may well be their best shot at postseason glory in years, so this may be time for manager Jeff Murtha to go all out.

Lansdale features, arguably, the league’s best player in outfielder Rob Zinsmeister and its second-best pitching staff (3.00 team ERA).

And the Tigers should have little trouble with KOP, a team short of consistent hitting and pitching.

Along with Zinsmeister (.455, 10 doubles, 3 HRs, 32 RBI), the Tigers have gotten production from Joe Casselberry (.301, 24 RBI) and Zach Hess (4 HRs).

The pitching staff has been carried by Brett Moyer (5-2, 2.83) and Ryan Bergh (4-1, 1.60 ERA).

The Cannons have a toptier pitcher in Frank Driscoll (3-1, 1.97), but little behind him.

Offensively, the Cannons have gotten good years from Kevin Belskie (.365, teamhigh 14 RBI) and Alex Koblynski (.296, 2 HR, 13 RBI).

This is another series that will be decided on the mound, so the edge goes to Lansdale. Prediction: Lansdale in 4.

Norristown (18-11-1) vs. Trooper (12-17-1)

Analysis: In years past

this would have been an opening-round walkover and this year it still may be.

But the Diamonds are not the force they once were, nor are the Tribe the hapless, walt-til-the-last-minute-before-we-forfeit crew.

The Tribe have had solid attendance all year, but are still a little short of depth and talent.

The Diamonds have three of the top offensive forces in the league in Lenny DelGrippo (.413. 6 HR, 42 RBI), the ageless Matt Sperling (.366, 21 RBI) and young stud Kyle Wenger (.368, 2

HR, 20 RBI).

Where they’ve come up short this year is on the mound, with only Sperling (5-0, 0.70 ERA) and Paul spiewak (2-1) have produced decent numbers.

Trooper has one of the league’s top hurlers in Randy Mower (3-4, 1.94 ERA), but little behind him.

Offensively, Collegeville refugees Cole Luzins (.385), Scott Young (.300) and Kyle Feaster (.350) have kept the Tribe competitive.

With neither side strong on the mound, call this one a toss-up, but give a slight

edge to Norristown. Prediction: Norristown in 4.

Nor-Gwyn (15-12-3) vs. Valley Forge (14-16)

Analysis: As the 4-5 matchup, this should produce the best series.

Nor-Gwyn has disappointed for much of the season, but may have the team manager Tony DiBricida anticipated at the start of the season available for the playoffs.

That team would be led by Jason Mills (.387, 4 HR, 27 RBI) and Dave Tatoian (.374, 7 HR, 23 RBI) offensively and Jeremy Hefele (30, 39.2 innings, 2.47 ERA) and Brandon Wermuth (14, 4.58 ERA) on the mound.

Meanwhile, the Bucks have gotten outstanding offensive seasons from James Mulvey (.411, 2 HR, 9 RBI) and Andrew Boykin (.397, 21 RBI).

Robbie Barth (4-3, 2.10), Nathan Michener (2-4, 7.68) and John Weidmayer (3-3, 6.09) constitute the pitching rotation. Prediction: Nor-Gwyn

in 4.