Phil Anastasia: The surprising Colonial Conference

How about the Colonial Conference.

Through the regular season, it didn't seem like the strongest of seasons in the Colonial.

But the Colonial has shined in state tournament. The league has four teams in Tuesday's semifinals – and that's without Haddon Heights, which was the best team during the regular season.

Patriot Division rivals Audubon and Haddon Township will square off for the third time in the South Jersey Group 1 semifinals. The teams split a pair of lopsided affairs, as the Hawks won a 12-2 decision on May 2 and the Green Wave won by 13-4 on May 24.

Meanwhile, Haddonfield and West Deptford – two teams that finished far behind Haddon Heights in the Liberty race – have advanced to the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals.

Haddonfield scored 10 runs in the first three innings, highlighted by Kevin Davis' three-run homer, to stun Haddon Heights by a 14-1 score in Friday's quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Bulldogs face fourth-seeded Lower Cape May in the semifinals.

West Deptford, the No. 10 seed, upset No. 2 Delran by an 8-5 score on Friday as Tony Urban picked up the save and collected three RBIs. The Eagles meet 11th-seeded Point Pleasant Boro, which stunned No. 3 Buena, in Tuesday's semifinals.

-- Phil Anastasia