2022 WPIAL Class 5A baseball championship preview: Peters Township vs. West Allegheny

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 | 4:03 PM

Purchase Photo Options

WPIAL Class 5A baseball championship

1-Peters Township (21-1) vs. 3-West Allegheny (18-4)

7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park, Washington

On the air: Trib HSSN (video)

Road to the finals

Peters Township – Section 4 champion Peters Township shut out No. 16 Connellsville, 7-0, in the first round, defeated No. 8 Penn-Trafford, 6-5, in the quarterfinals and rolled past No. 12 Thomas Jefferson, 11-1, in the semifinals.

West Allegheny – After winning the Section 3 championship, West Allegheny edged No. 14 Fox Chapel, 1-0, in the first round, topped No. 6 Shaler, 6-5, in the quarterfinals and beat No. 2 Bethel Park, 3-0, in the semifinals.

Secret to their success

Peters Township – The Indians’ lone loss came April 25 at Albert Gallatin. The Indians have outscored opponents 183-52. … Columbia recruit Sam Miller is hitting .442 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs. On the mound, he is 7-0 with a 1.43 ERA with 55 strikeouts. Against TJ in the semifinals, Bryce Thompson (.431, 27 RBIs) went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs and Jake Lutte singled, doubled and drove in four runs. Tucker Ferris also has been solid on the mound with a 0.90 ERA, 5-0 record and 33 strikeouts.

West Allegheny – Senior Gavin Miller, an Auburn recruit, has recovered from a broken wrist and returned to the West A lineup. He singled against Bethel Park in the semifinals. In the semifinals, Anthony Pass threw a complete-game, five-hit shutout with seven strikeouts. Pass also tossed a three-hitter in the win over Fox Chapel. Anthony Ranieri singled twice and had an RBI, and Cam Davis and Austin Buzza each singled and drove in a run. Colin Marinpetro (20 RBIs) has also bolstered the lineup, and Nathan Nolan (5-0) has been a key component in the rotation.

Championship factoids

Peters Township – The Indians won back-to-back titles in 2007 and ’08 in Class 4A. … They reached the WPIAL semifinals last season before falling to Franklin Regional. They then defeated West Allegheny, 2-1, in the third-place consolation game to reach the PIAA playoffs. … Peters Township is in the finals for the first time since 2011.

West Allegheny – West Allegheny also won back-to-back titles in 2007 and ’08 but in Class 3A. The Indians also won the WPIAL in 1994 and 2014. … Last season, West Allegheny lost to Bethel Park in the semifinals and to Peters Township in the third-place consolation game. After beating Franklin Regional in the PIAA first round, West A lost to Central Mountain in the PIAA quarterfinals.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Peters Township, West Allegheny