2024 WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship preview: Mt. Lebanon vs. North Allegheny

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 | 12:38 AM

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2024 WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship

No. 1 Mt. Lebanon (18-4) vs. No. 3 North Allegheny (16-6)

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

On the air: TribLive HSSN

How they got here: Mt. Lebanon defeated No. 8 Butler, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Seneca Valley, 11-5, in the semifinals. North Allegheny defeated No. 6 Norwin, 3-0, in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Pine-Richland, 5-4 in eight innings, in the semifinals.

WPIAL titles: Mt. Lebanon 6 (1959, 1993, 2002, ’06, ’22, ’23), North Allegheny 8 (1990, ’91, ’96, 2003, ’05, ’09, ’13, ’21)

Coaches: Patt McCloskey, Mt. Lebanon; Andrew Heck, North Allegheny

Players to watch: David Shields, Mt. Lebanon; Owen Schall, North Allegheny

Extra bases: This is a rematch from last year’s WPIAL finals when Mt. Lebanon won, 4-0, behind a no-hitter from left-handed pitcher David Shields. … Shields, now a senior, is a Miami (Fla.) with prospects for being selected in the MLB Draft this summer. Shields is 5-0 with 0.32 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 28 innings. The two-way player is also batting .419 with 18 RBIs and 16 runs. He plays outfield when not pitching. … Other top hitters are freshman Graham Keen (.355, 24 RBIs) and senior Jake Tinnemeyer (.329, 16 RBIs). … Shields isn’t the only standout pitcher. Keen also pitches. He’s 6-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 37⅔ innings. Nolan Smith is 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA and 29 Ks in 34⅔ innings. … Mt. Lebanon is a two-time defending WPIAL champion. The Blue Devils defeated Upper St. Clair, 2-1, in 2022. … Mt. Lebanon won Section 2 title. North Allegheny was the runner-up to Pine-Richland in Section 1. … North Allegheny senior David Posey is a two-way player committed to the Naval Academy. He’s 5-0 on the mound with a 2.94 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 31 innings. Posey ranks second on the team with 15 RBIs. … NA senior Owen Schall is batting .400 with a team-high 20 RBIs, and junior Miles Pealer has a team-best .448 batting average and 11 runs. … North Allegheny defeated Pine-Richland, 5-4 in eight innings, in the semifinals behind an RBI single by pinch hitter Michael Hershberger. … Senior pitcher Charles Mau is a Penn State recruit with 26 strikeouts in 18 innings.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny