Decade’s best WPIAL finals: Softball No. 7
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Tuesday, May 26, 2020 | 9:10 AM
West Greene varsity softball players dog pile after winning 5-4 against Monessen during the WPIAL softball championship tripleheader at Seton Hill University, Thursday May 31, 2018. West Greene won 5-4.
From classification expansion to field renovations forcing a change in the venue for the district championships, there was a lot going on with the WPIAL softball championships this past decade.
From Lilly Field at Cal (Pa.) to Seton Hill to a mishmash of title games played here and there or anywhere there was turf in a battle against Mother Nature, there have been plenty of memorable moments at the WPIAL softball finals.
Wash, rinse and repeat was the theme in district softball these past 10 years as nine schools were able to successfully defend their WPIAL championships this past decade, including a three-peat by West Allegheny, a four-peat by West Greene and one for the thumb with five straight championships for Hempfield.
So, while the third decade of the 21st century got off to a slow start with the 2020 season wiped away, here is a look back at the last 10 years with a countdown of the Top 10 WPIAL softball championship games.
No. 7 — Third time’s a struggle
After back-to-back WPIAL championships in 2016 and ‘17 and a PIAA title run in 2017, West Greene was the queen of the Class A softball diamond.
Standing in the way of a West Greene three-peat was section rival Monessen. However, the Greyhounds had been whitewashed the two previous district postseasons by the Pioneers, losing 10-0 in both the 2016 semifinals and the 2017 title game.
There would be no mercy rule in the 2018 Class A final.
In fact, the Greyhounds were in line for a golden dish of sweet revenge heading into the bottom of a wild seventh inning after Monessen broke a tie with two runs in the top of the inning.
West Greene showed the poise of a champion, rallying to score three times to secure a third straight district crown.
Click the final score below for a Paul Schofield’s look back at the Pioneers’ thriller over the Greyhounds.
Decade’s best WPIAL softball finals:
No. 8 – 2018 Class 4A: Belle Vernon over Elizabeth Forward
No. 9 – 2012 Class A: Chartiers-Houston over Carmichaels
No. 10 – 2015 Class A: Jefferson-Morgan over Chartiers-Houston
Tags: Monessen, West Greene
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