WPIAL baseball playoff clinchings, scenarios through May 7, 2023

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, May 7, 2023 | 10:19 PM

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The 2023 WPIAL baseball playoff field is taking shape in each of the six classifications with less than one week left in the regular season.

The top four teams in each section qualify for the playoffs, which will have at least 76 schools participating.

Exclusive coverage of the 2023 WPIAL baseball playoffs is only on TribHSSN.TribLive.com, starting with the unveiling of the brackets in the Playoff Pairings Show on Friday.

Here is the updated list of teams that have earned a district playoff berth through Sunday:

Class 6A: Set with 8 teams – no first round, no byes in quarterfinals

Section 1: Pine-Richland Rams

Section 1: Seneca Valley Raiders

Section 1: North Allegheny Tigers

Section 1: Butler Golden Tornado

Section 2: Canon-McMillan Big Macs

Section 2: Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils

Section 2: Norwin Knights

Section 2: Hempfield Spartans

• In Section 2, Central Catholic could tie Hempfield for fourth place, but the Vikings lose the tiebreaker to the Spartans.

Class 5A: 11 of a possible 13 teams have clinched a playoff berth

Section 1: Plum Mustangs

Section 1: Penn-Trafford Warriors

Section 1: Fox Chapel Foxes

Section 2: Bethel Park Black Hawks

Section 2: South Fayette Lions

Section 2: Peters Township Indians

Section 2: Upper St. Clair Panthers

Section 3: Shaler Titans

Section 3: North Hills Indians

Section 3: West Allegheny Indians

Section 3: Mars Fightin’ Planets

• In Section 1, Franklin Regional needs one win over Penn-Trafford to clinch. Armstrong is alive and needs a Warriors’ sweep of the Panthers. In Section 2, Trinity clinches with an Upper St. Clair loss to South Fayette.

Class 4A: 15 of a possible 17 teams have clinched a playoff berth

Section 1: Montour Spartans

Section 1: Blackhawk Cougars

Section 1: Hopewell Vikings

Section 1: Central Valley Warriors

Section 2: Latrobe Wildcats

Section 2: Laurel Highlands Mustangs

Section 2: Ringgold Rams

Section 2: Uniontown Red Raiders

Section 3: West Mifflin Titans

Section 3: Chartiers Valley Colts

Section 3: Elizabeth Forward Warriors

Section 3: Thomas Jefferson Jaguars

Section 4: North Catholic Trojans

Section 4: Indiana Little Indians

Section 4: Kiski Area Cavaliers

• In Section 1, Beaver needs to sweep Blackhawk to clinch a playoff berth. In Section 4, Hampton needs one win over Knoch to clinch. The Knights need to sweep the Talbots.

Class 3A: 10 of at least 16 teams have clinched a playoff berth

Section 1: Riverside Panthers

Section 1: Mohawk Warriors

Section 2: Avonworth Antelopes

Section 2: South Park Eagles

Section 2: South Allegheny Gladiators

Section 3: East Allegheny Wildcats

Section 3: Freeport Yellowjackets

Section 3: Shady Side Academy Bulldogs

Section 4: Yough Cougars

Section 4: Greensburg Salem Golden Lions

• In Section 1, Neshannock needs one win over Quaker Valley to clinch. The Quakers need to sweep the Lancers to qualify. Shenango needs one more section victory to clinch. In Section 2, Steel Valley needs one more section win to clinch. Keystone Oaks needs two Steel Valley losses to get in. In Section 3, Derry is 4-6, Burrell 4-7, Valley 3-7 and Deer Lakes 2-7. Derry wins a tiebreaker over Burrell and Deer Lakes but loses a tiebreaker to Valley. Burrell owns a tiebreaker over Valley. Derry has two games vs. Shady Side Academy, Burrell has one with Deer Lakes, Valley has two against Deer Lakes. In Section 4, McGuffey is 5-5, Waynesburg Central is 4-4 and Mt. Pleasant is 3-5. McGuffey has two against Waynesburg Central, Mt. Pleasant has two games left against Southmoreland and two against Waynesburg Central.

Class 2A: Set with 12 playoff teams – there will be four first-round byes

Section 1: Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers

Section 1: Burgettstown Blue Devils

Section 1: Charleroi Cougars

Section 1: Bentworth Bearcats

Section 2: South Side Rams

Section 2: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers

Section 2: Seton LaSalle Rebels

Section 2: New Brighton Lions

Section 3: Serra Catholic Eagles

Section 3: Riverview Raiders

Section 3: Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions

Section 3: Ligonier Valley Rams

• In Section 3, Brentwood could tie Ligonier Valley for fourth place, but the Rams own the tiebreaker over the Spartans.

Class A: 8 of at least 12 teams have clinched playoff berths

Section 1: Carmichaels Mighty Mikes

Section 1: California Trojans

Section 1: Avella Eagles

Section 2: Union Scotties

Section 2: Leechburg Blue Devils

Section 2: Rochester Rams

Section 3: Eden Christian Academy Warriors

Section 3: Bishop Canevin Crusaders

• In Section 1, Fort Cherry can clinch with one win over Jefferson-Morgan. The Rockets must sweep to earn a playoff berth. In Section 2, Springdale and Western Beaver are 4-6, and if they finish tied, they will both qualify. Springdale has two games against Union while Western Beaver has two with Rochester. If they get swept and St. Joseph sweeps Summit Academy, all three teams will qualify. In Section 3, Sewickley Academy is 5-3 with two games left against Clairton and Carlynton. Cornell is 4-4 and has two games remaining against both Monessen and Eden Christian Academy. Carlynton is 3-7 with games against Sewickley Academy left.