What to watch for in WPIAL sports for April 15, 2024: Seneca Valley-Pine-Richland renew rivalry

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, April 14, 2024 | 8:40 PM

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The year is different, but the results are adding up to the same story in WPIAL Section 1-6A baseball.

Last season, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley and North Allegheny finished as tri-champions in the section with 8-4 records in the section.

Now the three tradition-rich baseball programs are at it again, threatening to pull away from Butler and Allderdice in the five-team section.

Coming into this week, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley are tied for first place with 3-0 record, a half-game ahead of Pine-Richland at 3-1.

The first section series showdown between the three begins Monday when the Raiders host the Rams.

In 2023, Pine-Richland took two out of three from Seneca Valley with each team winning at home.

That means the Raiders will host two of the three games this week on the turf in Harmony beginning with Monday’s showdown clash at 4 p.m. on Trib HSSN.

Seneca Valley is 5-1 overall and has won four straight games, including a series sweep of Allderdice last week in which they outscored the Dragons, 41-5.

This is a busy week for Pine-Richland. The Rams are 7-2 and have won two straight and six of their last seven games.

Not only does Pine-Richland have the three big games against Seneca Valley on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, but they have two make-up section games against Allderdice slated for Wednesday and Friday.

Champs collide

As expected, the chase is heated for the top spot in Section 3-5A, a section littered with recent champions.

In fact, four of the six teams have won WPIAL gold in the last five seasons.

Shaler, West Allegheny and North Hills are tied for first place with one loss, while Mars has two defeats and Moon has lost three times.

The last two district 5A champions do battle starting Monday when 2023 winner Shaler (7-1) hosts 2022 champion West Allegheny (5-1) at Matulevic Field at 4 p.m.

The two have combined for a 12-2 record overall with both losses coming in section.

The Titans have won three straight, including a series sweep of New Castle last week, since losing their section opener to Moon.

The Indians have also won three in a row after a sweep of Moon last week, since losing their first section game to Mars.

Softball showdowns

There are several WPIAL softball sections with multiple teams that have yet to lose in section play sitting in a tie for first place.

Four of those sections will have those ties for the top spot end Monday, at least for the time being.

• In Section 1-4A, Knoch (5-2) will visit Indiana (4-3). The Knights are 3-0 in the section while the Little Indians check in at 2-0.

• In Section 3-4A, Hampton (3-1) hosts Chartiers Valley (4-1). Both the Talbots and Colts are at the top with 2-0 section records.

• In Section 1-3A, A-K Valley rivals collide when Deer Lakes (7-2) travels to Burrell (5-2). The Lancers are 4-0 in the section while the Buccaneers are 3-0.

• In Section 2-2A, Serra Catholic (3-1) is home to Apollo-Ridge (2-2) where both the Eagles and Vikings are 2-0 in section play.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Chartiers Valley, Deer Lakes, Hampton, Indiana, Knoch, Mars, Moon, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Serra Catholic, Shaler, West Allegheny