Westmoreland lookahead for Week of April 15, 2019

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, April 14, 2019 | 5:42 PM

Highlights of the week ahead in Westmoreland high school sports:

MONDAY

Softball: Norwin has thrown its hat into the ring of contention in Section 2-6A with three straight wins to get within two games of first-place North Allegheny. The Knights, who are tied with Hempfield for second place, will play Seneca Valley in North Huntingdon.

Seneca Valley won the first meeting, 1-0.

Other top section games have Latrobe at Laurel Highlands and Penn-Trafford at Connellsville in Section 1-5A; Southmoreland at Brownsville (3-3A); Leechburg at Jeannette (3-A).

Two notable nonsection games are Greensburg Salem at Freeport and Mt. Pleasant at Thomas Jefferson.

Baseball: Yough turned some heads last week when it knocked off No. 1 Greensburg Salem. The Cougars are in first place in Section 1-4A and will host Derry.

Greensburg Salem, meantime, heads to South Butler to face Knoch.

Section 2-6A has Connellsville at Hempfield, Latrobe at Penn-Trafford and Norwin at Plum. And unbeaten Ligonier Valley travels to North Star.

Boys tennis: The WPIAL singles championships begin. The Class AAA early rounds will be at Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, and Class AA will be played at Greensburg Racquet Club.

Track and field: Two big rivalry meets in Section 1-AAA are Hempfied at Latrobe and Penn-Trafford at Norwin.

Franklin Regional hosts Gateway in Section 5-AAA, and Southmoreland runs at Greensburg Central Catholic in Section 8-AA.

TUESDAY

Boys tennis: The WPIAL singles championships will be played at Mt. Lebanon. Both the Class AAA and AA finals start at 2 p.m. Consolation finals also will determine PIAA qualifiers.

Boys volleyball: A pair of important matches in Section 3-AA have Hempfield at Latrobe, and Penn-Trafford at Norwin. In Section 2-AA, Obama Academy visits Derry.

Baseball: Ligonier Valley will play at Northern Cambria.

Softball: In a key Section 1-5A make-up from Friday, Penn-Trafford will visit Franklin Regional. Undefeated Ligonier Valley hits the road to take on Northern Cambria.

WEDNESDAY

Baseball: Night baseball in Latrobe means a lot to fans, and the Wildcats will welcome local rival Hempfield for a Section 2-A game at 7 p.m.

Other top games: Franklin Regional at Gateway (1-5A), Mt. Pleasant at Greensburg Salem (1-4A), Southmoreland at Charleroi (3-3A) and Jeannette at Serra Catholic (3-2A).

Softball: North Allegheny got the best of Hempfield the first time the teams played. Now, the Spartans will go on the road to try to avenge that loss.

The hits could be plentiful when Penn-Trafford hosts Albert Gallatin in Section 1-5A.

Additional games to watch include Connellsville at Franklin Regional (1-5A), Mt. Pleasant at Indiana (1-4A), Keystone Oaks at Southmoreland (3-3A) and Leechburg at Greensburg Central Catholic (3-A).

Track and field: Greensburg Central Catholic travels to Mt. Pleasant in a local meet to watch.

Girls lacrosse: Section 1-AA features Greensburg Salem at Yough.

THURSDAY

Baseball: The best rivalry game on the schedule is Penn-Trafford at Norwin in Section 2-6A.

Nonsection games of note include Hempfield at North Allegheny, Jeannette at Mt. Pleasant and Mars at Franklin Regional.

Softball: Top games are Connellsville at Latrobe in Section 1-5A, Indiana at Ligonier Valley, North Allegheny at Penn-Trafford, and Norwin at Mt. Pleasant.

Boys volleyball: Latrobe will host Penn-Trafford in a key Section 3-AAA matchup.

Track and field: The 55th Butler Invitational will welcome some of the WPIAL’s top athletes.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.