Westmoreland softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 19, 2025

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 10:48 AM

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WPIAL softball playoffs

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

7-Southmoreland (10-7) vs. 2-Mohawk (13-5)

3 p.m. Monday at Montour

Winner plays: Winner of 6-McGuffey (11-5)/3-Ellwood City (10-8) on Wednesday in semifinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Zoey Murphy, Southmoreland; Lydia Cole, Mohawk

Extra bases: Southmoreland, a perennial playoff contender, rallied several times to win its first-round game and advance. The Scotties forced extra innings with a run in the bottom of the seventh, then scored five times in the 10th with no outs to edge Hopewell, 10-9. Dangerous hitting Makayla Etling, a UNC Pembroke commit, had a game-tying, two-run double, and Riley Puckey hit a walk-off RBI single. Taylor Doppelheuer went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs. The Scotties have given up nine or more runs in four of their last five games, including 21 to Greensburg Salem. Murphy, who pitches and carries a heavy bat, is a WPIAL champion wrestler for the Scotties. The Scotties were a No. 5 seed last year when they were upset by Freeport, 6-3, in the first round. Southmoreland won one WPIAL title, in 2018. … Defending WPIAL champion Mohawk won the Section 2 title while averaging 9.5 runs. The Warriors only allowed 25 runs on 10 section games. They lost three of their last four games going into the playoffs, all to good teams in Avonworth, Union and Neshannock. Cole has a .415 average, six homers and 22 RBIs, while Addy Moskal (.517) has 10 doubles and four homers. Alivia Hare bats .433 and has 24 runs scored, while Gianna Pezzuolo (.417) has 16 RBIs. Reagan Magno is 6-0 with a 3.21 ERA and 108 strikeouts in the circle.

Class A

Quarterfinals

8-Jeannette (12-4) vs. 1-Union (16-2)

7 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Sewickley Academy (10-5)/5-Jefferson-Morgan (8-6) on Wednesday in semifinals (time, site TBD)

Players to watch: Leah DeFelice, Jeannette; Mia Preuhs, Union

Extra bases: Jeannette is back in the quarterfinals led by ace pitcher Grace Stein, who helped the Jayhawks defeat No. 9 Avella, 13-4, in six innings in the opening round. Stein struck out 13 and got offensive help from DeFelice, who went 3 for 4 with a double and RBI; Abby Shaw, who tripled and drove in three runs; and Gianna Casino, who had two RBIs. Jeannette lost to Chartiers-Houston, 16-0, in four innings in last year’s quarterfinals. Union beat Jeannette, 16-1, in three innings in the 2023 quarterfinals. Preuhs struck out 10 in that game. Jeannette is 12-1 against Class A teams this season. … Union, which won WPIAL titles in 2022 and ’23, was the runner-up last year. The Scotties are the highest-scoring team in the WPIAL with 223 runs, while they have allowed only 18, including one in section play. Their losses are to Neshannock and Chartiers-Houston. Of their 16 wins, 13 have some via shutout. Four girls are batting .500 or better, including Preuhs (.523), who has six homers and 32 RBIs. Olivia Benedict (.521) has eight homers, and Olivia Williams has scored 38 runs. In the circle, Preuhs is 10-2 with a 1.08 ERA and 148 Ks.

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

Tags: Jeannette, Mohawk, Southmoreland, Union