Westmoreland softball playoff preview capsules: Games for May 20, 2025

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, May 19, 2025 | 3:21 PM

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WPIAL softball playoffs

Class 6A

Semifinals

6-Norwin (10-11) vs. 2-Seneca Valley (15-3)

4 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 4-Canon-McMillan (12-8)/1-Hempfield (19-1) in championship May 28-29 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.)

Players to watch: Abbie Telli, Norwin; Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley

Extra bases: Norwin upset No. 3 North Allegheny, 2-1, in the quarterfinals as junior Miley Harrison delivered an RBI double in the top of the ninth. Sophomore leadoff hitter Maddy Kugler went 4 for 5 with an RBI, and Telli allowed four hits and induced 15 flyouts. Last year, Norwin was the No. 5 seed when it upset No. 4 Pine-Richland and No. 1 Hempfield to reach the WPIAL final, where it lost to Seneca Valley, 4-3. It was the Knights’ first trip to the title game. They finished 10-11, the same record they have now. Since becoming head coach in 2015, Brian Mesich has six opening-round playoff wins. … Seneca Valley, off since May 7 with an opening bye, is seeking a third WPIAL title in four years. Senior pitcher Lexie Hames, a Clemson commit, led the Raiders to a pair of wins over Norwin in section play, 3-2 and 6-0. Hames has more than 900 career strikeouts and 35 career home runs. She has been leading off this season, so teams reconsider walking her intentionally. Hames is 15-2 with a 0.49 ERA and has 243 strikeouts in 99 2/3 innings, as well as seven home runs. The Raiders’ losses are to Pine-Richland (twice) and No. 1 Hempfield. They have scored 133 runs and allowed 27. Bella Gross and Abby Kalkowski are seasoned postseason players.

1-Hempfield (19-1) vs. 4-Canon-McMillan (12-8)

4 p.m. Tuesday at Montour

Winner plays: Winner of 6-Norwin (10-11) vs. 2-Seneca Valley (15-3) in championship May 28-29 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.)

Players to watch: Lauren Howard, Hempfield; Lyla Mowery, Canon-McMillan

Extra bases: Hempfield had an opening bye and has not played since May 7 when it edged Seneca Valley, 1-0. The Spartans, powered by a talent-laced lineup that contains six Division I commits, blanked Canon-McMillan twice during section play, both by 10-0 scores. They have not allowed a run since a 2-1 loss to Seneca Valley on April 28. Ace pitcher Riley Miller, a Kent State commit, has more than 500 career strikeouts. Howard, a Virginia recruit and second baseman, is hitting .656 with 17 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs and 35 runs scored. Ohio commit Allie Cervola, the shortstop, has 29 runs and 20 RBIs. The Spartans have 194 runs and have given up only 20. Butler managed the most runs in a game against the Spartans with four. … Canon-McMillan won for the fifth time in six games, downing No. 5 Pine-Richland, 6-1, in the quarterfinals. The Big Macs took a 2-0 lead early before plating four runs in the sixth to pull away. Mowery had a double, Callie Stonemark and Addy Downey each went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Kadence Merigo also drove in a run. Brooke Bumer allowed seven hits but struck out seven to earn the complete-game win. The Big Macs beat North Allegheny in the quarters last year but fell to Seneca Valley, 7-1, in the semis.

Class 5A

Semifinals

1-Penn-Trafford (19-2) vs. 4-North Hills (17-4)

2 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 2-Shaler (16-4)/3-West Allegheny (15-4) in championship May 28-29 at Lilley Field, Cal (Pa.)

Players to watch: Giuliana Youngo, Penn-Trafford; Alex Edmunds, North Hills

Extra bases: Penn-Trafford is back in the semifinals after a quarterfinal thriller against pesky ninth seed Chartiers Valley. Youngo went 4 for 4 with a home run, double and six RBIs and made a game-clinching highlight catch in the Warriors’ 14-11 victory. The Warriors are averaging 9.3 runs per game. They have not lost to a 5A team this season. In fact, their last loss to a WPIAL 5A team came in last year’s semifinals when Armstrong won 8-6 in eight innings. Penn-Trafford is chasing its first WPIAL title in softball. It won a PIAA championship in 2019. … North Hills defeated No. 12 Fox Chapel, 6-3, in the quarterfinals as Edmunds, winning pitcher Abby Sutton and Brianna Zwick had RBI doubles. North Hills finished second to Shaler in Section 1, splitting a pair of games with the Titans. North Hills lost to Penn-Trafford, 8-6, in the third game of the season. The Indians have won nine of their last 10. The Indians made the quarterfinals last year as a No. 2 seed but lost to Thomas Jefferson, 6-4. North Hills has six WPIAL titles, the most recent coming in 2021.

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

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, North Hills, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Seneca Valley