What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 22, 2022: Slugging softball teams to square off

By: Don Rebel
Friday, April 22, 2022 | 12:03 AM

Following a wet week and assuming the fields are playable, it will be a busy Friday on the diamonds in both WPIAL softball and baseball.

One of the top games in the district is a battle for first place in Section 4-5A softball as Trinity visits West Allegheny.

Both teams are 4-0 in the section and are a combined 13-2 overall with each team losing once this spring.

The Hillers have relied on an explosive offense, racking up double-digit runs in all eight of their wins this season.

Junior Amber Morgan leads Trinity with a .656 batting average.

The Indians have also had little issues scoring runs, reaching double-digit runs in five of their six wins with the lone exception being a 9-2 win over Chartiers Valley.

Leading West A in hitting is sophomore Elly Vicari-Baker at .609.

Both teams reached the playoff last year but were bounced in the first round.

The two will meet again at Trinity next Friday.

Baseball showdowns

While district baseball games continue to be shuffled with weather and field conditions factoring in, there are plenty of key games on the slate for Friday.

In Section 1-6A, Central Catholic at North Allegheny has both the Vikings and Tigers tied for second place, trailing first-place Butler. You can listen on Trib HSSN.

In Section 4-5A, Peters Township at Bethel Park features two teams that had perfect overall records coming into their home-and-home series. The Indians beat the Black Hawks, 6-5, in nine innings Wednesday at Peterswood Park. You can watch on Trib HSSN.

In Section 1-2A, Bentworth at Carmichaels has the first-place Bearcats leading the Mighty Mikes by one game. Carmichaels is tied for second place with Washington and Beth-Center. The Little Prexies and Bulldogs meet on Friday at Beth-Center.

Volleyball Thursday

The WPIAL has set the 2022 boys volleyball 3A and 2A district championship matches for Thursday, May 26.

There’s a chance that the two teams set to lock horns Friday could be meeting again for district gold in five weeks.

Seneca Valley is a perfect 5-0 in Section 2-3A while defending champion North Allegheny is also unbeaten in the section with a 4-0 record.

They will meet for the first of two regular season matches at 7 p.m. at North Allegheny.

The Raiders and Tigers met in the 3A title match last year with NA winning gold, 3-1 in tight sets with scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21.

North Allegheny has won four straight district titles and 12 of the last 14 Class 3A championships.

You can listen to the match on Trib HSSN.