What to watch for in WPIAL sports on April 5, 2023: WPIAL softball finalists to meet again

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 11:16 PM

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Last year, they met three times on the softball diamond, twice in the regular season and one more time in the WPIAL 6A championship game.

On Wednesday, these northern rivals meet for the first time this season as Seneca Valley hosts North Allegheny.

In Section 1-6A action last spring, both the Raiders and Tigers were winner on their home fields. NA won in early April, 4-2, while SV won the rematch in late April, 12-2.

The rubber game came in the 6A finals with Seneca Valley prevailing, 9-5.

Freshman Lexie Hames was the winning pitcher and hit two home runs for the Raiders. Senior teammate Maddie Gross also homered twice as Seneca Valley won district gold for the first time since 1999.

Both teams are off to hot starts this season.

North Allegheny is 3-0 in the section and 6-1 overall, while Seneca Valley has only played two section games and won them both.

Other softball showdowns

It’s still early days, but there are a half-dozen key section softball games set for Wednesday.

They include:

Section 1-5A: Shaler at North Hills. The Titans and Indians are both 1-0 in the section and 6-0 overall.

Section 2-5A: Latrobe at Armstrong. Both won their section openers and the Wildcats are a perfect 6-0 overall while the defending champion River Hawks are 4-1.

Section 2-4A: Elizabeth Forward at Belle Vernon. The Warriors are 2-0 in the section and 5-0 overall, while the Leopards are 3-0 atop the section and 6-1 overall. These two programs won three straight WPIAL 4A titles between 2017 and 2019.

Section 2-3A: Hopewell at Beaver Falls. Both teams are 1-0 in the section and 2-1 overall, the same record as section foe Central Valley.

Section 3-3A: Southmoreland at Mt. Pleasant. Both teams are tied for first with Yough at 1-0 in the section. The Scotties are 2-1 overall while the Vikings are 5-2.

Section 4-3A: South Park at McGuffey. Both are 1-0 in the section while the Eagles are 3-0 overall and the Highlanders check in at 3-1.

Back at it

With a day in between their Section 2-5A series, Connellsville and Trinity will conclude their home-and-home series Wednesday in one of three WPIAL baseball section games.

On Monday, Jake Lee went 4 for 4 with two RBIs to lead host Connellsville past Trinity, 8-3.

Anthony Piasecki doubled for the Falcons, who improved to 3-2 overall in winning their section opener.

Gibson Havanis doubled and tripled for the Hillers, who fell to 1-1 overall.

The other two section games Wednesday have Ellwood City (0-2, 1-3) visiting Quaker Valley (0-2, 1-2) in Section 1-3A and New Brighton (1-1, 2-2) hosting Seton LaSalle (0-1, 1-1) in Section 2-2A.