What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 20, 2025: Top seeds in Class 6A softball finally set for playoff debuts

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | 12:24 AM

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When Hempfield and Seneca Valley last hit the softball field, it was two weeks ago and they met for the Class 6A regular season title.

The Spartans blanked the Raiders, 1-0, to claim sole possession of first place.

Will rust take its toll on either team as they finally hit the field to play their first postseason game in the WPIAL 6A softball semifinals Tuesday?

A similar layoff hurt Hempfield a year ago, as the Spartans were stunned by Norwin in the district final four, 5-2.

Top-seeded Hempfield (19-1) will take on No. 4 Canon-McMillan(13-8) at Montour at 5 p.m.

It is the third meeting of the year between the two and the first two resulted in whitewashes.

On March 31 and April 22, the Raiders blanked the Big Macs by the same score, 10-0.

Hempfield has won five straight games since suffering its only loss at Seneca Valley.

Canon-McMillan reached the final four with a quarterfinal victory over Pine-Richland.

Callie Stonemark and Addy Downey each went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

In the other 6A semifinal Tuesday, No. 2 Seneca Valley (15-3) goes up against No. 6 Norwin (10-11) at Fox Chapel at 4 p.m.

This game is a rematch of the 2024 title game in which the Raiders edged the Cinderella Knights in eight innings, 4-3.

Seneca Valley defeated Norwin twice in the regular season.

The Raiders edged the Knights at home, 3-2, and then won big at Norwin, 6-0.

Seneca Valley had a seven-game winning streak snapped with the regular season finale loss at Hempfield.

Norwin advanced by upsetting No. 3 North Allegheny in the quarterfinals, 2-1.

Madelyn Kugler had four hits to lead the Knights.

Winning both ways

The four remaining teams in the WPIAL Class 5A softball bracket also are the top four seeds.

Two of the teams have relied on plenty of offense while the other two lean on two tremendous pitchers.

The two teams remaining that have sparkled in the circle and on defense this spring collide at Montour when No. 2 Shaler (16-4) battles No. 3 West Allegheny (15-4) in a semifinal at 3 p.m.

Shaler has thrived upon the return of junior pitcher Bria Bosilijevac, who has thrown two no-hitters in the first round and quarterfinals in wins over Connellsville and Trinity in which she combined for 28 strikeouts.

West Allegheny has leaned heavily on freshman pitcher Autumn Bielecki. She is 13-4 this season and has yielded only four runs in the postseason in wins over Latrobe, 8-3, and defending PIAA champion Thomas Jefferson, 2-1.

The Titans are first in 5A, having allowed 2.3 runs per game while the Indians are second at 2.7 runs per game.

Meanwhile, in the other 5A semifinal, the bats have been a big part of the success as top-seeded Penn-Trafford (19-2) prepares to play No. 4 North Hills (17-4) at Fox Chapel at 2 p.m.

The Warriors are third in 5A in runs per game with an average of 9.3, while the Indians are fifth in the class at 8.9.

Penn-Trafford has plated 19 runs in the first two postseason games with wins over Moon, 5-3, and Chartiers Valley, 14-11.

North Hills hasn’t been as explosive, but it has been able to win and advance by beating Baldwin in the opener, 4-3, and then Fox Chapel in the quarterfinals, 6-3.

Off and running

Elizabeth Forward doesn’t have anything to prove on the softball field.

The Warriors captured the school’s second WPIAL championship last season and earned the top seed in the 4A playoffs this year by winning the Section 2-4A title.

But perhaps a message was sent to the remaining three district teams in 4A when EF crushed Derry in the quarterfinals, 23-2 in only three innings.

The Warriors scored nine runs in the first inning and then followed up with 14 runs in the second.

Now No.1 Elizabeth Forward (15-3) will take on Blackhawk (13-5) at North Allegheny at 4 p.m.

Junior pitcher Kylie Prisuta has shined in the postseason for the Cougars.

She doubled, homered and drove home three in a first-round win over Western Beaver, 14-4, and she allowed only one hit and struck out 10 in a quarterfinal triumph over West Mifflin, 6-0.

In the other 4A semifinal Tuesday, No. 2 Hampton (15-4) will take on No. 6 Beaver (15-5) at North Allegheny at 6 p.m.

The Talbots had a first-round bye and then beat Indiana in the quarters, 9-0.

Marissa Snyder allowed only one hit and registered 14 strikeouts for Hampton.

The Bobcats have scored eight runs in each of their playoff wins, beating Belle Vernon in the opener, 8-1, and upending Knoch in the quarterfinals, 8-5.

Sami Springman and Cali Coups were the offensive leaders in each game for Beaver.

This will be the third meeting of the year between these Section 3-4A foes.

Hampton won at Beaver in mid-April, 7-5, and then won again at home five days later, 6-4.

Baseball big class final 4

Some teams that won quarterfinals Monday may actually have 24 hours to prepare for the semifinals.

However, there are some teams that pulled out late wins that have a very quick turnaround before they are back on the diamond for final four action.

Here are the matchups for the 6A, 5A and 4A WPIAL baseball semifinals Tuesday.

Class 6A

• No. 8 Hempfield (9-12) vs. No. 4 Norwin (13-8) at Boyce-Mayview in Upper St. Clair at 7 p.m.

• No. 2 Canon-McMillan (15-6) vs. No. 3 Seneca Valley (15-6) at Boyce-Mayview in Upper St. Clair at 4 p.m.

Class 5A

• No. 1 Pine-Richland (19-3) vs. No. 4 Bethel Park (18-4) at Plum at 4 p.m.

• No. 7 Peters Township (15-7) vs. No. 2 Shaler (15-6) at Plum at 7 p.m.

Class 4A

• No. 1 Indiana (20-1) vs. No. 5 Belle Vernon (16-6) at Gateway at 7 p.m.

• No. 7 Central Valley (12-10) vs. No. 3 Elizabetrh Forfward (15-3) at Gateway at 4 p.m.

Familiar foes

All four teams from Section 1-3A are heading to the second round, so it’s no surprise that two of them will square off in a Lawrence County quarterfinal clash.

No. 3 Ellwood City (15-5) will take on No. 11 Mohawk (11-9) at Neshannock at 4 p.m. on Trib HSSN.

In the opening round, the Wolverines ended Seton LaSalle’s two-year reign as district champs with a 9-1 win.

Aaron Lake was not only the winning pitcher for EC, allowing one hit with six strikeouts, he also went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs.

The Warriors in Round 1 stunned No. 6 Deer Lakes, 6-3.

Jackson Peters was 1 for 2 with a double for Mohawk.

Ellwood City will try to remain unbeaten against Mohawk after sweeping the regular season section series in late April.

The Wolverines beat the Warriors at home, 5-4, then in Bessemer, 8-7.

Here are the other three quarterfinals in Class 3A:

• Top seed Riverside (14-2) will take on No. 8 Burrell (13-8) at North Allegheny at 7 p.m. The Panthers snuck past Shady Side Academy in the first round, 4-3, and the Buccaneers won a high-scoring affair over Charleroi, 10-9.

• No. 4 Waynesburg (16-3) will battle No. 5 South Park (13-6) at Joe Maize Field in Peterswood Park at 7 p.m. The Raiders advanced with a 6-2 victory over Freeport while the Eagles won in the first round over Mt. Pleasant, 4-2.

• Defending champ and No. 2 Avonworth (18-3) will face off against No. 7 Quaker Valley (13-6) at Burkett Field in Robinson Township at 7 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN. Both teams had close opening-round wins at Fox Chapel last week, the Antelopes blanking Keystone Oaks, 1-0, and the Quakers edging Ligonier Valley, 4-2.

Remember us?

Two of the four Class 2A baseball quarterfinals are section rematches, and one other one pits former section mates against each other.

Over the last two years, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and New Brighton were Section 2-2A foes.

The Chargers swept the Lions in their section series both seasons.

In 2023, OLSH beat New Brighton by a combined score of 16-6 in their two section meetings.

Last season, the Chargers outscored the Lions 13-1 in their two wins.

Now No. 2 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (13-7) takes on New Brighton (10-8) in a Class 2A quarterfinal set for North Allegheny at 2 p.m.

This is the playoff opener for the Chargers, who have won four of their last five games and earned a first-round bye.

The Lions advanced to the second round with a 3-0 shutout victory over South Side.

Vernon Krepps pitched six innings, allowed seven hits and had one strikeout in the whitewash.

Here are the other three Class 2A quarterfinals:

• Top seed Neshannock (16-4) goes up against No. 8 Freedom (12-7) at Seneca Valley at 7 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN. The Lancers had a Round 1 bye while the Bulldogs cruised past Apollo-Ridge, 12-2. The teams split their section series last month with Neshannock winning at home, 14-4, then Freedom winning in a return trip to Neshannock, 15-13.

• No. 4 Shenango (15-5) will take on rival No. 12 Laurel (9-10) at Neshannock at 7 p.m. on Trib HSSN. Joey Campoli pitched a shutout in the opening round as the Wildcats blanked Chartiers-Houston, 1-0. Luca Santini was the winning pitcher and delivered two hits in the Spartans’ win over Fort Cherry, 4-3. In their section series, Shenango swept Laurel, winning the two games by a combined score of 14-1.

• No. 3 Burgettstown (12-4) will battle No. 6 Riverview (13-6) at North Allegheny at 4:30 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN. The Blue Devils were co-champs in Section 1-2A and enjoyed a first-round bye, while the Raiders, behind the bat and arm of Johnny Bertucci, knocked off California, 6-2.

Budding playoff rivals

A year ago, they met in the WPIAL Class A semifinals. A year later, they collide a round earlier.

On Tuesday, No. 2 Eden Christian Academy (14-4) goes up against No. 10 Avella (11-7) at Burkett Field in Robinson Township at 4 p.m. with audio on Trib HSSN.

Last spring, the two met in the district final four with the Warriors ending the Eagles’ magical postseason run, 11-2.

Noah Emswiler allowed two runs on five hits in the complete-game victory, plus he was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI.

The two met again in the PIAA quarterfinals with Eden Christian winning again, 11-4.

Brady Hull was 3 for 4 with a double, triple and two RBIs, plus he picked up the win on the mound with 11 strikeouts in five innings.

Now they continue their postseason rivalry, which will mark the Warriors’ 2025 playoff debut after earning a first-round bye by finishing as tri-champions with Bishop Canevin and Serra Catholic in Section 3-A.

The Eagles upended Western Beaver in the first round, 5-0, thanks to Bryce Wright pitching a complete-game two-hitter with nine strikeouts.

Here are the other three quarterfinals in Class A:

• Top seed Serra Catholic (17-3) will go up against No. 8 Jefferson-Morgan (14-3) at Joe Maize Field in Peterswood Park at 4 p.m. The Eagles had a first-round bye and have won four in a row and 12 of their last 13 games. The Rockets blew away Winchester Thurston in the opening round, 11-4, thanks in part to Joey Bair’s two hits and two RBIs.

• No. 4 Bishop Canevin (11-6) battles No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (16-2) at West Mifflin at 4 p.m. The two-time defending champion Crusaders blanked Rochester in the first round, 5-0, as Kole Olszewski scattered four hits and struck out 10. The Centurions, behind Tyler Samide, who threw a no-hitter with nine strikeouts, shut out Sewickley Academy, 14-0.

• No. 3 Leechburg (15-3) goes up against No. 6 Carmichaels (13-4) at West Mifflin at 7 p.m. The Section 2-A champion Blue Devils had a first-round bye while Robbie Wilson-Jones had two hits and four RBIs to lead the Mighty Mikes past Union in the opening round, 9-1.

Boys volleyball final four

There is only one team left in the WPIAL boys volleyball 3A playoffs not from Section 3-4A.

Not only are they not from the northern section that has dominated the 3A volleyball landscape, this team finished in third place in Section 2-3A.

The No. 6 Penn-Trafford Warriors (12-6) proudly wear the cap of a longshot heading into the 3A semifinals against No. 2 Seneca Valley (13-3) at Fox Chapel at 6 p.m.

The Warriors swept past Peters Township in the opening round, 3-0, and then stunned No. 3 Latrobe in the quarterfinals, 3-2.

The Raiders enjoyed a first-round bye before rolling past Canon-McMillan in the quarters, 3-0.

Seneca Valley is in search of its first boys volleyball crown while Penn-Trafford claimed gold in 2016.

In the other final four 3A match, top seed North Allegheny (13-1) will battle section rival No. 5 Pine-Richland (11-5) at Fox Chapel at 7:30 p.m.

The 22-time champion Tigers had an opening-round bye before disposing off Mt. Lebanon in the second round, 3-0.

The Rams raced past Baldwin in the opener, 3-0, and then stunned No. 4 Hempfield in the quarterfinals, 3-2.

NA swept the regular season series from P-R, winning 3-1 and 3-0.

In Class 2A, it is Section 2-2A against Section 4-2A in both semifinals.

Section 2 champion and top seed Shaler (14-1) will take on Section 4 runner-up and No. 5 South Fayette (15-4) at North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m.

The 2023 and 2024 3A champion Titans had a first-round bye and followed that with a win over Hopewell in the quarters, 3-0.

The Lions first knocked off McKeesport in the first round, 3-0, then defeated No. 4 North Catholic in the second round, 3-1.

The other final four match pits Section 4 winner and No. 2 Ambridge (14-1) against No. 6 Mars (10-10), the third-place team out of Section 2.

The Bridgers beat Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals following a first-round bye, 3-1.

The Fightin’ Planets swept South Park in the opening round, 3-0, then upset No. 3 Seton LaSalle in the quarterfinals, 3-2.

These teams met in a nonsection match March 17 with Ambridge beating Mars, 3-0.