What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 21, 2021: Class 6A baseball joins the playoff party

By: Don Rebel
Friday, May 21, 2021 | 12:07 AM

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Then there was one.

After three days of WPIAL baseball first-round and even quarterfinal games throughout five of the classifications, the Class 6A district baseball tournament begins Friday.

With only nine playoff teams, there is only one first-round game as Section 2-6A rivals Canon-McMillan and Upper St. Clair square off for a third time this season in a game to be played at West Mifflin. You can watch the game on HSSN at 4 p.m.

The first meeting between the teams was a back-and-forth game April 12.

Canon-McMillan scored three runs in the third inning, only to have Upper St. Clair answer with a four-run fourth inning that included a successful suicide squeeze by Tim Speer.

The Big Macs took the lead for good in the home half of the sixth inning when Andrew Kocun, Tyler Greenleaf and Tanner Rosing all singled and scored.

Greenleaf picked up the win in relief for Canon-Mac.

The next evening, Brandon Liokateas threw a five-hit shutout as the Panthers blanked the Big Macs, 5-0.

The winner will earn the No. 8 seed and face top-seeded North Allegheny at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Matulevic Field in Shaler and on HSSN.

5A odd quads

Three of the four Class 5A quarterfinals pit section champions against section runners-up.

The combined record of Mars and Franklin Regional is 29-7.

For Shaler against Bethel Park, the combined overall records are 30-8.

The second-round matchup between Penn-Trafford and West Allegheny features two teams combining for a record of 29-9.

Then there is Latrobe, fourth place in Section 1, battling Peters Township, third place in Section 4, in a quadrant that was supposed to be No. 4 South Fayette against No. 5 Plum.

Even after the Indians stunned the Lions and the Wildcats beat the Mustangs, the combined records of Latrobe and Peters Township are 21-18.

All four 5A quarterfinals games can be seen or heard on Trib HSSN.

Southern comfort

Northern baseball teams are once again having success up and down the district classifications.

However, that is not the case in 2A.

Five of the eight remaining teams are south of the City of Pittsburgh and will be featured in three of the second-round games on Friday.

Serra Catholic plays Laurel in a south-meets-north contest, while southern teams collide in two games at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township when California takes on top-seeded Seton LaSalle and Chartiers-Houston faces off with Carmichaels.

The lone exception is a battle of Lawrence County teams when section rivals Shenango and Neshannock square off for a third time in a noon contest at Pullman Park in Butler.

The Wildcats and Lancers split in late March with Shenango winning 16-1 in the first game, then the Lancers avenging with a 9-2 road win.

All four 2A quarterfinals games can also be seen or heard on Trib HSSN.