What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 5, 2022: 6A softball powers vie for section title

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 | 11:49 PM

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The Section 1-6A softball championship will be decided Thursday when Mt. Lebanon visits Canon-McMillan.

The Blue Devils are 6-1 in the section and have a chance to win the title outright.

The Big Macs check in with a 5-2 section record. If they win, they would finish in a three-way tie for the section championship with Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park (6-2).

The fact that multiple teams could finished tied for the title is nothing new for this section.

In the last nine seasons, there has been a two-way or three-way tie for the section crown five times.

In that same time frame, Canon-McMillan has shared or won the section outright seven times.

The only team that has not been a part of the section title picture this past decade has been Mt. Lebanon.

The Blue Devils last won the section championship, either shared or outright, back in 2010.

Mt. Lebanon beat Canon-McMillan, 18-14, in a wild offensive contest in the first meeting between the two teams last week.

You can hear the game on Trib HSSN at 4:15 p.m.

Diamond dandies

Other WPIAL softball and baseball games set for Thursday with playoff ramifications include:

• North Allegheny at Norwin in Section 2-6A softball as the Tigers have already clinched a playoff spot while the host Knights need a win Thursday and a victory over Butler, plus an NA lost to Hempfield to also clinch.

• Greensburg Central Catholic at West Greene in Section 2-A softball as the visiting Centurions try to earn a share of the section title with the top-ranked Pioneers.

• Waynesburg at McGuffey in Section 4-3A baseball as the Highlanders need a win to clinch a postseason berth.

• Riverside at Laurel in Section 2-2A baseball where the visiting Panthers have a one-game lead over the Spartans for first place in the section.

Fighting for fourth

With just over a week left in section play in WPIAL boys volleyball, a couple of matches are set for Thursday with fourth place up for grabs.

In Section 1-3A, Bethel Park visits Moon. The Black Hawks are currently 5-4 and in fourth place, one game ahead of the host Tigers at 4-5.

Bethel Park can clinch with a win, having defeated Moon earlier this season, 3-1.

In Section 1-2A, Ambridge hosts Hopewell. Both the Bridgers and Vikings are tied for fourth place with 3-5 section records.

Ambridge can clinch with a win after it defeated Hopewell earlier, 3-0.

The top four teams in each section qualify for the district playoffs.

Team Tennis quarters

The WPIAL moves into Round 2 of the 2022 boys team tennis playoffs with eight quarterfinals matches.

The four Class 2A matches are:

South Park at top-seed Quaker Valley

Central Valley at Thomas Jefferson

Valley at Mars

Montour vs. North Catholic at Cranberry Township Park

The four Class 3A matches are:

Central Catholic at Franklin Regional

Upper St. Clair at Shady Side Academy

Fox Chapel at North Allegheny

Sewickley Academy at Mt. Lebanon

All the matches begin at 3 p.m. except for the SP-QV match is at 4 p.m. and CV-TJ is at 4:30 p.m.