By Chris Rossetti, D9Sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com

PITTSBURGH – It’s championship time in WPIAL baseball, as the 2007-2008 WPIAL McDonald's baseball championship brackets were recently released with three preliminary games set for May 13 followed by a game May 14 before the bulk of the action starts with contests May 15 and 16.

Defending PIAA champion Seneca Valley is the top seed in Class AAAA, West Allegheny is the No. 1 seed in Class AAA, Seton-LaSalle tops the bracket in Class AA and Springdale is the No. 1 seed in Class A.

The title games will be played May 27-28 at Falconi/Consol Energy Field in Washington, the home of the Washington Wild Things.

Complete brackets can be found on the WPIAL web site by clicking here.

CLASS AAAA

Top four seeds: 1. Seneca Valley (17-2) 2. Plum (17-3) 3. Canon-McMillan (16-4) 4. Pittsburgh Central Catholic (15-3)

2007 Title Game: Peters Township 5, Bethel Park 3

About Class AAAA – All four semifinalists from a year ago are back in the field led by last year’s third-place team Seneca Valley as the this year’s top seed. Defending champion Peters Township (14-6) is the No. 8 seed but has gone 7-1 down the stretch including a pair of wins over No. 3 seed Canon-McMillan. 2007 runner-up Bethel Park (11-8) is the 13th and final seed, while fourth-place Plum, last year’s top seed before being upset in the semifinals by Peters Township and then losing in the consolation game to Seneca Valley, is the second seed this year.

About the top seeds:

1. Seneca Valley – The Raiders were the No. 2 seed in last year’s WPIAL playoffs but were upset by Bethel Park 12-4 in the semifinals before coming back to beat Plum 6-4 in the consolation game to earn a PIAA berth. Seneca Valley then rode the PIAA playoff spot to the championship beating Souderton 9-1 in the title game. That game was a lot closer than the final score indicated, as the contest was knotted at 0-0 after seven before each team scored once in the eighth. Seneca then scored eight times in the top of the ninth to win the game. The winning pitcher in that game, senior Cory Mazzoni, is back this season after going the full nine in last year’s title game. The Raiders also arguably played in the toughest AAAA section in the WPIAL this season with Section 1 being the only section to have four playoffs team (Shaler, North Allegheny and Butler are the others). Seneca Valley has won 14 of 15 going into the playoffs with the lone loss a 4-3 non-conference defeat to Moon April 26. The Raiders also enter the postseason with a 6-1 record vs. fellow playoff teams with the lone loss a 4-3 defeat to North Allegheny, a team it then beat 3-1 later in the season. But while Seneca Valley is the top seed, a showdown with defending champion Peters Township could be the Raiders first game. Seneca Valley plays the winner of a May 16 first-round contest between eighth seed Peters Township and ninth seeded Latrobe (14-5). 

2. Plum – The Mustangs enter the playoffs having won eight straight since a 13-3 loss to Pittsburgh Central Catholic April 16. That was the second of two straight losses for Plum, which also fell to Shaler 3-1 the day before. The only other loss for the Mustangs was a 4-1 defeat to top-seeded Seneca Valley in Plum’s season opener March 25. Plum’s pitching staff has been the key to the recent winning streak with the Mustang hurdles allowing just 10 runs since PCC scored 13 April 16. In fact, on the season Plum pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs in 15 of the 20 games with the Mustangs, not surprisingly, going 14-1 in those games. The Mustangs, who will play the winner of the Franklin Regional-Butler game in the second round, are 5-3 against fellow playoff teams this season. One of those wins came 1-0 over Franklin Regional May 3.  

3. Canon-McMillan – The Big Macs started the season 9-0 but are just 7-4 since then including a pair of losses to Peters Township. Pitching has been a problem in the final 11 games for Canon-Mac with the Big Mac hurlers allowing an average of 6.1 runs per game over that span. That is the bad news. The good news is Canon-McMillan is scoring 7.9 runs per game over the same span, which also happens to be the Big Macs average per game (7.95) this season. In fact, Canon-Mac has been held to fewer than five runs in a game just four times this year going 2-2 in those games. The Big Macs are 4-2 vs. AAAA playoff teams this year with both losses coming to Peters Township including a 10-5 defeat in the season finale May 7. Canon-McMillan will face the winner of a first-round game between sixth-seeded Shaler (13-6) and 11th-seeded Gateway (11-8).

4. Pittsburgh Central Catholic – The Vikings, who along with Serra Catholic, are trying to become the first WPIAL school to win a football, basketball and baseball WPIAL title in the same school year, open the baseball portion of that trifecta at 7 p.m. May 16 vs. 13th-seeded Bethel Park (11-8), last year’s runner-up, at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township with the winner playing the winner of the 12-5 game between North Allegheny (13-6) and Hempfield (14-4). PCC tied for the Section 4 title with Plum but a 4-3 loss to the Mustangs in the season finale May 7 cost the Vikings not only the outright section title but probably a higher seed as well. PCC beat No. 2 seed Plum 13-3 April 16. PCC went 4-2 in its final six games after starting the season 11-1 including a 10-game win streak. The Vikings are 4-3 against AAAA playoff teams this season.  

CLASS AAA

Top four seeds: 1. West Allegheny (16-3) 2. Hampton (14-4) 3. Moon (16-4) 4. West Mifflin (16-3)

2007 Title Game: West Allegheny 6, Blackhawk 3  

About Class AAA – The three PIAA qualifiers from last season are back including last year’s champion West Allegheny, who is the top seed, last year’s runner-up Blackhawk (12-4), who is the fifth seed and the 2007 third-place team Trinity (13-6), which is the seventh seed. Don’t discount Blackhawk from making another run, the Cougars were just 9-9 entering last season’s playoffs before making run to the title game from the 11th seed. This year’s 11th seed is 9-11 New Castle, who was the second seed last year before being upset by Blackhawk in the semifinals and then by fourth-seeded Trinity in the consolation game. But don’t expect the Red Hurricanes to make a run this year. They lost five of their final six games and seven of their last 10.  

About the top seeds:

1. West Allegheny – The Indians were the top seed last year and breezed to the title going 23-0. But West Allegheny was knocked out of the PIAA playoffs in the first round by eventual champion Punxsutawney 3-2 in eight innings. Considering the easy path to the state title game the Chucks had after that game, it could be argued that West Allegheny was either the second or third best team in the state a year ago. While not unbeaten this year, they have been pretty good and enter the postseason on a five-game win streak and having won 9 of 11. Of their three losses one came to section rival the third-seeded Moon, with whom they spilt the season series, a second game to AAAA Pine-Richland and the third to Beaver Falls. Two of the three losses were by a single run. The Indians pitching was extremely strong down the stretch with West Allegheny allowing just nine runs in its final 10 games including six shutouts while going 9-1 during that stretch. On the season, the Indians allowed three or fewer runs in 14 of their 19 games with eight shutouts. West Allegheny has a first-round bye and will play the winner of the 8-9 game between Laurel Highlands (16-4) and Steel Valley (13-5). The Indians were a combined 5-1 vs. Class AAA playoff teams this season.

2. Hampton – The Talbots, who lost to West Allegheny in the second round last season, started the season on fire winning their first nine games and 11 of their first 12. But they enter the playoffs with just three wins in their past six games. Pitching has been a factor in the late slump with Hampton allowing 38 runs (6.3) in the final six games. But is the slump a reason for concern? Maybe not. A closer look reveals that two of the losses were to Quad A playoff teams Seneca Valley (the No. 1 seed) and Butler, while the third was a one-run loss to Blackhawk, the fifth seed in the Class AAA bracket. The fourth loss was to another Quad A playoff participant Franklin Regional, and the loss to Blackhawk was the lone defeat to a Class AAA playoff team. Hampton is 3-1 vs. the Class AAA field this season and will play the winner of the 7-10 game between Trinity and Chartiers Valley (11-6).

3. Moon – The Tigers play in the same conference as top seeded West Allegheny and split the season series with the Indians winning 5-4 April 2 at home and losing 10-0 at WA April 21. Moon has lost just one since that April 21 loss to West Allegheny finishing the season winning 8 of 9 with the lone loss to Quad A Pine-Richland. During the closing nine-game stretch, the Tigers offense was alive averaging 9.1 runs per game. It needed to be considering Moon was allowing 5.4 runs per contest over the same stretch of time. Last season, Moon lost in the second round to New Castle. The Tigers could get their revenge this year, as they have a first-round bye and play the winner of the 6-11 game between Greensburg Salem (14-5) and New Castle in the second round. Moon was just 2-2 vs. Class AAA playoff teams this season also splitting its season series with 10th-seeded Chartiers Valley.

4. West Mifflin – The Titans were the sixth seed last year before being upset in the first round by Blackhawk. This year they get by the first round by virtue of a bye but could once again find themselves playing Blackhawk, as they will face the winner of the 5-12 game between Blackhawk and Derry (11-8). After losing its season opener to a team from Colorado in Cocoa Beach, Fla., West Mifflin then won 12 straight before suffering an 8-1 setback to West Allegheny April 25. It followed that up by winning four more before falling in the regular-season finale to section rival Steel Valley, the ninth seed in the Class AAA bracket, 12-2. The 12 runs were the most allowed by West Mifflin in a game this season, a season that going into that game had seen the Titans allowing just 2.9 runs per game to its 16 WPIAL opponents.  

CLASS AA

Top four seeds: 1. Seton-LaSalle (17-0) 2. Burrell (15-1) 3. Beaver (14-4) 4. Neshannock (16-4)

2007 Title Game: North Catholic 4, Seton-LaSalle 3  

About Class AA – Maybe the deepest of the four classifications, Class AA features nine teams with at least 12 wins and four with at least 15. There are a total of 19 teams in the bracket, which starts with three pigtail games May 13, but one of those teams isn’t last year’s champion, North Catholic, which went just 9-10 this year. The other three PIAA qualifiers from a year ago do return including last season’s runner-up Seton-LaSalle which is the top seed this year, third-place Bishop Canevin, which is the 13th seed this year and fourth-place Riverview, which is the 15th seed this season.   

About the top seeds:

1. Seton-LaSalle – The Rebels are the lone unbeaten team left in the WPIAL this season and really haven’t been challenged much needing to win just three one-run games among their 17 victories. South Fayette (10-5), the 19th seed, gave Seton-LaSalle its most trouble this year twice losing one-run contests to the Rebels. In all, Seton-LaSalle was 4-0 vs. Class AA playoff teams this year also sweeping a season series from Bishop Canevin. The Rebels seemingly have it all with solid pitching and a great offense. Seton-LaSalle scored seven or more runs 11 times this season while averaging 8.4 runs per game and being held under five just twice (4-3 win over South Fayette and 3-0 win over Carlynton). Meanwhile, the Rebels are allowing just 2.2 runs per game and if you take out the seven Montour scored on opening day that number drops to 1.9 over the final 16 games. No team has scored more than five runs in a game vs. Seton-LaSalle since the Montour contest and only three (Bishop Canevin, South Fayette and Sto-Rox) have even managed four or more runs. Last year the Rebels made it to the PIAA semifinals before losing to eventual champion Bald Eagle Area 8-5. The 8-5 loss came just four days after Seton-LaSalle needed a marathon-like 15 innings to beat Philipsburg-Osceola 7-6 in the second round. The Rebels will open the WPIAL playoffs at May 15 at 5 p.m. at the Burkett Complex in Robinson Township against the winner of the May 13 pigtail game between 16th-seeded Southmoreland (9-9) and 17th seeded Valley (8-6). The winner of the May 15 games will face the winner of the 8-9 game between Shady Side Academy (13-6) and Ford City (11-5).

2. Burrell – The Buccaneers have been almost as good as Seton-LaSalle this year having won 15 in a row since dropping their season opener 10-0 to Class Quad A Franklin Regional, the seventh seed in the Quad A playoffs. Burrell also has rarely been tested playing just one one-run game and two two-run games during the win streak. The Bucs are outscoring their opponents 6.8-2 during that stretch and have allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of the 15 games. Burrell is 4-0 vs. Class AA playoff teams this season sweeping season series from conference rivals Ford City (11-5, 9th seed) and Valley (8-6, 17th seed). The Buccaneers will play the winner of the pigtail game between 15th-seeded Riverview (9-9) and 18th-seeded New Brighton (10-9) at 4 p.m. May 15 at Shaler. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the 7-10 contest between Center (14-5) and Washington (10-5). Last season, Burrell was the top seed and beat Neshannock in the opening round before being upset by eighth seeded Bishop Canevin in the second round.

3. Beaver – The Bobcats are another team that has been playing well all season, and they enter the playoffs having won five straight and 10 of 12. During the season-ending five-game winning streak, Beaver averaged 11.6 runs per game, and the Bobcats are averaging 10.7 runs per contest on the season. They have to score because they also allow an average of 5.1 runs per game, but that number has been steadily going down as the season has progressed. Beaver allowed three of fewer runs in seven of its last 11 games, but even in that stretch it allowed 14 runs to Blackhawk and 11 to New Brighton. On the year, the Bobcats are 3-1 vs. Class AA playoff teams having swept the season series from No. 7 seed Center and split the series with No. 18 New Brighton losing 13-8 and winning 12-11. Beaver will play the winner of the 14-18 game between Riverside (12-6) and South Fayette (10-5) in the first round at 4 p.m. May 15 at Chippewa Park in Beaver County. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the 6-11 game between Charleroi (10-4) and Mohawk (10-7). Beaver was also the third seed last year but lost its opening round game to 14th seeded Beaver Falls 4-2.

4. Neshannock – The Lancers come into the postseason having won eight straight games and 10 of 11 after starting the season 6-3. During the eight-game winning streak, Neshannock scored in double figures seven times including six of the last seven games. On the season, the Lancers average 9.2 runs per game while allowing 5.8. They have been good in close games going 7-2 in contests decided by two runs or less. Of Neshannock’s four losses, one game to Boardman (Ohio) and one came to Butler, the 10th seed in the WPIAL AAAA playoffs. A third also came to Class AA 14th seed Riverside, a team that the Lancers spilt the season series with this year, giving Neshannock a 3-1 record vs. Class AA playoff teams. Neshannock will open up the postseason at 3 p.m. May 14 against 13th seeded Bishop Canevin (10-7) with the winner taking on the winner of the 5-12 game between Greensburg Central Catholic (15-3) and Brownsville (12-4).

CLASS A

Top four seeds: 1. Springdale (16-2) 2. Serra Catholic (19-1) 3. Carmichaels (17-1) 4. Chartiers Houston (15-3)

2007 Title Game: Springdale 5, California 2  

About Class A – While Class A might not be as deep as Class AA, it does feature five teams with at least 15 wins. Springdale, the defending champion and only one of the three PIAA qualifiers from last year to qualify for this year’s playoffs, was possible a surprise choice as the No. 1 seed. The Dynamos did tie for the Section 4 conference title with No. 2 seed Serra Catholic, and the teams did split their season series. But Serra Catholic actual won the most recent meeting with a 9-8 victory April 23. Springdale beat the Eagles 5-2 April 18, but that was Serra’s only loss of the season. Springdale also suffered a 7-2 defeat to Shady Side Academy.

About the top seeds:

1. Springdale – Since the April 23 loss to Serra Catholic, Springdale has won six straight games by an average score of 12.2-1.7 with three shutouts. On the year, the Dynamos are outscoring their opponents 184 to 57 (10.2-3.2) and have scored in double digits in 11 of their 18 games. Springdale is 3-1 vs. Class A playoff teams and also holds a 4-3 win over Class AA ninth seed Ford City. The Dynamos get a first-round bye and will open postseason play against the winner of the 8-9 game between Avella (12-6) and Union-New Castle (10-7). Last season, Springdale made its run to the WPIAL title as the No. 2 seed but was upset in the first round of the PIAA playoffs by District 9’s third-place team Elk County Catholic 4-2.  

2. Serra Catholic – The Eagles, along with Pittsburgh Central Catholic in AAAA, are trying to become the first WPIAL school to win the football, basketball and baseball WPIAL titles in the same season. Serra Catholic is also looking to make the PIAA title game in all three sports. The Eagles lost to PIAA Class A football title game to Steelton-Highspire in December before winning the PIAA Class A basketball title over Freire Charter in March. As mentioned above, Serra’s lone loss this season came April 18 to Springdale, and the Eagles have won eight straight since then including one by forfeit. In the 19 games Serra Catholic has played, it is averaging 11.8 runs per game while allowing 2.8. But what happens if the Eagles bats are shutdown? Serra had only one game in which it didn’t score five runs this season, and that was the 5-2 loss to Springdale. Serra, which has a first-round bye, opens the postseason with the winner of the 7-10 game between Geibel (12-5) and Cornell (9-11). Last year, the Eagles were the fifth seed and beat Cornell 10-1 in the opening round and fourth-seeded Our Lady of Sacred Heart 8-0 in Round Two before losing in the semifinals 10-5 to top-seeded California. Serra was then denied a PIAA playoff berth when it lost the consolation game 13-0 in just five innings to third seeded Laurel.

3. Carmichaels – Don’t leave out the Mighty Mikes when debating who will win the WPIAL Class A title. Carmichaels hasn’t lost a game since March 31 when Belle Vernon dropped the Mikes 8-6. Since then Carmichaels has won 15 straight games, and they have done it with solid offense (8.9 runs per game during the streak) and good pitching (2.2 runs per game allowed during the streak). In fact, the Mikes pitching staff has allowed just 41 runs (2.3 per game) in 17 games and has allowed more than three runs just four times. Carmichaels, who is 4-0 vs. Class A playoff teams, has a first-round bye. The Mighty Mikes will start the postseason with a second-round game vs. the winner of the 6-11 contest between Monaca (10-5) and Vincentian Academy (10-7). Last season, Carmichaels was the seventh seed and beat 10th seeded Rochester 4-1 in the first round before losing to eventual champion Springdale 12-6 in the second round.

4. Chartiers-Houston – The Buccaneers had a 14-game win streak snapped in their regular-season finale 7-6 to Avella (12-6), the eighth seed in the Class A playoffs. But Chartiers-Houston, after starting the season 1-2, ended it with 14 wins in its final 15 games. And like the other top seeds, offense wasn’t a problem for Chartiers-Houston. The Bucs averaged 9.8 runs per game on the season including 10.7 over their final 10 games. They also can pitch allowing an average of 3.1 runs per game on the season while allowing more than three just three times in their final 13 games. Chartiers-Houston was 5-1 vs. Class A playoff teams on the season. After a first-round bye, the Bucs will open the playoffs against the winner of the 12-5 contest between Jefferson Morgan (13-5) and Rochester (15-4). Last year, Chartiers-Houston was the eighth seed and beat Vincentian Academy 5-0 in the first round before losing a heartbreaker 5-3 in eight innings to top seeded California in the second round.

Chris Rossetti covers Western Pennsylvania for MaxPreps.com.