By Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
PITTSBURGH – The 2007-2008 WPIAL McDonald's softball championship brackets were released this week with the first games set for May 10, 13 and 14.
Latrobe (Class AAAA), Ellwood City (Class AAA), Riverside (Class AA) and Vincentian (Class A) are the top seeds in the tournament. A closer look at each bracket follows.
The title games will be played May 29 at California University of Pennsylvania.
For complete brackets click here.
CLASS AAAA
Top four seeds: 1. Latrobe (16-2) 2. Seneca Valley (14-5) 3. Shaler (14-4) 4. Mt. Lebanon (15-3).
2007 Title Game: Latrobe 5, Seneca Valley 1
About the top seeds:
1. Latrobe – While having lost just twice, both losses came in the month of May including a 1-0 setback to non-playoff participant Albert Gallatin May 1 and a 2-0 loss to 10th seeded Hempfield May 6. A chance at revenge on Hempfield won’t be possible until the title game. Latrobe will, however, meet a team it has already faced in its opening round game which will come in the second round after getting a first-round bye. The Wildcats will take on the winner of the May 13 North Allegheny-Connellsville game, which is taking place at Gateway High School. Latrobe beat Connellsville three times this year and North Allegheny once (2-0 May 2).
2. Seneca Valley – Like Latrobe, the Raiders haven’t set the world on fire coming into the postseason having gone just 5-4 since April 17. They do get a first-round bye before playing the winner of the Hempfield-Kiski Area game in the second round. They haven’t played Kiski this season and beat Hempfield 6-0.
3. Shaler – Unlike the top two seeds, the Titans have been playing some of their best ball down the stretch having won 12 of 13 since a 2-3 start. But the one loss was an 8-4 setback to section rival Seneca Valley April 29 at home. Shaler, who also has a first-round bye, will play the winner of the Trinity-McKeesport game. The Titans didn’t face either of those teams during the regular season.
4. Mt. Lebanon – The Blue Devils are the only one of the top four that has a first-round game facing off against Gateway (9-10) at 5 p.m. May 13 at Shaler. Mt. Lebo enters the postseason having won 8 of 9 while doing it mostly with pitching. The Blue Devils have allowed just nine runs in those nine games including six games of allowing one or fewer runs. The lone loss during the stretch was a 2-1 loss to Peters Township May 2 that evened the season series at a game apiece between the schools. That game could be a preview of a second-round match-up with the Indians taking on North Hills for the right to play the winner of the Mt. Lebanon-Gateway contest.
CLASS AAA
Top four seeds: 1. Ellwood City (16-1) 2. Waynesburg (12-4) 3. Keystone Oaks (15-4) 4. Knoch (15-3)
2007 Title Game: Belle Vernon 3, Elizabeth Forward 1
About the top seeds:
1. Ellwood City – The Wolverines lone loss of the year came in their final game of the year 2-0 to section rival New Castle, the 10th seed. It was the first time Ellwood City had been scored on in six games (a 3-2 win over Knoch April 19). The Wolverines get a first-round bye and will play the winner of the Franklin Regional-Chartiers Valley game in the second round. Knoch would appear to be the biggest hurdle in Ellwood’s path to the title game having only lost by that single run.
2. Waynesburg – To say the Raiders are limping into the playoffs would be an understatement. Waynesburg has lost three in a row after an eight-game winning streak. Two of those losses did come to playoff teams (Elizabeth Forward in Class AAA and Connellsville in Class AAAA) but the Raiders also lost to six-win McGuffey down the stretch, a team it had beaten by a combined margin of 21-1 in its previous two meetings. Waynesburg draws Kittanning (12-7) in the opening round at 5 p.m. May 14 at Cal with the winner taking on the winner of the New Castle-Montour contest.
3. Keystone Oaks – The Golden Eagles are also coming off a loss in their final regular-season game – a 2-1 setback to Chartiers Valley – and finished the season just 5-3 (with one of the wins being a forfeit win) down the stretch. KO will face Indiana in the opening round at 3 p.m. May 14 at Gateway High School with the winner taking on the winner of the Yough-Belle Vernon game.
4. Knoch – The Knights enter the playoffs having won 6 of 7 and have been doing it with the bat averaging 7.9 runs per game in those seven contests including 14 in each of the last two. Swinging the bat well has been a necessity, because Knoch is also allowing an average of five runs per contest during the stretch. The Knights will face Ambridge in the opening round at 5 p.m. May 14 at Seneca Valley High School with the winner taking on the winner of the Elizabeth-Forward Greensburg Salem contest.
CLASS AA
Top four seeds: 1. Riverside (15-1) 2. South Allegheny (15-2) 3. Sto-Rox (11-3) 4. Washington (17-3).
2007 Title Game: Valley 2, Washington 0
About Class AA: Class AA might be the toughest bracket of the four with 12 of 18 teams sporting at least 12 wins including five with 15 or more. It is so loaded that 13-1 Valley isn’t even in the top four and 14-4 Center has to play a pigtail game Saturday.
About the top seeds:
1. Riverside – The Panthers reward for being the No. 1 seed will be to face the winner of the Ford City (11-6) vs. Burrell (11-3) contest being played Saturday. Riverside’s game is slated for 3 p.m. May 13 at North Allegheny. The Panthers have won 15 straight since an opening-day 9-7 setback to Butler March 26, and the 15 wins have mostly come in impressive fashion. Riverside has outscored its victims by an average of 9.2 to 0.7. Since Butler scored the nine runs in the opener, no team has scored more than two against Riverside this season and that’s only been done twice (13-2 over Freedom and 3-2 over Beaver Falls). Riverside has won a couple of close games including the 3-2 victory over Beaver Falls, 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Mohawk, the Warriors only two defeats of the season, and a 2-1 win over Quad A No. 2 seed Seneca Valley. A win over either Ford City or Burrell would mean facing the winner of the Greensburg Central Catholic-Beth Center game.
2. South Allegheny – The Gladiators saw a 12-game winning streak snapped in their regular-season finale 2-0 by Serra Catholic, the Class A fourth seed, but have been nearly as dominating as Riverside on offense this year averaging 7.6 runs per game. Of some concern, though, has to be a possible semifinal matchup with South Park, which beat SA 1-0 April 3 while also losing to the Gladiators 5-1 and 7-4. Of course, just to get that far they have to run the gauntlet that starts with a first-round match-up against either Laurel (7-9) or more likely 14-4 Center at 5 p.m. May 13 at North Allegheny and then, if they win, a date with either Mohawk (13-2) or Mt. Pleasant (15-3).
3. Sto-Rox – The Vikings enter the postseason on an eight-game winning streak and having won 11 of their final 12 games with the lone loss coming 13-0 to Quad A No. 2 seed Seneca Valley. Sto-Rox has scored in double digits in six of its 11 wins while allowing more than three runs just six times this season and only four times since losing the first two games of the year. The Vikings face 10-7 Burgettstown in the opening round at 1 p.m. May 13 at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township with the winner taking on the winner of the South Park-Deer Lakes contest.
4. Washington – The Little Prexies come into the playoffs riding a 12-game hot streak and having won 14 of their last 15. Washington hasn’t lost since a 4-1 setback to Beth Center April 8, which is its only loss of the year up north after starting the season 3-2 at the Grand Strands Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The setback to Beth Center is also the only time since coming north that Wash High has allowed more than two runs in a game. The Little Prexies opponents are averaging just 0.7 runs per game in the 15 games played in Pennsylvania. Washington has shutout five of its last six opponents. The Little Prexies start playoff action at 5 p.m. May 13 with 11-7 Brentwood at Fairhaven Park with the winner playing the winner of the Valley-New Brighton game.
CLASS A
Top four seeds: 1. Vincentian Academy (17-2) 2. Neshannock (16-2) 3. Leechburg (12-3) 4. Serra Catholic (14-2)
2007 Title Game: Chartiers-Houston 5, Vincentian Academy 1
About Class A: Like Class AA, Class A appears stacked with eight teams sporting 13 or more wins and four or fewer losses including an intriguing 8-9 matchup between a pair of 16-4 squads Chartiers-Houston and West Greene with the winner facing top seeded Vincentian Academy.
About the top seeds:
1. Vincentian Academy – The Royals, who get a first-round bye before playing the winner of the Chartiers-Houston-West Greene game, have lost just once to a Pennsylvania team. That was a 2-1 setback to Bishop Canevin April 26, but VA got revenge with a 6-0 win over BC May 6. The Royals only other loss was a 9-4 defeat to Vernon Hills, Ill., March 26 in Cocoa Beach, Fla. VA hasn’t been scored upon since a 6-2 win over Avonworth April 30 ending the season with four straight shutouts giving the Royals 13 shutouts in 19 games. Offensively, VA has scored in double digits eight times and is averaging eight runs per game.
2. Neshannock – The Lancers lost a slugfest in their season opener 14-13 to South Side Beaver April 2 but have allowed just a total of 28 runs since that game. They enter the postseason on an 8-game winning streak including victories over fellow playoff participants Union-New Castle and Western Beaver. Neshannock’s last loss came 3-2 to Mohawk April 19. The Lancers open the playoffs at 1 p.m. May 14 at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township against 10-8 Mapletown but could face 17-3 Bishop Canevin in the second round if the Crusaders can get a first-round win over Mt. Alvernia (11-5).
3. Leechburg – The Blue Devils haven’t lost since a 5-1 defeat to Mt. Alvernia April 8 left them at 2-3. Since then Leechburg has won 10 straight games including a 2-1 victory over Mt. Alvernia April 25 and a 3-2 win over fourth-seeded Serra Catholic April 24. The win over Serra also avenged an early season 6-5 loss to the Eagles. Leechburg takes on 7-8 Western Beaver in the opening round at 3 p.m. May 14 at Fairhaven Park. The winner of that game meets the winner of the Fort Cherry-Union-New Castle contest.
4. Serra Catholic – The Eagles only losses this season have come 3-2 against Leechburg and 1-0 to Mt. Alvernia, teams that also lost to Serra this year. Serra enters the playoffs having won four in a row and seven of eight. The Eagles will take on Avonworth (10-8) in the opening round at 5 p.m. May 14 at Hampton’s Community Park. The winner faces the winner of the Carmichael (14-2) and Bentworth (12-6) contest.
