Softball brackets unveiled by WPIAL

Elizabeth Forward (No. 1), Bentworth (No. 2), Frazier (No. 4) earn first-round byes in their respective classifications.

After a nearly hour-long delay, the WPIAL announced the field for the 2024 softball championships Thursday.

The brackets were expected to be announced via TribLive HSSN at 2 p.m., but were evidently not quite ready to debut.

After the delay, the brackets were released to schools and media.

One local team is among the No. 1 seeds as Elizabeth Forward got the line in the Class 4A bracket.

Other top seeds include defending champions Hempfield (6A), Avonworth (3A), Union (1A) and Neshannock (2A).

The other top seed is Armstrong in Class 5A.

There are nine other local teams in the field spread among five brackets.

In Class 5A, Thomas Jefferson is the No. 10 seed. The Jaguars (9-7, 6-4) will face No. 7 seed South Fayette (11-5, 7-3) Monday at 2 p.m. at Peterswood Park Field No. 1.

Thomas Jefferson was the thirdplace team in Section 4, while the Lions were second in Section 3.

It will be the second meeting of the season between the teams. South Fayette won the first game between the two 7-5 on March 25.

Elizabeth Forward has the advantage of having a bye in the opening round. The Warriors (17-1) were the champions in Section 2-4A.

Harry Rutherford’s squad will meet the winner of Monday’s game between No. 8 Uniontown and No. 9 West Mifflin on Wednesday. The Warriors saw the Red Raiders twice in section play, winning 13-0 both times. EF played West Mifflin April 27 and picked up a 5-0 win.

Defending champion Belle Vernon is the No. 6 seed after finishing tied for second with Uniontown behind Elizabeth Forward. The Leopards struggled a little bit after the loss of senior pitcher Talia Ross due to an Achilles injury.

The Leopards (13-6) will face No. 11 Blackhawk (7-7) at 3 p.m. at Peterswood Park Field No. 2 Monday. The Cougars were the fourth-place team out of Section 3.

“I’m good with our seed,” BVA head coach Tom Rodriguez said. “The sixth seed is what I was hoping for. The only thing I stress every year is that the top two teams from a section should never be on the same side of the bracket.

“We just need to hit the ball and play great defense.”

McKeesport earned the No. 12 seed in the tournament and will face No. 5 Montour Monday at 3 p.m. at West Mifflin.

The Tigers (7-10) were tied for fourth in Section 1 with Highlands, which is the No. 13 seed.

Only one local team will be represented in the Class 3A bracket, that’s No. 9 Yough.

The Cougars (8-4) were third in Section 3 behind Southmoreland and Ligonier Valley.

“I thought our spot was good. It’s about where I thought we would be,” Cougars coach Dutch Harvey said. “You have to beat the best to be the best, so now we just have to go play some good softball.”

Yough will face No. 8 McGuffey (10-4) Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Norwin. If the Cougars win, they’ll get a chance to play No. 1 Avonworth Thursday.

Bentworth, led this season by freshman phenom Sydney Gonglik, found itself the No. 2 team in the Class 2A bracket.

The Bearcats (15-2) haven’t lost a game since returning from Pigeon Forge, Tenn. in late March.

They’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 7 Shenango and No. 10 Burgettstown at a site and time to be determined Thursday.

Serra Catholic (11-4) is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 13 Beth-Center at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Peterswood Park Field No. 2.

The Eagles were perfect in Section 2, while the Bulldogs (6-8) were tied for fourth in Section 3.

Serra Catholic stepped up the competition to tune up for the playoffs, losing three out of their last four games. But those losses were to South Park, Peters Township and Chartiers-Houston.

The Charleroi Cougars are the No. 6 seed after finishing third behind the Bearcats and OLSH in Section 3.

Charleroi (13-4) will face No. 11 Greensburg Central Catholic (7-6) Tuesday at Norwin as the first game of a doubleheader at 3 p.m.

“I thought they might give Laurel the No. 2 and we would have been the seven, but since they made them the third seeed, I can understand why we’re six,” Cougars coach Trey Tilghman said. “I feel like we have a revenge game against GCC after what happened last year.”

Last season, the Cougars dropped a 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals after a controversial no-call on a possible obstruction play.

“I believe we’re ready for them this year,” Tilghman added. “In 2A, you have three powerhouse teams in Neshannock, Bentworth and Laurel. I expect Neshannock to be the team to beat.”

Two local teams will look to capture the Class 1A title.

Frazier (13-0) is one of only two unbeaten softball teams in the WPIAL. The other is Neshannock.

The Commodores are the No. 4 seed and will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 5 West Greene and No. 12 Leechburg. That quarterfinal game is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.

“I think the committee got it right and did a great job with the seeds,” Frazier coach Don Hartman said. “Union should be the one. Carmichaels played Union last year and split with Chartiers-Houston. Chartiers played a tougher schedule that we did. I think the committee got it right giving them the No. 3 spot.

“We have to really concentrate on West Greene, though. It’s a storied program and they’re going to be more than up for the challenge. I think they’ll get through Leechburg.”

Monessen finished third behind the Commodores in Section 3 and earned the No. 10 seed.

The Greyhounds (7-6) will play No. 7 South Side (12-4) Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Montour.

The WPIAL championships, presented by the Pittsburgh Pirates, will be held May 29-30 at Lilley Field in California.

State playoff qualifiers include the WPIAL champion in Class 6A, the top three teams in 5A, 4A and 2A and the top four in 3A and A.