Leopards, Eagles earn No. 1 seeds

By Liam Belan

lbelan@yourmvi.com

The WPIAL officially released its district playoff baseball brackets Friday with the Mon Valley well represented throughout three classifications.

In all, seven area teams earned spots in the postseason, with four of them in Class 4A, one in Class 3A, and two in Class 2A.

Local schools in Belle Vernon (13-3) and Serra Catholic (15-1) earned No. 1 seeds in Class 4A and Class 2A, respectively, while Thomas Jefferson (17-2) earned the No. 2 seed in Class 4A.

It seems that a non-section matchup between BVA and TJ, a 13-5 victory for the Leopards, may have made the decision for the top seed in their bracket. Other top seeds include Mt. Lebanon (Class 6A), West Allegheny (Class 5A), Riverside (Class 3A) and Union (Class 1A).

Starting in 4A, the Leopards will take on No. 16 Blackhawk (7-10) Wednesday at Boyce Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Belle Vernon has been a revelation this year following a disappointing 8-11-2 campaign in 2023. BVA posted a 4-6 record in Section 2-4A last season, scoring 51 runs and allowing 65 within section games. This year, the Leopards won the same section, posting 61 runs while allowing just 28. They managed to top No. 5 Latrobe (17-3, 8-2) twice to capture the conference crown.

“It’s a testament to the hard work these kids have put in up to this point,” Belle Vernon coach Tony Watson said about his team’s seeding. “We’re proud of the accomplishment, however, the playoffs are a different beast. You can throw numbers out the window. These teams, especially like Blackhawk in my opinion, are much better than a 16-seed. They’re well coached, so we’re not going to rest on our laurels.

“We got back to a one-game-at-a-time mentality this year and it really helped us keep the focus and keep belief, so that’s helped our chemistry all year and we’re hoping to keep it going.”

Sitting across from them in the bracket is bitter rival Thomas Jefferson, which will take on another Mon Valley playoff participant in No. 15 Ringgold (8-11). That game will also take place at Boyce Mayview Park on Wednesday, starting at 2 p.m.

The Jaguars battled with No. 3 West Mifflin (16-2, 9-1) to finish on top in Section 3-4A, splitting the two-game series with them. The Belle Vernon and West Mifflin losses were the only ones that TJ suffered in the regular season.

“There’s a lot of good teams in the playoffs this year,” Thomas Jefferson skipper Tim Vickers said. “We had two losses during the season, and they weren’t really timely with both of them coming in one week. At the same time, the rest of our schedule, especially with some schools above our classification; I thought our kids did a great job. I think that it’s a fair seed.

“Our guys have done an incredible job this year of working one-game-at-a-time. … They rebounded from losses well during the season, but unfortunately you don’t have that opportunity in the postseason.”

As for Ringgold, they finished third in Section 2-4A behind Belle Vernon and Latrobe. Under first-year coach Jeff Lander, the Rams managed some impressive wins over the Leopards, Plum (13-7 in Class 5A) and Trinity (8-8 in Class 5A). They’ll be hoping to add another impressive result to their resume with an upset victory over the Jaguars.

Finishing fourth in Section 3-4A behind TJ, West Mifflin and Chartiers Valley was Elizabeth Forward (11-7, 4-6). The Warriors were given the No. 11 seed and will travel to Peterswood Park in Peters Township for a matchup with No. 6 North Catholic (13-4) in first-round action. That matchup is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.

EF lost four one-run games, and they’re entering the postseason on a six-game winning streak. Over that span, they’ve defeated South Park (12-6), a strong Class 3A squad, and No. 9 Indiana (10-9), which finished right behind section-winning North Catholic in Section 4-4A.

In Class 3A, South Allegheny (15-4, 9-1) will celebrate its first section title since 1998 with the No. 4 seed in its bracket. The Gladiators open up the postseason at Boyce Mayview Park on Tuesday against No. 13 McGuffey with opening pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Every loss that SA has suffered in the state of Pennsylvania this season has been at the hands of Class 3A playoff squads in No. 2 Mohawk, No. 7 Avonworth and No. 15 East Allegheny. The Gladiators also beat Avonworth and swept No. 9 South Park over two section games.

They are the lone Mon Valley representative in Class 3A as the Gladiators will hope to move on and face the winner of No. 5 Valley and No. 12 Shenango. 

Entering Class 2A, it’s a familiar sight as Serra Catholic enters the postseason with the top seed and a first-round bye.

“You’re always happy with the one seed,” Serra Catholic coach Brian Dzurenda said. “We went out and earned it. You’re only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitching, so we’re cautiously optimistic. We’ll go watch the 8-9 game on Tuesday and start preparing.

The Section 3-2A champions went undefeated (12-0) in conference play and only lost a one-run matchup against Class 3A Valley in the regular season. Serra swept No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (11-5, 10-2) in section play.

“Pitchers need to focus on not walking batters, we have to make routine plays in the field, and we have to limit strikeouts and put the ball in play to put the pressure on the other team,” Dzurenda said. “That’s kind of what we’ve done for the last 25 years, so we’re just trying to uphold the standard that’s been set by previous generations of Serra baseball players.”

The aforementioned 8-9 first round matchup involves the final local school in the playoffs as No. 9 Charleroi (10-7) will take on No. 8 Laurel (11-8) for a chance at the Eagles in the district quarterfinals. The two squads will face off at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Burkett Park in McKees Rocks.

Charleroi finished third in Section 1-2A behind No. 4 Burgettstown (11-3-1, 11-1) and No. 6 Chartiers-Houston (9-8, 9-3). The Cougars took on several Mon Valley squads in the regular season, defeating California, Monessen and section opponents Frazier and Bentworth twice while losing a close 8-7 contest at Ringgold.