2024 WPIAL Class A baseball championship preview: Bishop Canevin vs. Eden Christian

By: Bill Hartlep
Monday, May 27, 2024 | 8:47 AM

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2024 WPIAL Class A baseball championship

No. 4 Bishop Canevin (14-4) vs. No. 2 Eden Christian (16-4)

1 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park, Washington

On the air: Trib HSSN

How they got here: Bishop Canevin had a first-round bye then defeated No. 5 Western Beaver, 10-0, in the quarterfinals and No. 8 Carmichaels, 7-1, in the semifinals. Eden Christian had a first-round bye and then beat No. 7 West Greene, 5-1, in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Avella, 11-2, in the semifinals.

WPIAL titles: Bishop Canevin 3 (1993, 2000, ‘23); Eden Christian 0

Coaches: Bill Varley, Bishop Canevin; Mark Feldman, Eden Christian

Players to watch: Dom Varley, Bishop Canevin; Brady Hull, Eden Christian

Extra bases: Bishop Canevin is the defending WPIAL champion and is chasing a fourth title. This is the Crusaders’ sixth trip to the district championship game. They were WPIAL and PIAA runners up in 1997. Bishop Canevin averages 9.7 runs per game. The Crusaders have won 11 of their past 12 games. Senior Dom Varley is batting .535 with 13 RBIs, while junior Tyler Maddix is hitting .512 with 24 RBIs. Senior Quentin White is hitting .421 with 35 RBIs. Junior Kole Olszewski, who is hitting .431, Tyler Maddix and freshman Jackson Maddix have been strong on the mound. Olszewski is 5-1 with a 4.27 ERA and 37 strikeouts, Tyler Maddix is 5-2 with a 2.75 ERA and 60 strikeouts and Jackson Maddix is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 62 strikeouts. Jackson Maddix tossed a no-hitter in the quarterfinals. …. Eden Christian won the Section 3 title at 12-0, including two wins over the Crusaders — 9-1 and 11-1 on back-to-back days in early April. The Warriors average 10.2 runs per game, which is fourth-highest in the WPIAL behind Serra Catholic (10.7), Union (10.4) and Fort Cherry (10.2). The Warriors have won seven of their past eight games, with the lone loss being to Freeport in a nonsection game. Sophomore Brady Hull is batting .509 with four homers and 34 RBIs. Senior Caleb Emswiler is hitting .466 with 37 RBIs and five homers. Senior Enzo Natale is 3-1 on the mound with a 2.12 ERA and 52 strikeouts.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Eden Christian