A-K Valley HS lookahead: Week of May 13-18

By: Doug Gulasy
Sunday, May 12, 2019 | 5:33 PM

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Monday

Boys lacrosse

Fox Chapel opens the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs with a game at Upper St. Clair. The Foxes advanced to the quarterfinals last season.

Girls lacrosse

Back in the postseason, the Plum girls open the WPIAL Class AA playoffs with a game at Mars at 7:30 p.m.

Boys volleyball

The WPIAL committee meets and will release the 2019 postseason brackets, with preliminary matches expected to begin Tuesday. Deer Lakes qualified for the 14th consecutive season but will have a difficult task after finishing fourth in Section 2-AA this season.

Tuesday

Softball

The WPIAL softball postseason begins, and Springdale (12-3) will make its first playoff appearance since 2000 with a Class A first-round game against Quigley Catholic (3-8) at 3 p.m. at Shaler.

Freeport reached the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals last season, and the Yellowjackets (10-3) will see if they can make another run this postseason as they face Ellwood City (11-6) in a first-round game at 4 p.m. at North Allegheny. Ellwood City won the WPIAL title in 2017.

Deer Lakes is in the WPIAL playoffs for a ninth consecutive season, and the Lancers (9-8) will put their pedigree on the line against defending Class 3A champion Southmoreland (9-6) in a first-round game at 5 p.m. at Shaler.

Boys lacrosse

Freeport and Knoch begin the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, with Freeport visiting Chartiers Valley and Knoch traveling to North Hills, both for 7 p.m. games. The Yellowjackets and Knights made the WPIAL quarterfinals last season.

Wednesday

Baseball

Burrell qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the 20th time in coach Mark Spohn’s 21 seasons, and the Bucs (11-4) will try to post a first-round win for the third straight year as they meet McGuffey in a Class 3A first-round game at 2 p.m. at West Mifflin.

Deer Lakes nearly claimed the Section 1-3A title, falling in walk-off fashion against Freeport, but the Lancers (11-8) will try to get a happy ending to their season as they begin the WPIAL playoffs against Ellwood City at 4 p.m. at Neshannock.

St. Joseph will play its first WPIAL playoff game since 2000 as the Spartans, the No. 11 seed in Class A, face No. 6 Monessen at 2 p.m. at Seton Hill.

Highlands gets its own long-awaited playoff game as the Golden Rams (10-8) face Thomas Jefferson in a Class 4A first-round game at 4 p.m. at West Mifflin.

Knoch clinched its eighth consecutive WPIAL playoff berth on the final day of the section season with a win over Highlands, and the Knights (10-7) will attempt to make it pay off as they play Blackhawk in a Class 4A first-round game at 6:30 p.m. at Neshannock.

Leechburg nearly pulled off an upset of Jeannette in the Class A first round last season, and the Blue Devils (7-9) will give it another shot as an underdog as they face Quigley Catholic at 7 p.m. at North Allegheny.

Softball

Apollo-Ridge makes its third WPIAL playoff appearance in as many seasons as the Vikings (9-4) face Frazier (14-3) in a Class 2A first-round game at 4 p.m. at Latrobe. Frazier won a WPIAL title in 2017 but lost in the championship game last season.

Riverview, in the WPIAL playoffs for a fifth consecutive season, opens with a Class 2A first-round game against Laurel at 4 p.m. at Hampton. The Raiders made it to the Class A quarterfinals last season. Laurel is the defending 2A champion.

Thursday

Baseball

Kiski Area qualified for the playoffs in thrilling fashion, clinching its spot on a walk-off win in extra innings. The Cavaliers will try to keep the storybook finishes coming as they face Laurel Highlands in the WPIAL Class 5A first round at 4 p.m. at Seton Hill.

Fox Chapel appears in the playoffs for a second consecutive season after a third-place finish in Section 1-5A, and the Foxes (10-7) will face Mars (10-8) in a first-round game at 4 p.m. at North Allegheny.

Track and field

The WPIAL individual championships move to a new venue, with Slippery Rock replacing longtime host Baldwin. The championships begin at 12:30 p.m. for field events. The Alle-Kiski Valley will be represented by two top seeds in Burrell senior hurdler Kaylen Sharrow and Deer Lakes senior distance runner Josh Yourish.

Girls lacrosse

Fox Chapel, which received a first-round bye in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs, will open postseason play with a quarterfinal game against Mt. Lebanon or Seneca Valley.

— Doug Gulasy

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph, Valley