A-K Valley WPIAL softball playoff capsules: Games for Tuesday, May 13, 2025

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 12, 2025 | 3:36 PM

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WPIAL softball playoffs

Class 3A

First round

8-Deer Lakes (7-13) vs. 9-Charleroi (9-8)

5 p.m. Tuesday at Norwin

Winner plays: 1-South Park (18-0) in quarterfinals (date. Site and time TBD)

Players to watch: Siena Plummer, Deer Lakes; Lyla Brunner, Charleroi

Extra bases: Charleroi returns to the WPIAL playoffs in Class 3A this season after making last year’s Class 2A quarterfinals. The Cougars finished third in Section 3 at 6-4 behind undefeated South Park and runner-up McGuffey. Charleroi won three of its last four games of the regular season, including a 4-2 win over Yough in the finale last Thursday. The loss was to South Park by a competitive 3-0 margin. The Cougars averaged 5.8 runs in their 17 games. Brunner, a junior outfielder, leads the team in batting at .442 (19 of 43) with 14 RBIs and 15 runs scored. Sophomore Ariahna Blouse leads the pitching staff with a 6-5 record and 46 strikeouts in 53 innings. …. Deer Lakes went 5-5 in a competitive Section 1 and split each of its five section series. It handed section champion and No. 5 seed Mt. Pleasant one of its two section losses, 2-0 on April 23. Plummer, a junior center fielder, fronts the Deer Lakes offensive attack with .403 average (25 of 62) with 11 extra base hits, five of them home runs, and 14 runs batted in. Freshman Riley Jones also owns 14 RBIs. Last year, the Lancers, as the No. 14 seed, gave South Park all it could handle in the WPIAL 3A first round before the No. 3 Eagles prevailed 1-0.

Class 2A

First round

8-Apollo-Ridge (13-4) vs. 9-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (9-6)

3 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel

Winner plays: Winner of 1-Neshannock (18-0) /16-Burgettstown (7-9) in quarterfinals (date, site, time TBD)

Players to watch: Jocelyn Snyder, Apollo-Ridge; Ava Ciummo, OLSH

Extra bases: Apollo-Ridge finished as the runner-up in Section 2, with its only two losses in 10 games coming to section champion and fifth-seeded South Allegheny (14-3). The Vikings lost a close game to Class 4A Highlands to cap the regular season. Because of forfeits by two section opponents, Apollo-Ridge played just the Highlands games since an April 28 setback to South Allegheny that decided the section title. Freshman first baseman and pitcher Mikaila Ditty is a long-ball threat for Apollo-Ridge, and senior Cassidy Ryan, Julianna Saxion and Madison Butler; along with Snyder, a junior; also provide pop in the top half of the lineup. Snyder has proven her effectiveness in the pitching circle. Apollo-Ridge also was the Class 2A No. 8 seed last year when it fell to No. 9 Riverside, 9-8. … Last year, OLSH, as the No. 5 seed, made a run to the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals before falling to No. 1 Neshannock, 5-0. The Chargers then saw their season come to an end at the hands of Laurel in the third-place consolation with a trip to states on the line. OLSH tied Seton LaSalle for second place in Section 3 behind Chartiers-Houston. The teams split their season series. Ciummo and junior catcher Lee Ann Walzer, all-section players last year, help lead an OLSH team that scored 8.4 runs a game in the regular season.

Class A

First round

6-South Side (10-7) vs. 11-Leechburg (8-8)

5 p.m. Tuesday at Montour

Winner plays: 3-West Greene (14-3) in quarterfinals (date, site, time TBD)

Players to watch: Danica Sopcak, Leechburg; Maya Ringhoff, South Side

Extra bases: Leechburg will play in a WPIAL tournament for the 38th consecutive season, a district record. The Blue Devils finished 6-6 in Section 3, tied for third with Greensburg Central Catholic and Monessen. Leechburg split with both teams. The Blue Devils beat St. Joseph, 17-0, last Wednesday to clinch their playoff spot. Four Blue Devils hitters are batting .500 or better led by Sopcak, who owns a .611 average with six doubles, a triple, two home runs and 20 RBIs. Addie Zanotto and Ava Ferretti own 21 RBIs each. Zanotto also is 9-8 in the pitching circle with 108 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings. … South Side defeated Sewickley Academy, 4-3, on May 6 to forge a tie for second place in Section 1 with the Panthers behind champion Union. The win was the Rams’ fifth straight. Ringhoff leads South Side with 24 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits. Madison Morrow owns a team-best four home runs. South Side has scored 10 or more runs 10 times. The Rams lost to No. 2 Carmichaels in last year’s Class A quarterfinals. … The teams last played in the 2023 first round, with Leechburg winning 8-1.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Charleroi, Deer Lakes, Leechburg, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, South Side