Class 5A baseball semifinals set in Thursday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: Alec Italiano
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | 10:54 PM

All six of the WPIAL softball championship games are set for next week at Seton Hill University while five of the six baseball title contests are set for Wild Things Park in Washington next week.

The only missing piece to the diamond championship game puzzle is baseball's Class 5A finals.

Because two of the four quarterfinal games were postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday, the semifinals also were bumped back to Thursday.

After Section 1-5A rivals North Hills and Mars advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday, Hampton and West Allegheny were Wednesday winners by identical 9-1 scores. The Talbots ousted top-seeded Moon while the Indians cruised past Section 2 rival Chartiers Valley.

Mars faces Hampton at 4 p.m. while West Allegheny faces North Hills at 7 p.m.

Both 5A semifinal baseball games at North Allegheny will be broadcast Thursday on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

No. 1 vs. No. 2 in volleyball finals

They call it chalk. When a tournament goes just the way it was drawn up with all the higher seeds winning, it looks like an old elementary school blackboard with lots of chalk.

That is how the 2018 WPIAL boys volleyball playoffs have gone with no surprises in Round 1, the top eight moving on to the quarterfinals, then top four to the semifinals and now there are two.

The top two.

In Class AAA, top-seeded North Allegheny will face second-seeded Bethel Park Thursday at Baldwin.

The Tigers are the defending champs and are the most decorated district boys volleyball champion with 18 titles. The Black Hawks are still searching for their first gold crown.

Five years ago, North Allegheny edged Bethel Park, 3-2, in a championship match thriller.

In Class AA, No. 1 Derry squares off with No. 2 Ambridge.

After Beaver County Christian's two-year run on top in Class AA, Ambridge hopes to take home its ninth boys volleyball championship. Before the Eagles' title runs in 2016 and 2017, the Bridgers had won four straight and seven championships in eight years.

Derry is searching for the program's second WPIAL boys volleyball title. A win would make the 30-year anniversary of their 1988 championship a golden one.

Both title matches can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Girls lacrosse finals

Also on TribLive High School Sports Network Thursday are the two WPIAL girls lacrosse championships.

In Class AA, Hampton will battle Quaker Valley at 6 p.m. while the Class AAA title match has Pine-Richland against Sewickley Academy at 8 p.m.

Pine-Richland is the top seed and defending champion while Sewickley Academy is a bit of a surprise as the No. 6 seed. The Panthers upset No. 3 Fox Chapel and No. 2 Mt. Lebanon to reach the title match.

Sewickley Academy is playing for its first district girls lacrosse crown.

Both the top seeds in Class AA — No. 1 Hampton and No. 2 Quaker Valley — have won championships in the past.

The Quakers won girls lacrosse gold in 2009, 2010 and in 2015.

The Talbots are the defending champions after beating Oakland Catholic, 15-5, in the 2017 finals.

Both championship matches are at Joe Walton Stadium at Robert Morris University.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Ambridge, Bethel Park, Derry Area, Hampton, Mars, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy, West Allegheny