North Allegheny claims 5th WPISL championship

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 11:21 AM

It took a few extra days, but North Allegheny claimed the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League title Saturday at McIntyre Park in Ross Township.

The third-seeded Tigers started the day with an 11-7 win over No. 2 Bethel Park in the semifinals before taking down No. 1 Montour, 7-3, in the championship contest.

The championship is North Allegheny’s fifth overall and first since 2020.

The Tigers started 1-5 but rebounded to win their final eight in the regular season and the three in the postseason.

“We were kind of scratching our heads and wondering what was going on,” coach Ralph Pagone said concerning the early start.

“Then we started stringing those wins together, and the girls kept gaining more and more confidence. We were of the mindset that we should’ve been playing better games. Practice, practice, practice is what it came down to for both the offense and defense. There were a lot of girls who play multiple sports on this team who have power that maybe didn’t show it in some of the early games.”

Pagone said the competition with Bethel Park and Montour in the regular season and playoffs was challenging. The Black Hawks and Spartans swept NA in the regular season.

“It was a tough mountain to climb, but I am very proud of the girls,” Pagone said.

“They showed up and got the hits and played very good defense. We had no errors and we gave up no walks in the championship game. Montour crushed the ball. They have strong players, but a lot of their hits were right at where we had them played.”

The tournament was chalk in the semifinals with the top four seeds advancing from the quarterfinals played Oct. 18. Rain postponed the semifinals and finals to Saturday from Oct. 19.

Montour reached the finals with an 8-1 semifinal win over No. 4 Hempfield.

The Spartans sought their third straight league title and sixth overall, but North Allegheny wasn’t to be denied.

“It got very cold and very rainy last week,” said Pagone who sought to keep the girls’ momentum strong with the extra week before the rest of the playoff games.

“We had an indoor mid-afternoon practice Friday, and it worked out well because the girls were off school because of an in-service day. They were able to get refocused and ready to play. The other three teams were in the same boat, so we knew that it was still about showing up (Saturday) and executing.”

Pagone, who came back to the NA program this fall after some time off from coaching, will say farewell to four seniors who capped their careers with their first varsity championship.

He said the future is bright for another run to a title next year.

“We’re going to savor this one for a little bit and then start to worry about next year,” Pagone said of his team which will celebrate with a varsity team dinner and then a banquet in the next week or two.

“We’re all still on Cloud 9.”

Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Softball League

Playoff tournament

First round

Oct. 18

8-West Allegheny 20, 9-Peters Township 1

7-Mt. Lebanon 10, 10-Baldwin 0

6-Seneca Valley 20, 11-Shaler 13

Quarterfinals

1-Montour 10, 8-West Allegheny 3

4-Hempfield 18, 5-North Hills 10

2-Bethel Park 14, 7-Mt. Lebanon 2

3-North Allegheny 20, 6-Seneca Valley 6

Semifinals

North Allegheny 11, Bethel Park 7

Montour 8, Hempfield 1

Championship

North Allegheny 7, Montour 3

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: North Allegheny