Peters Township set to host Allderdice baseball in Saturday’s 3 things to watch in high school sports

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, April 6, 2018 | 11:03 PM

Most high school baseball teams that have played south this spring probably wished they could have stayed there in warmer, drier conditions. That is probably not the case with Peters Township.

The Indians started the season with wins over Chartiers Valley and Steel Valley before heading down to the Ripken Complex in Myrtle Beach, S.C., this past week where they went 0-3 in losing to a pair of teams from South Carolina and one from Maryland.

A playoff team a year ago, Peters Township opens Section 3-6A play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Peterswood Park. The game will be broadcasted on the TribLive High School Sports Network .

Joe Maize, now in his 34th season at Peters Township, won his 400th career game last week and now takes his fourth crack at victory No. 401. The Indians beat the Dragons twice last year by a combined score of 28-2.

Allderdice lost to Bethel Park, 10-0, in its season opener Friday.

The Dragons were a dominant force in the City League, winning the final five District 8 baseball championships from 2008-12. However, since playing a WPIAL schedule starting in 2013, Allderdice is 27-51 with one playoff appearance in 2015. The Dragons finished in the basement of Section 3 last year with a 1-11 section mark and 2-14 overall record.

Early Saturday section showdowns

There is one baseball and one softball section game scheduled for Saturday that pits teams that finished first and second in their sections last year.

In baseball, Belle Vernon visits Evans Field in South Park for the first of two Section 3-4A contests. Last year, the Eagles finished 13-1 in section play, one game ahead of the second place Leopards at 12-2. The two teams split their head-to-head games last year, with South Park winning 8-6, then Belle Vernon handing the Eagles their only section loss in the rematch 8-2. While the Leopards lost to Quaker Valley in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs, the Eagles advanced all the way to the district title game, where they fell to Blackhawk.

In softball on Saturday, defending Class 5A champion West Allegheny will visit rival Moon. The Indians won the Section 3 title a year ago with a mark of 11-1 while the Tigers finished 8-4 and tied with Montour for second place. West A and Moon played on back-to-back days last April, with the Indians winning both by scores of 5-4 and 10-7.

Volleyball state preview?

Some of the top boys volleyball teams in the state will take part in the Bobcat Invitational on Saturday at Northeastern York High School. Northeastern is a District 3 power that has won five straight PIAA Class AA championships.

Two district teams will be part of the tournament as Seneca Valley is one of eight teams in the state Class AAA rankings to take part, while Ambridge is one of six teams in the latest Class AA state rankings to participate.

A big local tournament on Saturday is the Derry Invitational. Sixteen teams, including 13 from the WPIAL, are scheduled to participate.

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

Tags: Allderdice, Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Moon, Peters Township, Seneca Valley, South Park, West Allegheny