What to watch for in WPIAL sports for April 18, 2022: No. 1 Bethel Park to face No. 3 Peters Township in baseball

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, April 17, 2022 | 9:36 PM

Monday will be a quiet day around the district with most schools enjoying one more day of their Easter break.

However, one of the few WPIAL baseball games on the slate is a big one in Class 5A.

Top-ranked Bethel Park will battle No. 3 Peters Township in the first of back-to-back Section 4 games that could decide the section champion.

Defending PIAA champion Bethel Park has won all four of its section games by a combined score of 36-3. The Black Hawks are 6-0 overall.

Peters Township is right there with its neighbors to the north, with a 4-0 section record in which it has outscored its two section opponents 36-7. The Indians are 8-0 overall.

Last year, Bethel Park swept both games from Peters Township, winning 4-1 at home and 9-4 at Peterswood Park.

On Monday, the Black Hawks and Indians play at 7 p.m. at Peterswood Park. They meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Purkey Field.

You can watch both games on Trib HSSN.

Lots of lax for FR

While it is a quiet night for most of the WPIAL lacrosse teams before things pick up Tuesday, both the boys and girls teams at Franklin Regional are in action Monday in a pair of nonsection matches between 2021 playoff teams.

The Panthers girls team will host defending 2A champion Mars.

The teams met in a WPIAL 2A quarterfinals match last spring with the Fightin’ Planets cruising to a 29-3 victory.

The Panthers boys team hits the road to face Hampton.

Last year, Franklin Regional and Hampton lost in the 2A quarterfinals to Mars and South Fayette, respectively.

Staying on the bubble

It has been a good start to section play for three teams in Section 1-2A boys volleyball.

North Catholic, Montour and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart are fighting for first place with little separation. As far as finishing in the top four and earning a playoff berth, those three teams are in good shape.

That means Monday’s section match between Beaver County Christian and Hopewell carries a little extra juice as those two teams, along with Ambridge, appear to be in the season long hunt for fourth place.

Tags: Beaver County Christian, Bethel Park, Franklin Regional, Hampton, Hopewell, Mars, Montour, North Catholic, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Peters Township