What to watch for in WPIAL sports on March 19, 2025: North Allegheny, Pine-Richland square off on diamond

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | 11:09 PM

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They are two of the baseball powers in the WPIAL and have been throughout this century.

Combined, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland have produced 13 district championships, including four in the last eight years.

It was eight years ago when the two met in the first WPIAL Class 6A baseball championship game with the Rams edging the Tigers, 3-2.

Now on Wednesday, they are set to meet again on the diamond; however, this matchup will be different.

For the first time in nearly two decades, Pine-Richland battles North Allegheny in a nonsection baseball game.

Longtime section rivals in both 6A and the old Quad-A, Pine-Richland moved down in class to 5A for the next two seasons.

The last time the Rams and Tigers weren’t section foes was in 2006 when Pine-Richland was in Triple-A and North Allegheny in Quad-A.

Both teams have championship expectations this spring. In fact, both teams are preseason ranked No. 1 in their respective classifications.

The Tigers host the Rams at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

South rivalry renewed

While northern rivals Pine-Richland and North Allegheny are ready to square off in the north, two old section foes from the south now in different classes will clash Wednesday afternoon.

Class 6A Mt. Lebanon hosts 5A Upper St. Clair in the first of back-to-back games between these South Hills rivals.

The Panthers will host the Blue Devils at Boyce-Mayview in USC on Thursday afternoon.

This marks the third straight year the schools have met twice in early nonsection home and away games.

Upper St. Clair swept the two games in 2023 and Mt. Lebanon won both contests last year.

In their final year together in Class 6A in the spring of 2022, the Blue Devils won both regular season games, and then edged the Panthers in the 6A championship game, 2-1, thanks to a pair of RBI by then senior Derrick Shields.

Southern ball

In the early days of the 2025 season, several district baseball and softball teams have made their way south of the Pennsylvania border for some diamond trips of business and pleasure.

Three WPIAL softball teams will begin the business part of their trip Wednesday.

Both Laurel Highlands and 2A runner-up Bentworth are at the Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

The Mustangs take on Jefferson County, Tenn., at 3 p.m. while the Bearcats face Merion Mercy Academy from District 1 in Pennsylvania.

Also opening up a southern trip is defending WPIAL 4A champion Elizabeth Forward.

The Warriors open up play at the KSA Disney Classic in Orlando, Fla, against Austin Prep of Massachusetts.

In baseball, three district teams are at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., including Bethel Park, South Allegheny and Shenango.

It is Day 2 for Penn-Trafford of its southern trip as the Warriors play Riverside Ridge of Colorado in the Jackie Robinson event at Vero Beach, Fla.