What to watch for in WPIAL sports on May 1, 2021: WPIAL final rivals collide again

By: Don Rebel
Friday, April 30, 2021 | 11:28 PM

It was one of the longest WPIAL baseball championship games in history.

The 2017 Class A title game was tied between rivals Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic, 3-3, after seven innings.

The game remained tied after eight, nine, 10 and 11 innings before the Jayhawks scored four runs in the 12th to upset the Centurions, 7-3, for the school’s first and only baseball crown.

Four years later, the two Westmoreland County rivals collide in a nonsection game Saturday morning.

GCC is the top-ranked team in Class A with a 10-1 overall record and winners of 10 straight games.

Jeannette is in a fight for a playoff spot with Northgate in Section 3-2A. The Hawks are 2-10 and have lost six of their last seven contests.

Section softball in 6A

Norwin has three Section 2-6A games left and is two wins from clinching at least a share of the section title.

The Knights can move closer to clinching first place Saturday when they host North Allegheny at noon.

The Tigers are in a battle for a playoff spot. NA is tied in the loss column with third-place Pine-Richland and even in the win column with fifth-place Seneca Valley.

Norwin cruised to a 9-2 victory over North Allegheny on April 13.

These same two teams met in the 2019 Class 6A semifinals, where the Tigers beat the Knights, 8-4.

County pride

There are three track and field events involving various counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Fayette County Coaches Association Championships are at Connellsville. The Tri-County Championships are at New Castle. The Indiana County Championships take place at Marion Center.

Also on Saturday, another track and field event will be the South Fayette Invitational.