WPIAL Class 2A baseball final preview: Seton LaSalle vs. Serra Catholic

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 | 8:33 PM

WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship

No. 4 Seton LaSalle (18-2) vs. No. 2 Serra Catholic (20-2)

2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Wild Things Park

Coaches: Mike Wagner, Seton LaSalle; Brian Dzurenda, Serra Catholic

Players to watch: Drew Lafferty, Fr., P, Seton LaSalle; Mark Black, Jr., C, Serra Catholic

WPIAL titles: Seton LaSalle 1 (1995); Serra Catholic 3 (2009, ‘10, ‘16)

How they got here: Seton LaSalle defeated No. 13 Mohawk, 1-0; No. 5 OLSH, 6-5; and No. 9 Laurel, 5-4. Serra Catholic beat No. 15 Fort Cherry, 5-3; No. 7 Avonworth, 7-2; and No. 3 Neshannock, 4-1

Extra bases: These teams are quite familiar with one another after facing off twice in Section 3. Serra Catholic won the first meeting, 3-0, on April 8. The Rebels won 10-9 on April 27. Serra Catholic has won eight in a row since that loss. The Eagles are led by junior catcher Mark Black, who is batting over .500 with 12 home runs. Junior Logan Exler is the team’s top pitcher with an 8-0 record in 14 appearances. … Seton LaSalle has won by the slimmest of margins throughout the playoffs, winning three one-run games. The Rebels are looking for their first title since 1995. They also reached the title game in 2007 and 2014, losing to North Catholic and Steel Valley, respectively. Lafferty (5-1, 2.58 ERA, 39 Ks), a freshman, has made a verbal commitment to Kentucky. Dom Popa leads the Rebels at the plate, with a .500 average and 20 RBIs. Nic Vari is hitting .426 with 18 RBIs.

PIAA tournament: The winner will play the District 10 runner-up in the PIAA first round. The losing team will play the District 9 champion. Both games will be Monday.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Seton-LaSalle