WPIAL Class 4A baseball championship preview: Indiana vs. Elizabeth Forward

By: Paul Schofield
Monday, May 25, 2026 | 1:17 PM

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WPIAL Class 4A baseball final

No. 1-Indiana vs. No. 2 Elizabeth Forward

7 p.m. Tuesday at EQT Park, Washington

On the air: Audio: TribHSSN; Video: NFHS

WPIAL titles: Indiana 1, Elizabeth Forward 2

Indiana (17-4)

Coach: Dan Petroff

Projected starting lineup

21, Chase Force, SS, jr.

6, Brady Oakes, P, jr.

12, Ethan Shank, C, sr.

11, Charlie Manzi, 3B, sr.

7, Mike Zimmerman, LF, sr.,

23, Sully Van Hoose, DH, sr.

26, Shane McHugh, 1B, jr.

2, Dylan Shank, 2B, jr.

15, Hunter Kunkle, CF, sr.

10, Ben Cowburn, RF, fr.

How they got here: After a first-round bye, No. 1 Indiana defeated No. 8 Knoch, 1-0, in the quarterfinals; and No. 13 Derry, 3-0, in the semifinals

Notable: The Warriors are pitching heavy again, led by junior Brady Oakes and senior Charlie Manzi. Senior Matt McHugh started in the semifinals against Derry. Ben Cowburn had a two-run single in the win against Derry. The teams met in the finals in 2025 with Indiana winning 4-2 in 11 innings. Manzi hit a game-winning two-run home run. The winner plays the winner of Districts 5/9 on June 1 at site and time to be determined. The loser plays the winner of Districts 6/8 on June 1 at site and time to be determined.

Elizabeth Forward (16-6)

Coach: Frank Champ

Projected starting lineup

25, Aiden Grimes, SS, sr.

5, Jack Crovak, 2B, so.

29, J.B. Crovak, P, sr.

26, Jacob Peterson, 3B, jr.

3, Nate Grimm, 1B, sr.

4, Daniel Spence, LF, sr.

17, Aaron Ulmer, CF, so.

10, Nick Hartung, DH, so.

6, Kameron Little, C, jr.

31, Brayden Kollar, RF, sr.

How they got here: After a first-round bye, No. 2 Elizabeth Forward defeated No. 7 West Mifflin, 5-1, in the quarterfinals, and No. 6 Hopewell, 4-3, in the semifinals.

Notable: J.B. Crovak had three hits, scored a run and had an RBI in last year’s championship game. Jack Crovak had two hits including a double in the championship game. J.B. Crovak was the losing pitcher in the championship game. Grimm has 22 RBIs and J.B. Crovak 29 hits. Peterson has hit four home runs.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Elizabeth Forward, Indiana