WPIAL Class 5A softball finals preview: Connellsville vs. West Allegheny

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 | 9:54 PM

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WPIAL Class 5A softball championship

No. 4 Connellsville (16-6) vs. No. 10 West Allegheny (11-7)

4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Peterswood Park

Coaches: John Burd, Connellsville; Mindi McFate, West Allegheny

Players to watch: Mia Burd, Sr., P, Connellsville; Britney Wilson, Jr., C, West Allegheny

WPIAL titles: Connellsville 1 (1997); West Allegheny 2 (2017, ‘18)

How they got here: Connellsville defeated No. 13 Mars, 15-1; No. 5 Trinity, 3-2; and No. 1 Penn-Trafford, 10-4. West Allegheny beat No. 7 Shaler, 7-4; No. 2 Plum, 5-4; and No. 6 Franklin Regional, 4-2.

Extra bases: West Allegheny is chasing a third straight WPIAL championship. It captured the 2018 title with a 4-2 win over Thomas Jefferson. The Indians went on to finish second in the state. They defeated Moon, 12-2, for the 2017 championship. West A lost to Mt. Pleasant, 10-0, in the 2016 final. The Indians are 77-14 over the past four seasons. Wilson was an all-state catcher last season. … Connellsville reached the finals in back-to-back seasons, defeating Franklin Regional in 1997 and falling to Hempfield in ‘98. The Falcons upset No. 1 Penn-Trafford in the semifinals behind pitcher Mia Burd (2.19 ERA, .528 average), a Cornell recruit, as well as Abby King, Kara Hoover and Kaybree Benton, who all had multiple RBIs.

PIAA tournament: The winner will play the District 3 fifth-place team in the PIAA first round. The losing team will play the District 3 runner-up. 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: Connellsville, West Allegheny