WPIAL Softball Playoff Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 14, 2011 | 12:00 AM

The 2011 WPIAL Softball Playoffs are set for First Round play on Monday, May 16th and Tuesday, May 17th. While the weather forecast does not look promising over the next couple of days, or forecast for great softball over the next few weeks here on MSA Sports is very promising. Here is a preview of all four classifications.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA:

Defending champion: Mount Lebanon

The seeds:
1. Shaler Titans
2. Hempfield Spartans
3. Baldwin Highlanders
4. Franklin Regional Panthers
5. Latrobe Wildcats
6. North Allegheny Tigers
7. Plum Mustangs
8. Canon-McMillan Big Macs

What to look for:
* Hempfield and Shaler appear headed for a showdown in the title game. Hempfield is the only undefeated team in the Class AAAA field, but Shaler got the No. 1 seed. Shalers only loss was to Yough in a non-section game. Shaler has one of the WPIALs best players in senior catcher Lauren Hackett.
* North Allegheny could make some noise. The Tigers were the second-place team in Section 3 behind Shaler.
* Baldwin was the first-place team in Section 4, but it seems like the Highlanders arent being considered a serious threat to win the title, despite having a pretty good pitcher in Anna Lauterbach.
* Franklin Regional was the Section 2 champion.

Did you know?
* Shaler has lost in the title game three years in a row.
* Mount Lebanon is the defending champion, but the Blue Devils are only 7-10 heading into the playoffs. They are the only defending champion with a sub-.500 record heading into the postseason.

WPIAL CLASS AAA:

Defending champion: Montour

The seeds:
1. Montour Spartans
2. Ambridge Bridgers
3. Valley Vikings
4. Yough Cougars
5. Belle Vernon Leopards
6. Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions
7. Chartiers Valley Colts
8. Ellwood City Wolverines

What to look for:
* Is Yough seeded too low? The Cougars have only one loss and were the only team to defeat Shaler. Youghs Nicole Sleith is a dominating pitcher who has signed with Robert Morris.
* Montour is the defending champion, but many wonder if the Spartans deserved the No. 1 seed? They have a 12-3 record.
* Valley pitcher Caitlin Nealer could take the Vikings far.
* Keep an eye on Greensburg-Salem. Maybe the Lions dont have enough to win it all, but they are the only team to defeat Yough.

Did you know?
* Valley won the Class AA title last season and moved up in classification this year.
* There hasnt been a repeat champion in Class AAA since North Allegheny in 2002-03.

WPIAL CLASS AA:

Defending champion: Valley

The seeds:
1. Burrell Buccaneers
2. Mount Pleasant Vikings
3. Seton-LaSalle Rebels
4. Bentworth Bearcats
5. New Brighton Lions
6. Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions
7. Deer Lakes Lancers
8. Bishop Canevin Crusaders

What to look for:
* There will certainly be a new champion in Class AA after Valley moved up in class.
* Burrell lost to Valley in the title game last year. Can Moses lead Burrell to the promised land this year? Casey Moses is a stellar pitcher for the Bucs.
* Mount Pleasant should be taken seriously because of its 13-3 record and No. 2 seed. But many question how good the Vikings are because of the lack of competition in Section 4.
* Dont overlook New Brighton. Why? Because of pitcher Kiersten Manor, who led the WPIAL in strikeouts.
* Bishop Canevin is another sleeper team.

Did you know?
* Seton-LaSalle, the Section 1 champion, is in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
* Sleith led the WPIAL in strikeouts a year ago and Manor was second.

WPIAL CLASS A:

Defending champion: Vincentian Academy

The seeds:
1. Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers
2. Sto-Rox Vikings
3. Carmichaels Mighty Mikes
4. Leechburg Blue Devils
5. South Side Beaver Rams
6. Shenango Wildcats
7. West Greene Pioneers
8. North Catholic Trojanettes

What to look for:
* Pitcher Kiersten Conwell makes Chartiers-Houston a solid favorite. But Char-Houston is much more than pitching. The Buccaneers also have an above-average hitting attack.
* Sto-Rox can never be counted out. All three of the Vikings losses were to teams outside of Class A.
* There are two undefeated teams in this classification. They are Char-Houston and Carmichaels. The only other undefeated team in the WPIAL is Hempfield.
* Dont overlook Leechburg, the No. 4 seed that uses two pitchers – Kelly Klingensmith and Kenzie Young.

Did you know?
* Vincentian Academy is trying to win its fourth WPIAL title in a row. The last team to win four consecutive Class A championships was Sto-Rox, which won five from 2000-04.