Three West Hills high school teams received their marching orders Friday, as the brackets for the WPIAL Baseball Championships were unveiled during a selection show aired by KDKA Radio.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is the highest-seeded team among the three, as the Chargers will enter play as the No. 2 team in the Class 2A bracket.
Bishop Canevin, meanwhile, enters the Class 1A tournament as the No. 4 seed. The two-time defending WPIAL champion Crusaders are trying to become only the third team ever to win three straight WPIAL crowns.
Montour, which had its share of success in recent years at the Class 4A level before moving up to Class 5A this year, is the longest shot of the West Hills tournament trio. The Spartans are seeded No. 14 in the loaded Class 5A bracket.
OLSH, which won the Class 2A Section 3 title with an 11-1 record, will enjoy a lengthy break, as the Chargers won’t open their tournament run until Monday, May 19. They’ll take on the winner of the South Side-New Brighton game, which takes place Tuesday, May 13. The location and time of that May 19 game will be determined later.
South Side is the tournament’s No. 7 seed and New Brighton is the 10th seed.
Neshannock is the top seed in the Class 2A tournament.
Bishop Canevin, which finished in a three-way tie for first place with Serra Catholic and Eden Christian Academy in Section 3, makes its 2025 tournament debut at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 13 seed Rochester. The game will be played at Burkett Park in Robinson Township.
The Crusaders, who finished 8-2 in section play this season, defeated Eden Christian, 10-3, in last year’s WPIAL championship game.
Serra Catholic is the No. 1 seed in Class 1A and Eden Christian is No. 2.
Montour, which wound up 6-4 in Class 5A Section 4, good for a tie for third place with Connellsville, meets No. 3 seed Shaler at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at North Allegheny High School.
The Titans finished 8-2 in Section 3, tied for first place with top-seeded Pine-Richland.
The Gazette will publish more complete advance stories before the three teams open their respective tournament runs.
Moon Area 12, Central Valley 5
Savario Vandetti got the Tigers off and roaring in the top of the first inning, slamming a home run to lead off the game, and that sparked a four-run rally that helped Moon to a non-section win over the Warriors.
The Tigers wound up hitting four home runs and collecting 15 hits in all to help power the win.
Connor Kunkle contributed a sacrifice fly in that opening frame while Nico Marasco and Nick Machusko each delivered RBI doubles.
Moon added three more runs in the third inning on a solo homer by Kunkle and a two-run shot by Machusko.
Vandetti contributed a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and Marasco banged a two-run homer in the sixth inning after Central Valley had cut the deficit to 8-5.
Thad Longwell , Owen Amey, Marasco and Machusko each finished with two hits for Moon.
SOFTBALL
Carlynton 7, Bishop Canevin 6
Hanalee Nordeen’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a two-run rally that lifted the Cougars past the Crusaders in a non-section game that was the season-finale for both teams.
Carlynton, playing before a large crowd on Senior Night, took a 5-3 lead into the top of the seventh inning, needing just three outs to end it, but Bishop Canevin rallied to score three runs and vault into a 6-5 lead.
Ava Washington doubled home Lia Pilarski, who had tripled to lead off the inning, to make it 5-4, and two more runs came home on an infield error to move the Crusaders in front, 6-5.
A two-base error allowed leadoff batter Carlee Hughes to reach second in the bottom of the seventh and Lucy Vetter reached first on a dropped third strike that also allowed Hughes to score the tying run.
A fielder’s choice moved Vetter to third and Nordeen delivered a base hit to bring home Vetter with the game-winning run.
Carlynton senior Maura Weiland took to the mound for the first time in her career and worked her way through a two-run first inning before giving way to Danica DeCecco, who held the Crusaders to four runs the rest of the way.
Nordeen finished with two hits and two RBIs, and Sarah Loney contributed a two-run single for the Cougars.
Alexis Summers had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run for Bishop Canevin. Bella Lane and Washington each had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run. Desiah Trent had two RBIs for the Crusaders.
GIRLS LACROSSE
WPIAL Tournament
The Moon Tigers earned the No. 4 seed in the 12-team WPIAL Class 3 Girls Lacrosse Championships and will get a first-round bye as a result.
Moon won’t see action until Thursday, May 15, when it hosts the winner of the Fox Chapel-Norwin game, which will be played Tuesday night at Fox Chapel.
Fox Chapel is the No. 5 seed while Norwin is seeded 12th.
Moon finished the regular season with a 7-1 record in Section 2 play, a game behind section champion Pine Richland. The Tigers put together an overall mark of 12-4.
BOYS LACROSSE
Moon 9, North Hills 8
Ben Witenski scored five goals and assisted on two others and Dylan Cernetic registered 13 saves on 21 shots on goal to help the Tigers edge the Indians in a non-section game Thursday night.
The win left Moon with a final record of 9-8.
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