Warriors set to defend WPIAL title as No. 1 seed

By the Mon Valley Independent

It’s been a couple years, but the WPIAL will hold a softball championship tournament this season and the brackets were unveiled Thursday for 10 local teams vying for championships in their respective classifications.

Two defending champions return to the field, one of which received a No. 1 seed and is the favorite in Class 4A.

Elizabeth Forward the 2019 WPIAL champion, (15-2) was awarded the top overall seed and will await the winner of the matchup between No. 8 Knoch and No. 9 Central Valley in the quarterfinals. That game will be played May 24.

Also in Class 4A, Yough (10-5) received the No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 Freeport (10-6) 3 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin. The Cougars finished third behind West Mifflin and EF in Section 2, while the Yellowjackets finished third in Section 1.

Belle Vernon Area is the No. 11 seed in the 4A bracket. The Leopards (10-9) will travel to Plum for a 2 p.m. date with No. 6 Burrell (7-6). The Bucs were tied for third in Section 1 while BVA was fourth in Section 2.

The other defending champion to reach the postseason is the Frazier Commodores. They are the defending WPIAL runner-up, but are out to defend the PIAA Class 2A state championship they won in 2019.

Led by head coach Don Hartman, the Commodores (14-3) were seeded third. They’ll face No. 14 Riverside (8-5) 6 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny.

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