Still more ball to be played for Valley teams

Four local teams will play for WPIAL championships next week, three softball teams on the same day.

With baseball and softball season coming to a close as school lets out over the next few weeks, it’s safe to say that the Mon Valley has once again enjoyed plenty of success on the diamond.

In all, four local programs will play for a WPIAL championship, while two more have clinched a spot in the state tournament.

Serra Catholic’s baseball team will join Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth Forward and Bentworth’s softball teams in their respective district title games.

After an historic season for the program, South Allegheny’s baseball squad has confirmed a spot in the PIAA tournament, while Thomas Jefferson’s baseball team will also play into June.

Starting on the softball diamond, Elizabeth Forward has long been a dominant program, and they’ve maintained that status this season.

The Warriors went 17-1 in the regular season to earn the one seed in Class 4A, and they had no issues with getting back to the WPIAL title game for the second time in three years.

Ace pitcher Shelby Telegdy has joined Addy Nigut, Julia Resnik and Carlee Soukup among others to blow through No. 9 West Mifflin (10-0) and No. 4 Chartiers Valley (7-2) en route to the final against No. 2 Hampton. That game is set for a 4:30 p.m. start on Thursday, May 30 from PennWest California’s Lilley Field.

The Jaguars and the Bearcats will also play in their championship games on the same day at the same venue.

Thomas Jefferson’s 9-7 record entering the postseason earned them the 10-seed in Class 5A, but the Jaguars have ignored the outside expectations and managed to put together a Cinderella run.

Freshman pitcher Aubrey Shaffer took some time to settle in during her first year on the mound at the varsity level, but she’s helped to lead the Jaguars past No. 7 South Fayette (6-4), No. 2 North Hills (64) and No. 11 Latrobe (4-2) to reach the final.

The Jaguars will take on first-seeded Armstrong in the championship at 2:15 p.m.

The Class 2A softball championship between No. 2 Bentworth and No. 1 Neshannock will take place before both of those games at noon.

Speaking of freshmen pitchers, Sydney Gonglik has taken the WPIAL by storm in her first season for the Bearcats (17-2).

She struck out 14 batters and scored the winning run in a dramatic district semifinal win over No. 3 Laurel as teammate Sofia Gaussa capped off their 2-1 victory in walkoff fashion.

The Bearcats will play in their first WPIAL championship game ever as they hope to knock off perennial contender Neshannock.

On the baseball diamond, Serra Catholic has once again dominated Class 2A and booked its ticket to Wild Things Park for the third straight season.

The Eagles (17-1) haven’t lost to a team in their classification thus far this year, dropping a 5-4 result to Class 3A Valley in April.

Their last loss to a 2A team in the district was in last year’s title game against Seton LaSalle, who happens to be their championship opponent once again this season. This time, though, the Rebels will be without star Gio LoNero. LoNero was ejected in the semifinal game against OLSH and suspended two games.

No. 1 Serra Catholic will take on the No. 3 Rebels on Wednesday, May 29 at 1 p.m. from the home of the Washington Wild Things.

All of those teams will be looking for district glory, but they’ve already clinched an opportunity to enter the state tournament.

So, too, have the South Allegheny Gladiators.

After capturing their first section title since 1998, the Gladiators earned the four-seed in Class 3A. They defeated No. 13 McGuffey (7-0) and No. 12 Shenango (2-0) to reach the district semifinal, but they lost to top-seeded Riverside 2-0.

Still, the story is far from over for this year’s SA baseball team. The Gladiators will battle with No. 14 Burrell in a third-place consolation game to dictate their PIAA seeding as the third or fourth finisher in District 7. That game is set for Washington and Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park on Tuesday, May 28 at 1 p.m.

Later that day at the same venue, Thomas Jefferson will also participate in a third-place consolation game to determine their state playoff seeding.

The No. 2 Jaguars (19-3) dominated in the regular season and beat No. 15 Ringgold (113) and No. 7 Chartiers Valley (4-3) on their way to a semifinal matchup with six-seeded North Catholic.

TJ suffered a 12-4 setback in that game, setting up a consolation game against No. 4 Montour. That contest will start at 6 p.m. at W&J.