The Plum softball team shouldn’t be one that any opponent is eager to see in the WPIAL Class 5A softball playoffs. When the Mustangs made contact at the plate this season, it took them some time to locate exactly where the ball landed.
Plum has cranked out 40 home runs.
“I’ve never had a team that hit more home runs,” Plum coach Phi DiLonardo said. “Everyone in the starting lineup has hit at least one home run.”
When the brackets were released Thursday night, the eighth-seeded Mustangs found out they will play No. 9 Chartiers Valley at 5 p.m. Monday at West Mifflin. Led by Penn State commit Lily Duffill, the Colts are also known to play long ball.
The Mustangs (14-5) hope their offense can help guide them on a strong playoff run. Dani Pici, Liana Yusko and Lily DeLuca are tied for a team-high seven homers.
Plum finished in third place in Section 1-5A. DiLonardo said the Mustangs will need everything to come together to turn heads in the postseason.
“You have to pitch well and get lucky sometimes,” DiLonardo said. “It never hurts to get lucky. Sometimes a ball has to bounce your way. Sometimes it bounces the wrong way.”
Many of the teams in the Alle-Kiski Valley will be hoping for a strong postseason.
Knoch (17-3) is the highest-seeded A-K Valley team. As the No. 3 seed in Class 4A, the Knights received a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 6 Beaver and No. 11 Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals. Knoch rolled off a 17-game winning streak after losing its season opener to Plum.
The Knights dropped two nonsection games to top competition — Class 2A No. 3 seed Laurel and Class 5A No. 2 seed Shaler — to see their winning streak stopped.
Leechburg (8-8) extended its streak of making the WPIAL Class A playoffs to 38 seasons. Chris Fabec said the Blue Devils took some time to rebuild their skills after losing a lot of players to graduation.
Leechburg is seeded 11th and will play South Side in the opening round Tuesday.
“Our section for the most part had good competition,” Fabec said. “It was definitely a building year for us. Last year, we lost a bunch of seniors. We definitely had to build this year with some freshmen. It took a bit to get rolling.”
Apollo-Ridge (13-3) is seeded eighth in Class 2A and will open up with OLSH at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Fox Chapel. Deer Lakes (7-12) is No. 8 in Class 3A and must contend with No. 9 Charleroi at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Norwin. Fox Chapel drew the No. 12 seed in Class 5A and will face No. 5 Franklin Regional at 5 p.m. Monday at North Allegheny.