For Penn-Trafford third-year baseball coach Lou Cortazzo, seeding doesn’t mean anything given the talent of teams in Class 5A baseball.
Cortazzo’s squad proved that in 2024 when the Warriors were seeded No. 7, worked their way though the playoffs and defeated No. 4 Bethel Park, 4-3, in the title game.
The Warriors defeated No. 10 Moon (8-2), No. 2 Fox Chapel (2-0) and No. 6 Franklin Regional (10-3) to reach the championship game.
The WPIAL announced the pairings for the 2025 tournament Friday, and returning Class 5A champion Penn-Trafford received a No. 6 seed.
The Warriors (14-6) open the playoffs against No. 11 Connellsville (13-5) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Norwin. Connellsville defeated Penn-Trafford, 3-2, on March 29.
Penn-Trafford saw its eight-game winning streak snapped Thursday in a 10-inning, 7-6 loss to Central Catholic.
“We are seeded where I thought we’d be,” Cortazzo said. “I told the team that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. It’s playoff baseball. No game will be easy.
“We know what Connellsville has. They are a scrappy bunch. I have a lot of respect for them.”
Connellsville lost to Franklin Regional in the 2024 playoffs, and the Falcons defeated Penn-Trafford at Norwin in 2022.
The Warriors finished third in the WPIAL in 2023 and played two games in the PIAA playoffs. Last year, they won the title and reached the PIAA quarterfinals again.
“These players know what it takes to be successful in the playoffs,” Cortazzo said. “We are trying to build a winning culture here.”
There are 12 teams from Westmoreland County that qualified for the playoffs.
The other two 5A teams in the tournament are Latrobe (14-6) and Franklin Regional (10-7).
The No. 9-seeded Wildcats face off against No. 8 Fox Chapel (14-5) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gateway, and the No. 13 seeded Panthers get No. 4 Bethel Park (16-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Boyce Mayview Park.
The Class 6A playoffs begin May 19 at sites and times to be determined.
No. 8 Hempfield (8-12) will face No. 1 North Allegheny (13-6), and No. 4 Norwin (12-7) will battle No. 5 Butler (10-8).
There is a county battle in Class 4A as No. 5 Belle Vernon (14-6) will face No. 12 Derry (6-7) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Gateway. No. 10 Greensburg Salem (8-6) will battle No. 7 Central Valley (10-9) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Seneca Valley.
There are three county teams in the Class 3A bracket, which begins play Tuesday.
No. 8 Burrell (12-8) faces No. 9 Charleroi (10-6) at 3 p.m. at Gateway; No. 12 Mt. Pleasant (11-6) tangles with No. 5 South Park (12-6) at 8 p.m. at Gateway; and No. 10 Ligonier Valley (10-7) meets No. 7 Quaker Valley (12-6) at 2 p.m. at Fox Chapel.
The Rams won their last eight games, including seven section games, to finish in a five-way tie for the section title with Mt. Pleasant, Burrell, Freeport and Deer Lakes.
The streak started with an extra-innings win against Deer Lakes. The Rams also won two other games in extra innings during the streak, including Thursday’s game against Mt. Pleasant in nine innings.
In Class A, No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic (17-2) is riding a 10-game winning streak into the playoffs. The Centurions will face No. 12 Sewickley Academy (5-11) at 5 p.m. Thursday at Plum.