PIAA baseball playoffs
Class A
First round
Greensburg Central Catholic (18-4) vs. West Middlesex (12-8)
2 p.m. Monday at Slippery Rock University
District-finish: Greensburg Central Catholic 7-4; West Middlesex 10-1
Winner plays: Winner of 7-1 Serra Catholic (20-3)/9-2 Clarion (14-6) Thursday in quarterfinals
Players to watch: Ian Shipley, Greensburg Central Catholic; Kyle Gilson, West Middlesex
Extra bases: Greensburg Central Catholic returns to the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Centurions, who also qualified in 2015, ’16 and ’17, advanced to the quarterfinals that season with wins over DuBois Central Catholic (4-3) and Homer Center (12-11). This year, GCC made a run to the WPIAL semifinals but lost to Serra Catholic, 3-2, on a sixth-inning double steal. The Centurions average 9.4 runs and feature a terrific battery in pitcher Tyler Samide and catcher Anthony Grippo, a Penn State commit. GCC is 8-6 all-time in the state bracket, including a championship in 2002 when Warren Schaeffer, the current interim manager of the Colorado Rockies, was a star shortstop. The Centurions have never played West Middlesex in the PIAA playoffs. … West Middlesex made the state tournament last year but lost in the first round to Avella, 12-9. It advanced to the quarterfinals two years ago by beating Union, 12-2. It lost to Southern Fulton, 6-1. West Middlesex made the 2A playoffs in 2022. Gilson is batting .429 with a team-high 27 hits and 21 runs. Roman Golub bats .344 and has 10 doubles and 22 runs. Gilson, a lefty, is 7-4 on the mound with a 1.65 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. The Big Red also have one PIAA title, in 2019. This is their 12th appearance in the state playoffs.
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PIAA softball playoffs
Class 6A
First round
State College (11-8) at Hempfield (21-1)
4 p.m. Monday
District-finish: State College 6-1; Hempfield 7-1
Winner plays: Winner of 3-2 Chambersburg (18-5)/1-5 Avon Grove (21-4) Thursday in quarterfinals
Players to watch: Jessica Hawbaker, State College; Claire Mitchell, Hempfield
Extra bases: State College returns to the PIAA tournament for the first time since 2011 when it lost to Latrobe, 1-0, in the first round. Its last state win was in 2007. In this year’s District 6 championship, Addison Harpster and Paige Moriarta combined to pitch a four-hitter in a 5-4 victory over Altoona. Hawbaker (.407, 21 RBIs) had two hits and two runs, Harpster drove in three runs and Sydney Wells had two hits, including a double. The Little Lions sneaked past McDowell, 1-0, in a subregional game to get into the state playoffs. Harpster (8-6, 2.98 ERA) struck out 17, walked five and allowed one hit in the eight-inning win. Gabrielle McTavish had a double and RBI. State College has two state titles, in 1978 and ’86, with both coming in 3A. … Hempfield last made the state bracket two years ago. This will be its 18th state appearance overall, and it has a 33-12 record in the tournament. The Spartans have four state titles (1999, 2016, ’17, ’18) and were runners-up to North Penn in 2023. This is a rematch of the 1986 state semifinals when State College won 5-0. In this year’s WPIAL championship, played Thursday at Norwin because of rainouts and scheduling issues at Cal (Pa.), Hempfield edged Seneca Valley, 1-0, to win its ninth WPIAL title. Allie Cervola’s first-inning RBI single held up as the Spartans banged out six hits and struck out just nine times against ace pitcher Lexie Hames. Ace Riley Miller, a Kent State commit, improved to 17-1 and kept her ERA under 1.00. Seneca Valley is the only team to beat the Spartans this season.
Class 5A
First round
Penn-Trafford (20-3) at Central Mountain (15-1)
4 p.m. Monday
District-finish: Penn-Trafford 7-2; Central Mountain 6-1
Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Red Land (19-3)/7-4 North Hills (17-6) Thursday in quarterfinals
Players to watch: Ella Mains, Penn-Trafford; Katelyn Bowman, Central Mountain
Extra bases: Penn-Trafford came narrowly close to its first WPIAL championship but fell to Shaler, 2-1, in 11 innings. The Warriors got an early solo home run from Cam Ponko, an IUP commit, before Shaler scored two unanswered. Penn-Trafford had scored 26 runs in its three playoff wins. This will be the Warriors’ fifth appearance in the PIAA postseason — they are 7-3 — and they get a rematch with Central Mountain, which beat them in the first round last year, 10-0. The Warriors, who won a state title in 2019, last posted a PIAA win in 2022, 16-5 over Southern Lehigh. They are 2-2 all-time in the first round. Pitcher Allyson Paulone has put together a career season and takes a 14-3 mark into states. Ponko has eight homers, 34 RBIs and 32 runs. … Central Mountain won its fourth straight District 6 championship with a 12-1 victory over Hollidaysburg in five innings, then topped DuBois, 3-1, in a subregional to clinch a state playoff berth. Against Hollidaysburg, Bowman tripled, homered and drove in four runs, Cora Myers homered, Cirstyn Watson went 3 for 3 with three runs and Aubrey Eiler had two hits. In the DuBois win, the Wildcats rallied from a 1-0 deficit, scoring three times in the third inning on a Watson sacrifice fly, a throwing error and a bunt single RBI by Bowman. Joslyn Shulz earned the win in the circle, striking out nine, walking two and scattering six hits. The Wildcats have made the state playoffs nine times but have never won a title. They reached the semifinals last year for the first time and lost to Thomas Jefferson, 9-8. Penn-Trafford beat Central Mountain, 13-5, on the way its state title in ’19. Central Mountain is a near-three-hour trek from Harrison City.