Rain will be a concern for the diamond sports Thursday as district baseball teams try to complete, for some, the first week of section series action.

After getting Game 1 in Tuesday, the Section 2-4A series between Ringgold and Elizabeth Forward is set to conclude at Boston Field in Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon.

In a pitchers’ duel in Monongahela in the opener, the Warriors out pitched the Rams, 1-0.

EF’s J.B. Crovak allowed one hit and struck out 17 in a dominating performance for the win.

Anthony Koziel pitched well, but suffered the tough loss for Ringgold after giving up one run on four hits with eight strikeouts.

Last season, Elizabeth Forward finished in a tie atop the section with West Mifflin, three games in front of fourth place Ringgold.

The two met in the district quarterfinals with the Warriors hanging on to beat the Rams, 8-5. Cy Herchelroath was the winning pitcher for EF and had three hits and drove home three runs.

Elizabeth Forward is 1-0 in the section and 3-1 for the season while Ringgold is 0-1 and 0-3 overall.

Other neighborly baseball section games set for Thursday include Franklin Regional at Penn Hills at 4 p.m. in Section 1-5A, Bethel Park at Upper St. Clair at 4:15 p.m. in Section 2-5A, and Seton LaSalle against Keystone Oaks at Point Park Field in Green Tree in Section 4-3A at 2 p.m.

Escaping south

Three district softball teams are spending part of the final week of March down south on a working vacation.

The Bethel Park and West Greene softball teams are at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., while Waynesburg is at the Ripken Experience in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

The Black Hawks are slated for two games Thursday, one in the morning and one in mid-afternoon.

The Pioneers have an early afternoon contest while the Raiders enjoy breakfast at the field with a 9 a.m. first pitch.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Yough softball will begin their southern trip to Pigeon Forge on Friday.

Volleyball lid lifters

The section ribbon will be cut to signify the start of section play for 16 WPIAL boys volleyball teams Thursday.

Here is the slate of eight matches:

• In Section 1-3A, Seneca Valley visits Butler and Pine-Richland is at Moon.

• In Section 2-3A, Plum travels to Fox Chapel.

• In Section 1-2A, Beaver County Christian hosts North Catholic.

• In Section 2-2A, Summit Academy heads to Deer Lakes and Derry is home to Steel Valley.

• In Section 3-2A, Brentwood welcomes Thomas Jefferson and South Park visits Keystone Oaks.

Thursday on Trib HSSN

There are three broadcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the 26th day of March.

WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Bethel Park at Upper St. Clair at 4:15 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL Boys Lacrosse Video Stream – Hempfield at Franklin Regional at 6 p.m. on the Westmoreland County Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL Girls Flag Football Video Stream – Ambridge at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 4:30 p.m. on the OLSH Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com