On a jam-packed Tuesday, section play in WPIAL baseball is slated to come to an end with nine possible playoff berths still up for grabs.
One of the tightest races all season has been Section 2-5A.
Moon (8-3) has clinched a share of the section crown and South Fayette (7-4) still has a shot to earn a split of the conference title.
Bethel Park (6-6) is done with section play and has clinched a playoff berth.
That leaves at least one playoff berth up for grabs between three teams currently tied for fourth place heading into their section finale.
Peters Township, Trinity and Upper St. Clair are all 5-6 in the section.
The Indians are home to South Fayette at 7 p.m., the Hillers are at Moon at 4:45 p.m., and the Panthers visit Chartiers Valley at 4:15 p.m.
If Peters Township, Trinity and Upper St. Clair all win, they would finish in a four-way tie for third place with Bethel Park.
In the head-to-head tiebreaker, Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair would both be 4-2, but the Black Hawks swept the Panthers, so BP would finish in third place.
The fourth-place tiebreaker goes back to head-to-head between PT, Trinity and USC and Upper St. Clair would be 4-0 and finish in fourth place while the other two would be eliminated.
That same tiebreaker is true if all three tied teams lose Tuesday.
Check out “WPIAL clinched” for the playoff picture for the other possible berths on the final day of section play.
Watch and wait
The Freeport softball team did its part. Now the Yellowjackets must watch and wait to see if they are playoff bound.
Knoch (11-1), Indiana (10-2), Derry (8-3) and Greensburg Salem (5-6) have clinched playoff berths out of Section 1-4A.
Freeport (5-7) stayed alive for a playoff berth Monday with a rout of Greensburg Salem, 13-0, in six innings.
Now the Yellowjackets need a Greensburg Salem loss at Derry on Tuesday to earn a playoff spot.
Currently, there are 75 teams that have qualified for the upcoming district softball playoffs, and Freeport would like to make it 76.
Inaugural playoffs
The first WPIAL girls flag football postseason begins Tuesday with a unique playoff format.
There are no classifications and only one bracket for a field of 16 teams.
The district will have playoff games at four sites Tuesday, with the winning team from each quadrant moving on to the district final four Thursday.
The WPIAL semifinals and inaugural championship game is set for Upper St. Clair on Thursday.
Here are the first round matches at the four sites set for 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
At North Allegheny
Fox Chapel (11-4) vs. Shaler (14-0), 5 p.m.
Kiski Area (11-3) at North Allegheny (14-1), 6:30 p.m.
At Mt. Lebanon
Thomas Jefferson (10-3) vs. Upper St. Clair (13-0), 5 p.m.
Bethel Park (11-5) at Mt. Lebanon (12-1), 6:30 p.m.
At Gateway
Oakland Catholic (9-3) vs. Plum (13-0), 5 p.m.
Woodland Hills (11-2) vs. Latrobe (11-1), 6:30 p.m.
At Montour
Seton LaSalle (16-1) at Montour (10-3), 5 p.m.
Moon (10-3) vs. Keystone Oaks (11-2), 6:30 p.m.
The two first-round winners at each site will then play each other in quarterfinals slated for Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Key volleyball playoff setters
In the final week of the regular season, there are a couple of key volleyball matches with playoff implications Tuesday.
• Central Catholic (3-5) must win to keep its playoff hopes alive as it hosts Fox Chapel (5-3) in a Section 2-3A contest.
The Foxes, along with Gateway and North Hills, have already clinched a 3A playoff berth out of the section.
• Hempfield (6-2) hopes to keep its Section 3-3A title hopes alive when it entertains Norwin (5-3).
The Spartans need to beat the Knights and Penn-Trafford (7-1) on Thursday to earn at least a share of the section championship.
Both Hempfield and Norwin have clinched 3A playoff spots.
• In a battle for second place in Section 4-3A, Mt. Lebanon visits Peters Township.
A win clinches a playoff berth as both the Blue Devils and Indians are 5-3, one game ahead of Upper St. Clair (4-4).
USC is at Canon-McMillan (2-6).
• In Section 4-2A, four teams are fighting for at least two playoff spots.
Trinity (5-3), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (4-4), Montour (3-4) and Hopewell (3-5) are all still alive in the hunt for second and third place behind section champion South Fayette (7-0).
On Tuesday, Trinity visits Montour, OLSH hosts South Fayette and Hopewell travels to Ambridge (1-7).
A golden day for team track
The best track and field teams in the district will be crowned Tuesday with the boys and girls WPIAL team championships.
The Class 3A boys and girls championships will be at Peters Township Stadium while the 2A boys and girls finals are set for West Mifflin Stadium.
All four championships are set to start at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Class 3A
Seneca Valley Raiders vs. Hempfield Spartans vs. Butler Golden Tornado vs. Norwin Knights
Girls Class 3A
North Allegheny Tigers vs. Hempfield Spartans vs. Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils vs. Norwin Knights
Boys Class 2A
North Catholic Trojans vs. Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions vs. Quaker Valley Quakers vs. Riverview Raiders
Girls Class 2A
North Catholic Trojans vs. Laurel Spartans vs. Quaker Valley Quakers vs. Burrell Buccaneers
All four defending champions are still alive with the Norwin boys and girls and Quaker Valley boys and girls in 2A looking to repeat.
The QV boys are searching for a third straight district crown while the Quakers girls are trying to win a fifth straight WPIAL team track championship and match the North Allegheny boys (2001-2005) and the Hempfield boys (2012-2016) for most consecutive titles.
Love for team tennis finals
The WPIAL boys team tennis championships are set for Tuesday afternoon at the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center at Washington & Jefferson College.
In Class 3A, the top two seeds will square off in a fight for gold as No. 1 North Allegheny will battle No. 2 Upper St. Clair at 2 p.m.
The Tigers swept past Fox Chapel in the semifinals, 5-0, while the Panthers eliminated rival Mt. Lebanon, 3-2.
NA will be trying to win its second district title in three years while USC is looking for its first boys team tennis championship since 2015.
The Class 2A finals pit No. 5 Quaker Valley against No. 2 North Catholic at 3:30 p.m.
Both teams went the distance as the Quakers upset top-seeded Blackhawk and the Trojans defeated Indiana by scores of 3-2.
NC is looking to repeat as 2A champ while QV looks for its first title since winning back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022.
Only two Class 3A teams from the WPIAL move on to participate in the PIAA boys team tennis playoffs while the state takes three teams from the District 7 Class 2A field.
The Class 2A consolation match between Blackhawk and Indiana will be Wednesday at North Allegheny at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday on Trib HSSN
There are nine broadcasts you can watch or listen to at TribHSSN.TribLive.com on the fifth day of May.
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Upper St. Clair at Chartiers Valley at 4:15 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – South Fayette at Peters Township at 7 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Penn-Trafford at Franklin Regional at 4 p.m. on the Westmoreland County Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Plum at Latrobe at 7 p.m. on the Westmoreland County Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Ringgold at Laurel Highlands at 4 p.m. on WMBS-AM 590, WMBS-FM 101.1 at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Riverview at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at 6:30 p.m. on the OLSH Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Baseball Video Stream – Sewickley Academy at Serra Catholic at 4 p.m. on MVI Live at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Lacrosse Video Stream – Central Catholic at Upper St. Clair at 7 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network at TribHSSN.TribLive.com
WPIAL Boys Volleyball Video Stream – Plum at Gateway at 7:15 p.m. on Gateway Gators Productions at TribHSSN.TribLive.com