When it comes to a playoff bracket, the term chalk indicates a tournament has gone as planned.
When the top four seeds reach the semifinals, the tournament has gone chalk.
WPIAL Class 5A baseball has been the total opposite of chalk.
When the final four seeds are No. 3, No. 8, No. 10 and No. 12, the term you are looking for to describe that bracket is unpredictable.
All four teams are headed to Joe Maize Field at Peterswood Park in Peters Township on Thursday to square off and determine which two will battle for district gold next week.
The games pit two teams from Section 2-5A against two schools from Section 4-5A.
At noon, No. 10 South Fayette will face No. 3 Thomas Jefferson.
The Lions have brought their bats to the postseason party, scoring a combined 19 runs in wins over Franklin Regional and Penn-Trafford.
Cody Bungert had three hits and five RBIs as South Fayette edged No. 2 Penn-Trafford in the quarterfinals, 11-10.
The Lions are 13-9 this season.
The Section 4-5A champion Jaguars are now 18-4 after a second straight walk-off win in the district playoffs.
Thomas Jefferson rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Bethel Park in the quarters, 3-2.
Eli Graff was the walk-off hero in the second round after TJ teammate Justin Fry authored the first round walk-off single.
The Jaguars have won seven straight and 15 of their last 16 games.
Later Thursday at Joe Maize Field, No. 8 Montour clashes with No. 12 Upper St. Clair at 3:30 p.m.
The Spartans own a pair of one-run wins in the postseason, beating West Allegheny in eight innings in the opener, then stunning top seed Pine-Richland in the quarterfinals, 3-2.
Matteo Weber allowed only four hits and struck out 10 in the victory for a Montour team that has won 11 in a row and is 17-5 this season.
Offense has been a big part of the Panthers’ success this season and that has continued into the postseason, where they scored a combined 26 runs in wins over No. 5 Plum and No. 4 Moon.
Nico D’Orazio had four hits and Brooks York drove in four runs as Upper St. Clair defeated Moon in a wild one, 10-9.
USC is 11-9 this season, but has won five of its last seven games, scoring double-digit runs in four of those contests.
Rivals collide in both 3A semis
Rivalries are the heart and soul of high school sports.
But these kinds of clashes come in different shapes and sizes.
Some are natural, based on geography.
When schools are next-door neighbors with very good programs, it’s a built-in rivalry.
Others are manufactured based on success and plenty of postseason clashes.
Both are on display in the WPIAL Class 3A baseball semifinals.
Defending champion and No. 7 seed Riverside battles No. 3 Ellwood City at Pullman Park in Butler at 6 p.m.
Top-seed Avonworth squares off for a third time with No. 4 South Park at Gateway at 4 p.m.
Riverside and Ellwood City have been rivals in every sport for a long time. The two are neighbors on the Beaver and Lawrence County border.
They also were neighbors in the Section 1-3A standings this season with Ellwood City earning a share of the section crown with Mohawk, one game ahead of Riverside.
The Panthers are coming off a shutout of South Allegheny in the quarterfinals, 3-0.
Matt Santillo was the winning pitcher, allowing two hits while striking out eight. He also had a double and two RBIs in improving Riverside to 12-7 this season.
The Wolverines edged Burrell in the quarters, 5-4.
Jordan Keller was 3 for 3 with an RBI as Ellwood City improved to 17-3.
The two each picked up a shutout win in their section series this year. The Wolverines won at home, 11-0, and the Panthers earned a split with a home victory, 1-0.
The Avonworth-South Park rivalry is not geographically made as the distance between the schools is 37 miles.
However the Antelopes-Eagles rivalry has become must-see baseball over the last couple of years.
In this decade, the programs have finished first and second in their section in five of the six years.
They have met twice this decade in the WPIAL playoffs with the Eagles flying high past the Antelopes in both the 2021 Class 3A final four, 8-2, and in the 2022 semifinals, 3-2.
Both schools have won two district baseball championships with one coming in the last five years. South Park won gold in 2022 and Avonworth raised the championship banner in 2024.
Avonworth won the Section 2-3A crown this season with an overall record of 17-5, while runner-up South Park enters the final four with a 15-5 record.
The Antelopes survived Charleroi in the quarterfinals, 7-6, with Cooper Scharding and Case Latore each delivering three hits.
The Eagles eliminated Freeport, 4-1, as Cooper Hochendoner had a double, triple and RBI.
High on the Highlanders
At the top of the WPIAL softball all-time titles list sit two teams, Sto-Rox and Baldwin, with 10 titles each.
The problem for the Highlanders is their most recent softball crown was 25 years ago.
Another issue for the purple and white is they face the Class 5A prohibitive favorite in the final four Thursday.
No. 5 Baldwin (18-4) will battle top seed and defending champion Shaler (19-1) at Montour at 4 p.m.
After squeaking out a first-round win over Kiski Area, the Highlanders rolled past West Allegheny in the quarterfinals, 7-1.
The Temme sisters, Camryn and Reese, each delivered three hits and two RBIs in the victory.
The Titans are looking dominant, however, outscoring Moon and Armstrong in their two playoff victories by a combined 21-0.
Senior star pitcher Brian Bosiljevac had a no-hitter and a one-hitter in the playoffs with 25 strikeouts.
In the other 5A semifinal, No. 2 Thomas Jefferson (17-3) takes on surprising No. 11 seed North Hills (11-7).
The Jaguars blanked Plum in the quarters, 8-0, as Zoie DeCostro and Madden Stanek combined for six hits.
The Indians meanwhile pulled off their second straight upset with a convincing win over No. 3 Penn-Trafford in the quarterfinals, 8-1.
Emma Culver led Cinderella North Hills with a double, home run and three RBIs.
Champs collide
The two most recent WPIAL Class 4A softball champions collide in a district semifinal Thursday.
Top seed and 2024 winner Elizabeth Forward (18-2) will battle No. 4 seed and defending champion Hampton (15-5) at Gateway at 3 p.m.
This game is also a rematch of the 2024 finals when the Warriors cruised past the Talbots, 10-2.
EF had a first-round bye, and then opened the postseason Tuesday with an 8-4 win over Derry.
Hannah Evans had two doubles and three RBIs for the Warriors.
The Fritsch sisters shined for Hampton in the quarterfinals.
Josie and Teresa Fritsch each had two hits and two RBIs in a win over Uniontown, 9-2.
The other final four contest pits No. 7 North Catholic (14-5) against No. 3 Blackhawk (11-4) at North Allegheny at 6 p.m.
In one of the wildest playoff games thus far, the Trojans scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning to upend No. 2 Knoch in a second-round slugfest, 13-10.
Kennedy Brown was 5 for 6 with a double, a home run and six RBIs for North Catholic.
In their 2026 postseason debut, the Cougars edged Laurel Highlands, 3-1.
Kylie Prisuta was excellent in the circle for Blackhawk, allowing only three hits and striking out nine.
Showdown arrives
When the Sydney Gonglik era began at Bentworth two years ago, the Bearcats were in Class 2A and Chartiers-Houston was in Class A.
Last year, there was anticipation that they may meet in the postseason since both were in 2A; however, the Bearcats and Buccaneers never crossed paths in the district or state postseason.
Now the much anticipated battle of current Washington County softball powers will happen in the 2A semifinals on Thursday as Chartiers-Houston (18-2) takes on Bentworth (19-2) at Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Peters Township at 4 p.m.
The No. 2 Bucs won their first 13 games of the season and are coming off a shutout of Riverside in the second round, 4-0.
Taryne Drilak was the winning pitcher, allowing one hit and striking out eight, while Kiera Drilak had two hits and three RBIs.
The Bearcats have a strong sister act of their own.
Sydney Gonglik had a no-hitter and was 3 for 3 in a first-round win over Burgettstown, and then younger sister Mikayla had three hits, including a home run and two RBIs in a 6-1 victory over Shenango in the quarterfinals.
In the other 2A semifinal, top-seeded Laurel (15-5) battles rival Neshannock (16-5) at Mohawk at 3:30 p.m.
The Spartans edged Frazier in the second round, 4-2, as Hailey Balcolm drove in two runs.
The Lancers picked up their second straight postseason 10-run win by blanking Brownsville, 10-0, behind Gianna Paglia’s two-hit, three-RBI performance.
During the regular season, Neshannock won at home in March, 4-3, while Laurel also picked up a home win in April, 12-2.
Greene County pride
When it comes to softball, there has been plenty to celebrate about in Greene County recently.
In the last 15 years, only twice has there been a WPIAL Class A softball title game without a team from Greene County involved.
That trend will continue in 2026 with three county teams in the final four.
Two of them square off Thursday when No. 2 Carmichaels (16-4) takes on No. 3 West Greene (13-7) at Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Peters Township at 6 p.m.
Both teams had opening-round byes.
In the quarterfinals, the Mighty Mikes blanked Sewickley Academy, 1-0, as Bailey Barnyak threw a one-hitter and struck out 19.
The Pioneers rolled past South Side, 15-1, with Caitlyn White leading the way with three hits.
During the regular season, Carmichaels swept two games from West Greene by scores of 10-0 and 3-1.
The other Greene County team is No. 5 Jefferson-Morgan (16-6), which challenges top-seeded Union (17-2) in a semifinal at North Allegheny at 4 p.m.
Emilee Bazzoli has two wins, four hits and five RBIs for the Rockets in their playoff wins over Leechburg (18-2) and Serra Catholic (2-1).
The reigning champion Scotties got off to a fast start with a 7-1 quarterfinal win over Jeannette.
Irelyn Fisher had two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs for Union.
Union crushed Jefferson-Morgan in a Class A semifinal a year ago in three innings, 15-0.
Class 2A lax finals
The boys and girls Class 2A lacrosse championships own the spotlight Thursday with the two title matches at Upper St. Clair.
In the boys finals, No. 3 Mars (14-4) will take on No. 4 South Fayette after both ousted the top two seeds in the semifinals Monday.
The match begins at 8 p.m.
This marks the fourth straight year these two powers have met in the finals.
The Fightin’ Planets have won the previous three years, 16-7 in 2023, 16-5 in 2024 and 7-5 last spring.
Mars knocked off No. 2 seed Hampton in the semifinals, 15-9.
The Fightin’ Planets are trying to reach rare air with a 10th straight WPIAL boys 2A lacrosse title.
The Lions edged top-seeded Peters Township in the final four, 8-7.
Another title run is at stake on the girls side as well.
Top-seeded Mars (18-1) will battle No. 3 Quaker Valley (16-2) at 6 p.m.
The Fightin’ Planets beat South Fayette in the semifinals, 14-11, to reach the girls Class 2A lacrosse title match for the sixth straight year.
Mars is trying to win gold for a fourth straight season.
The Quakers bounced No. 2 Hampton in the semis, 15-5.
Quaker Valley won the first two WPIAL Class 2A girls lacrosse crowns in 2009 and 2010 but haven’t won one since.
This is their first championship appearance since 2018.
Mars beat Quaker Valley on May 4, 15-3.
Consolation lax – Day 2
The final two district lacrosse consolation matches take place Thursday.
Here are the two Class 3A matches Thursday to determine a PIAA playoff berth:
• In boys 3A, Mt. Lebanon (15-2) goes up against Fox Chapel (15-3) at Chartiers Valley at 7:30 p.m.
• In girls 3A, Fox Chapel (12-3) will take on Upper St. Clair (12-3) at Chartiers Valley at 6 p.m.