Softball
Class 6A
First round
Hempfield (21-1) at McDowell (16-6)
2 p.m. Monday at David P. Hanlon Community Sports Complex, Erie
District seeds: Hempfield 7-1; McDowell 10-1
Winner plays: Winner of 3-2 Chambersburg (18-4)/1-5 Pennsbury (20-4) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)
Players to watch: Claire Mitchell, Hempfield; Alex Smith, McDowell
Extra bases: Hempfield won its 10th WPIAL title, defending its title and tying Sto-Rox and Baldwin for the most in District 7 history, with an 11-1, 6-inning win over Seneca Valley. Mitchell, Jayelyn Luft, Lauren Howard and Jocelyn Luft all had two hits. Jocelyn Luft had a double and three RBIs. Winning pitcher Julia Varhola and Emily Bozek doubled. Jocelyn Luft (.514) has 25 RBIs, Mitchell (.423) and Ella Berkebile (.364) have 24 apiece and Bozek has 22. Howard (.397), who is 5 for 7 with seven RBIs in the playoffs, has a team-high 32 runs. Mitchell has 29 and Jayelyn Lufy 27. Varhola is 16-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 151 Ks. The Spartans have won 19 straight games. They will make their 19th appearance in the state tournament after reaching the semifinals last year and losing to Nazareth, 6-4. They have four PIAA titles (1999, 2016, ’17, ’18). … McDowell rallied to defeat State College, 6-4, in a subregional game at Slippery Rock. The Trojans trailed 4-1 in the middle of the sixth inning before Smith belted her second home run, a two-run shot, and Mya Kaliszewski and Bridget Zaczyk added RBIs in a five-run inning. Pitcher Zaczyk allowed nine hits, struck out five and walked three. Smith bats .431 with eight home runs, 30 RBIs and 29 runs. Zaczyk has a .417 average with six homers and 27 RBIs. Kaliszewski bats .424 with 25 runs. Bridget Zaczyk, the main pitcher (9-6, 1.72 ERA, 117 Ks), also has six of the team’s 22 homers.
Class 3A
First round
Mt. Pleasant (15-5) at Sharon (21-0)
Noon Monday at Allegheny College, Meadville
District seeds: Mt. Pleasant 7-2; Sharon 10-1
Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Susquenita (22-1)/5-1 Bedford (19-2) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)
Players to watch: Chloe Borelli, Mt. Pleasant; Maddy Vogan, Sharon
Extra bases: Mt. Pleasant returned to the WPIAL finals for the first time since 2021 but fell short to top-seeded South Park, 10-1. Kendra Brunson had two hits, including a double, in the loss. The Vikings have a youthful lineup that includes only two seniors in Gracie Etling and Carly Surma. Three freshmen start in Emma Miller (C), Sadie Poole (LF) and Borelli (SS). Brunson is hitting .500 with 33 hits and 21 RBIs. Poole (.400) has 12 extra-base hits and a team-high 26 runs. Borelli leads the team with 23 RBIs, and Jenna Whipkey (.415) has 18. Mt. Pleasant won state titles in 2021 and ’17. … Sharon is powered by Vogan, a Penn State commit and one of the top pitchers in the state. She had 20 career no-hitters, including nine this season. She is 21-0 with a 0.11 ERA, 289 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 125 innings. She has not allowed a run in 14 games. Vogan also is a major offensive threat with a .625 average, 25 hits, 39 runs, eight homers and 28 RBIs. Mya Bundrant is hitting .397 with 27 hits, 24 runs and 21 RBIs, and Addie McFann has a .362 average with 25 hits, 19 RBIs and 23 runs. Izzy Renner, a freshman, hits .381 with 24 hits, 22 runs and 19 RBIs. Alauna Wilson is second with four homers. Vogan pitched a shutout in a 1-0 win over Hickory that gave the Tigers their third straight District 10 title. Sharon lost in the state quarterfinals last year to Susquenita, 8-1. The Tigers made the semifinals in 2024.
Baseball
Class A
First round
Greensburg Central Catholic (17-1) at Claysburg-Kimmel (16-7)
6:30 p.m. Monday at Claysburg-Kimmel High School, Claysburg
District seeds: GCC 7-2; Claysburg-Kimmel 10-1
Winner plays: Winner of 9-1 Elk County Catholic (18-3)/7-3 Serra Catholic (13-7) on Thursday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD)
Players to watch: Carson Kramer, GCC; Dustin Slowik, Claysburg-Kimmel
Extra bases: Greensburg Central Catholic reached the WPIAL championship game for the first time since 2017 but ran into a hot pitcher in Eden Christian’s Noah Emswiler, who struck out 15 in a 5-1 win. GCC has not been silenced like that very often with its potent lineup that includes Kramer (3B), Anthony Grippo (C), Tyler Samide (P/1B) and others. Grippo had the only RBI in the finals loss with a double. Stephen Kochis added a hit. GCC reached the PIAA quarterfinals last year and lost to Clarion Area, 15-5. It won its only state title in 2002 when now-Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer was the starting shortstop. Grippo (.540), a Penn State commit, has 26 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Samide has five home runs and 36 RBIs. Kramer, a promising freshman, bats .600 with 29 RBIs. Samide is 6-1 on the mound, and Alec Martin is 5-0 with two saves. Samide had not allowed an earned run until the WPIAL final. … Claysburg-Kimmel captured its first District 6 championship since 2007 with a 10-0, 6-inning win over Homer-Center. Paydden Knisley smacked a three-run double for the Bulldogs. Slowik was the winning pitcher. He scattered seven hits. Mason Campagna, a Penn State commit, has brow-raising numbers: He is batting .550 (33 for 60) with six homers, 29 RBIs and 33 runs. Gavin Treon has a .488 average with 39 hits, including 14 doubles, 39 RBIs and 36 runs, and Knisley has 24 RBIs. The Bulldogs only have one other PIAA playoff appearance, in 2007.