2022 WPIAL Class 4A baseball championship preview: Montour vs. West Mifflin

By: Bill Hartlep
Monday, May 30, 2022 | 3:39 PM

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WPIAL Class 4A baseball championship

1-Montour (17-5) vs. 2-West Mifflin (17-3)

4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wild Things Park, Washington

On the air: Trib HSSN (video)

Road to the finals

Montour – The Section 2 champion Spartans received a first-round bye, defeated No. 9 Quaker Valley, 11-2, in the quarterfinals and beat No. 4 Laurel Highlands, 4-2, in the semifinals.

West Mifflin – After winning the Section 3 title, West Mifflin was awarded a first-round bye. The Titans defeated No. 10 Blackhawk, 4-1, in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Knoch, 3-1, in the semifinals.

Secret to their success

Montour – Senior Mason Sike (.361, 4 HR, 32 RBIs) was the hero in the semifinals, belting a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to lead the Spartans past Laurel Highlands. He also tossed six innings to earn the win. Sophomore Jake Robinson, who leads the Spartans with a .400 average, smacked a solo homer against the Mustangs. Junior Nick Walker (.344, 21 RBIs) and junior Brock Janeda (20 RBIs) also bolster a deep lineup. Junior Vinnie Markulin (5-0) and senior Dylan Mathiesen (5-1) help round out the rotation with Sike.

West Mifflin – Against Knoch in the semifinals, senior Derek Kleinhans had two doubles and two RBIs, and senior Zane Griffaton also had two hits. Junior pitcher Pierson Buck (7-0) allowed an unearned run on three hits in five innings to earn the win. Buck leads the rotation with a 1.79 ERA and 22 strikeouts. Ryan Lang, Jake Walker and Zane Griffaton have filled out the pitching staff. Walker is batting .456 with 15 RBIs. Senior Eric Link is hitting .421 with 16 RBIs, and Kleinhans is hitting .406 with 16 RBIs.

Championship factoids

Montour – The Spartans won their lone WPIAL baseball title in Class 3A in 1972, defeating Penn Hills, 3-1, in the 12th inning. … They reached the WPIAL title game a year ago as the No. 1 seed but lost 5-0 to New Castle. Montour also lost to New Castle in the PIAA semifinals last season to finish 17-7 overall.

West Mifflin – The Titans are seeking their first WPIAL baseball championship. … After winning the section title last season, they lost to New Castle in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. … Coach Jeff Kuzma is in his second stint coaching West Mifflin, a tenure that covers 16 seasons. … The Titans have won 12 of their past 13 games, the lone loss coming at Upper St. Clair, 3-2.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Montour, West Mifflin