WPIAL Baseball Playoff Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 14, 2011 | 12:00 AM

The 2011 WPIAL Baseball Playoffs are scheduled to start with First Round diamond action on Tuesday, May 17th followed by the Quarterfinals on Thursday, May 19th. While the weather forecast is shaky for this upcoming week, the postseason baseball will be rock solid with exclusive coverage ONLY here on the MSA Sports Network. Here is a preview of all four classifications.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA:

Defending champ: Pine-Richland

The seeds:
1. Peters Township Indians
2. Norwin Knights
3. Seneca Valley Raiders
4. Butler Golden Tornado
5. Kiski Area Cavaliers
6. Plum Mustangs
7. Pine-Richland Rams
8. Shaler Titans

What to look for:
* Peters Township is undefeated against WPIAL competition. The Indians' only loss was to Sumter, S.C. Peters Township has outfielder Justin Bianco, a Pitt recruit and one of the WPIAL's best players. Peters Township was the only team to get a bye and plays the winner of Shaler and Latrobe.
* Four of the top eight seeds are from Section 1: Seneca Valley, Butler, Pine-Richland and Shaler. While Seneca Valley was the section champ, Shaler might be playing as well as anyone in this classification, winning five of six section games coming down the stretch.
* Norwin has a strong offensive team, but many question the Knights' competition in Section 2.
* Kiski Area and Plum tied for the Section 4 title and were seeded right next to each other.
* A good first-round matchup is Pine-Richland vs. Bethel Park.

Did you know?
* North Allegheny is not in the playoffs this year for the first time since 1985.
* Butler's coach is Todd Erdos, a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He spent some time in the minor leagues with Matt Clement, Butler's boys basketball coach.

WPIAL CLASS AAA:

Defending champ: Hopewell

The seeds:
1. Elizabeth Forward Warriors
2. Hampton Talbots
3. Mars Fighting Planets
4. Blackhawk Cougars
5. Chartiers Valley Colts
6. Montour Spartans
7. Thomas Jefferson Jaguars
8. Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions

What to look for:
* Elizabeth Forward was an easy choice as the No. 1 seed. The Warriors and Norwin are the only undefeated teams in the entire WPIAL. Elizabeth Forward was a WPIAL semifinalist last year and the Warriors are led by senior pitcher Dan Altavilla, a Mercyhurst recruit.
* Hampton and Mars tied for a section title. Chartiers Valley and Montour also tied for a section title. Mars' only loss this season was to Hampton.
* Elizabeth Forward, Hampton and Mars all received first-round byes to the quarterfinals. That is a major bonus because of the way the WPIAL sets up the playoffs. It is conceivable that teams receiving byes that make it to the final, could use their No. 1 pitcher in all three playoff games.
* A good first-round game could be Hopewell vs. Montour. Hopewell is the defending champion but struggled down the stretch.

Did you know?
* Two of Chartiers Valley's top hitters are brothers. Shortstop Jake Horew bats leadoff and third baseman Luke bats No. 2.

WPIAL CLASS AA:

Defending champ: Beaver Falls

The seeds:
1. Shady Side Academy Indians
2. Laurel Spartans
3. Waynesburg Raiders
4. Deer Lakes Lancers
5. Riverside Panthers
6. Carlynton Cougars
7. Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions
8. Burrell Buccaneers

What to look for:
* This classification doesn't seem to have a plethora of strong teams. Shady Side Academy, though, is one of the strong teams and was undefeated until a loss to Riverview in the regular-season finale. Shady Side's Ben Hartz and Zack Sufrin are the team's top two pitchers. They also are the team's top two hitters.
* Waynesburg has won 15 games in a row and the team's offense has been awfully strong in some games.
* It seems many are wondering just how good Laurel is? Don't discount Deer Lakes, either.
* Riverside has shown flashes of promise this season and could be a team to watch. The Panthers are coached by Dan Oliastro, who has 500 career wins and is in his 43rd season.
* Burrell has a Pitt recruit in Dave Yakopec.

Did you know?
* Defending champion Beaver Falls did not make the postseason. The Tigers are the only defending champ to miss the playoffs. The last team to win back-to-back Class AA championships was Washington in 1997-98.

WPIAL CLASS A:

Defending champ: Serra Catholic

The seeds:
1. Serra Catholic Eagles
2. Neshannock Lancers
3. California Trojans
4. North Catholic Trojans
5. Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers
6. Bentworth Bearcats
7. Beth-Center Bulldogs
8. Rochester Rams

What to look for:
* Serra is the two-time defending champion and a prohibitive favorite. The Eagles might not be as strong offensively as last year's team, but they have a stellar pitcher in junior Alain Girman, who pitched a no-hitter in last year's title game. Chris Miller is a talented catcher.
* Neshannock has walloped much of its competitio this year and looks to be the Eagles' top challenger.
* Many are scratching their heads at the WPIAL's seeding in this classification. Beth-Center tied California for the Section 1 title, split two games with California, and beat California, 11-0, a few days ago. Yet, Beth-Center is seeded seventh and California third. Also, Chartiers-Houston is seeded fifth and Bentworth sixth, despite Bentworth finishing in second place in Section 2 and Chartiers-Houston in third.

Did you know?
* The last team to win three WPIAL titles in a row was Pine-Richland in Class AAA in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The 2004 team had a catcher named Neil Walker.