Trib HSSN rewind: A look back at the 2018-19 baseball season

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, July 13, 2019 | 11:31 PM

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Winning PIAA championships in baseball is becoming increasingly harder for WPIAL teams.

Only two teams from the district reached the championship game at Penn State, and neither Beaver nor Serra Catholic was able to capture the gold medal.

For the first time since 2014, the WPIAL didn’t have a winner. In fact, no WPIAL team made it to the state finals in 2014.

In 2018, the WPIAL had four teams reach the state finals, and three of them — Canon-McMillan (6A), Ringgold (4A) and Vincentian (A) — were winners.

This year, Beaver, the comeback kids, especially in the WPIAL semifinals against Yough, fell to Selinsgrove, 7-4.

Serra suffered a tough, 3-2 loss to Devon Prep.

Here are some highlights from the 2019 season:

PIAA champions

Class 6A: Souderton 6, Central Bucks South 3

Class 5A: Red Land 8, Lampeter Strasburg 3

Class 4A: Selinsgrove 7, Beaver 4

Class 3A: Mt. Union 9, Notre Dame-Green Pond 1

Class 2A: Devon Prep 3, Serra 2

Class A: West Middlesex 2, Greenwood 1

WPIAL champions

Class 6A: Pine-Richland

Class 5A: Shaler

Class 4A: Beaver

Class 3A: Steel Valley

Class 2A: Seton LaSalle

Class A: California

Section champions

Class 6A: Section 1: Pine-Richland; 2. Penn-Trafford; 3. Bethel Park.

Class 5A: Section 1. Franklin Regional; 2. Hampton; 3. West Allegheny.

Class 4A: Section 1. Greensburg Salem and Yough; 2. Blackhawk; 3. Thomas Jefferson and Ringgold.

Class 3A: Section 1. Freeport; 2. Hopewell; 3. Keystone Oaks.

Class 2A: Section 1. Carmichaels and Chartiers-Houston; 2. Shenango and Neshannock; 3. Serra and Seton LaSalle; 4. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Avonworth.

Class A: Section 1. Union; 2. California; 3. Vincentian.

Other storylines

*New Castle sophomore Rocco Bernadina led the Red Hurricane into the PIAA Class 4A playoffs. He was outstanding in defeating Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem and Yough. He out-dueled Yough left-hander Jarett Bach in the third-place game.

*Laurel Highlands surprised many by upsetting Franklin Regional in the Class 5A playoffs and reaching the WPIAL finals for the first time. It was also the first time the Mustangs reached the PIAA tournament. The Mustangs fell to Shaler in the finals.

*California won another WPIAL Class A championship, defeating Union, 9-6, in the finals. The Trojans have won four titles, three since 2014.

*Pine-Richland defeated Penn-Trafford, 7-2, for its second Class 6A title in the past three seasons. The Rams were seeded second in the tournament; Penn-Trafford was No. 1.

*Steel Valley used a come-from-behind, 5-4 victory to stun Hopewell in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs. Hopewell had a big lead before the Ironmen rallied late.

*Serra catcher Mark Black was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper High School All-American team.

*After 35 years of coaching, the dean of high school baseball in the WPIAL, Peters Township coach Joe Maize, retired.

For more information

*Here’s a look at the final baseball standings on Trib HSSN

*Check out season statistics here

*Click here for archived broadcasts of games on Trib HSSN

*Visit the Trib HSSN baseball page for more content

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.