WPIAL announces baseball playoff pairings
May 11—Five Lawrence County high school baseball teams got their assignments for the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
The WPIAL released the playoff pairings on Friday and Union High was the lone Lawrence County team to earn a No. 1 seed. The Scotties claimed the top seed in Class 1A after going 12-0 in WPIAL Section 2-1A action, earning the section championship in the process.
This is Union's second consecutive season of going undefeated in section action to earn the league title. The Scotties (13-3) are looking to capture their third WPIAL title after becoming back-to-back champions in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Union has a first-round bye and will face the victor of the Carmichaels-Carlynton game on Thursday at a time and location to be determined.
Laurel is the only Lawrence County team competing in the Class 2A playoffs. The Spartans locked up the third-place standing in WPIAL Section 2-2A play with an overall record of 9-5.
Laurel enters the first round of the Class 2A playoffs as the No. 8 seed and will have ninth-seeded Charleroi as its first obstacle at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Burkett Park. The Spartans have yet to capture a WPIAL title in the program's history.
The largest Lawrence County contingent is in the Class 3A playoffs. Mohawk, Neshannock and Shenango will all be vying for the same WPIAL gold.
Mohawk (16-3) is looking for its first-ever WPIAL championship and enters the first round as the second seed after finishing 10-2 in WPIAL Section 1-3A action. The Warriors held a first-place standing over No. 1 seed Riverside, but was swept in their final series against the Panthers to fall into second place in the section.
Mohawk's first opponent will be 15th-seeded East Allegheny at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Shaler.
The lone team in the WPIAL Section 1-3A to knock off Riverside this season and snap its historic 36-game win streak was the Lancers. Neshannock (11-9) locked up the third-place standing in its section with a record of 8-4.
The Lancers earned the No. 11 seed and will take on sixth-seeded Waynesburg Central for a late-night first round contest. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Boyce Mayview Park.
Neshannock is looking to capture its eighth WPIAL championships this season.
Shenango (10-9) snuck into the playoffs after dealing with Ellwood City in WPIAL Section 1-3A action. The Wildcats captured the fourth and final spot in the section after splitting the series it had against the Wolverines.
Shenango topped Ellwood City, 11-9, in both teams' last section game on Tuesday to eliminate the Wolverines from a postseason appearance. Shenango finished in the section with a record of 6-6 to earn the No. 12 seed.
The Wildcats' first opponent in their path to claim a second WPIAL title will be Valley. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny.
New Castle was unable to make a playoff berth in the 5A classification after going 0-10 in WPIAL Section 3-5A action and 1-18 overall.
The WPIAL championship games are scheduled for May 28 and May 29 at the Washington Wild Things Park.
