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May 12, 2017 By Adam Brewer, For The Greene County Messenger 8 min read

With all due respect to high school baseball and softball regular season, nothing beats the playoffs.

Every pitch, every at-bat and every inning can make or break a playoff contest.

After a chaotic regular season and with some teams still trying to get section games under their belts in the final week of the season, the postseason is finally here.

Six of the 10 Greene County teams on the diamond have made the WPIAL playoffs.

West Greene softball claimed its second straight and its fourth overall section crown last week. It is the favorite to be the No. 1 seed in Class A.

Carmichaels is right behind the Lady Pioneers in Section 2-A, and should also get a decent seed in the Class A bracket. I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, but it would be awesome if we could have an All-Greene County final in Class A.

Waynesburg Central’s softball team finished tied with McGuffey for third place in Section 3-AAA behind South Park and Southmoreland.

On the baseball side of things, Waynesburg Central was still in the mix for first place in Section 3-AAA at the beginning of the week. After a 4-3 loss at Brownsville on Tuesday, the Raiders could still be a tri-champion of the section with Brownsville and Mount Pleasant if they defeat Charleroi on Wednesday.

Carmichaels will finish the year tied for second in Section 1-AA with Chartiers-Houston behind first-place California.

Jefferson-Morgan had an impressive start of the week, sweeping a doubleheader on Monday (12-2 win over Monessen/21-2 win at Mapletown).

On Tuesday, the Rockets at least clinched a share of the Section 2-A title with an 11-10 triumph over Greensburg Central Catholic. The two teams met again on Wednesday at GCC.

Softball brackets were projected to come out on Thursday, while the baseball pairings are set to be announced today. Here are the playoff profiles of the county teams:

Softball

CARMICHAELS

Record: 15-5 overall, 10-2 in Section 2-A.

Playoff History — The Lady Mikes have qualified for the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons and 18 of the last 20 years. Carmichaels won WPIAL titles in 1997 and 1998. The Lady Mikes suffered a 6-0 setback to Deer Lakes in the first round last year.

Streaking — Carmichaels has won 10 of their last 12 games.

Biggest Win of the Season — The Lady Mikes swept the season series with Monessen, which helped them secure second place in the section. Carmichaels defeated the Lady Greyhounds, 7-2, and six days later shutout Monessen, 6-0, on the road. Freshmen pitcher Kylie Sinn recorded the wins in both games.

Key Players — Carmichaels boasts one of the most consistent line-ups and stable defenses in Class A this year. Offensively, the Lady Mikes are anchored by Natalie McNett, Gina Ranieri and Megan Walker. All three are also vital pieces on defense.

WAYNESBURG CENTRAL

Record: 8-8 overall, 4-6 in Section 3-AAA. Played Burgettstown on Wednesday.

Playoff History — The Lady Raiders have made the playoffs in 16 of the last 20 seasons, including four straight postseason berths. Waynesburg won a WPIAL title in 2005. A year ago, the Lady Raiders lost a preliminary-round contest to Neshannock.

Streaking — The Lady Raiders have been backing into the playoffs by losing six straight games before their regular season finale versus non-section foe Burgettstown on Wednesday.

Biggest Win of the Season — Before their five-game losing skid, the Lady Raiders won their biggest victory of the year against county rival West Greene, 7-6, on April 19. Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh, Waynesburg rallied with four runs in the frame to retake the lead for good.

Key Players — Pitching and defense has been inconsistent keys for Waynesburg this year, so if they want to win in the playoffs they will have to out slug teams. Jordan Siebert, Paige Rutan, Rachel Elsenheimer and Tara Staley are key cogs for the offense that must produce.

WEST GREENE

Record: 18-1 overall, 12-0 in Section 2-A. Played Bentworth on Wednesday.

Playoff History — Last year, the Lady Pioneers capped off a stellar regular season with their first ever WPIAL Championship after a 12-3 triumph over Chartiers-Houston. West Greene has qualified for the playoffs three years in a row and 11 of the last 20 seasons.

Streaking — Before ending the regular season with a section win over Jefferson-Morgan (15-0) on Tuesday and a non-section affair with Bentworth on Wednesday, West Greene has won its last six games by a scoring margin of 65-3.

Biggest Win of the Season — West Greene has faced several challenges in the non-section part of their schedule, but perhaps their biggest wins came in section play with a 1-0 win over Monessen (4/25) and a 4-3 victory over Carmichaels (5/4). Who knows, the Lady Pioneers might see those two teams again in the playoffs.

Key Players — Just like last year, the Lady Pioneers housed a powerful offense headlined by their top two batters in their line-up, McKenna and Madison Lampe. McKenna is batting .661 with an on-base of .778, 44 runs scored and 36 stolen bases. Madison has a .617 average at the plate with 38 RBIs, 37 runs scored and 21 extra-base hits.

Baseball

CARMICHAELS

Record: 13-4 overall, 11-3 in Section 1-AA.

Playoff History — The Mikes have made the postseason 19 of the last 20 years, including 17 straight trips to the playoffs. Carmichaels won WPIAL titles in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Last year, they lost to Union in the first round and are just three years removed from making it to the finals.

Streaking — Before they wrapped up their Section 1-AA schedule with a 17-7 rout at home versus Burgettstown on Monday, the Mikes has won seven of their last nine games.

Biggest Win of the Season — Last Thursday, Carmichaels won their biggest contest of the year with an 11-1 victory over Chartiers-Houston on the road. Trailing 1-0, the Mikes tallied four runs in the third and seven more in the fifth to evoke the mercy rule. Matt Barrish picked up the pitching victory.

Key Players — The Mikes have a nice mix of veteran and young players in their dugout. Carmichaels is led by its seniors (Joel Spishock, Cody Brown and Liam Shea), but need contributions from their younger players (freshmen Dylan Wilson and Logan Mayhle) to extend their stay in the playoffs.

JEFFERSON-MORGAN

Record: 10-5 overall, 10-1 in Section 2-A. Played GCC on Wednesday.

Playoff History — This is the first time the Rockets have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs since 2013, and just the third time since 2009. J-M’s last playoff win was in the quarterfinal round in 2001 against Canevin.

Streaking — After starting the season 0-3, J-M has put together a solid campaign and has won 10 of its last 12 games before their regular-season finale at GCC on Wednesday.

Biggest Win of the Season — Not counting their 11-10 win over GCC this week, J-M’s two biggest wins of the year came against playoff-caliber clubs at Jeannette (8-3 on 4/12) and Monessen (5-4 on 4/19).

Key Players — The Rockets will rely on their top two pitchers this year, Gage Clark and Jake Broadwater, as well as a consistent middle of the line-up with the likes of Eli Rafail, Isaac Dean and Joe Headlee. With no clear-cut, dominate team in Class A, the bracket will be wide open for the Rockets.

WAYNESBURG CENTRAL

Record: 12-3 overall, 9-2 in Section 3-AAA. Played Charleroi on Wednesday.

Playoff History — The Raiders have earned a playoff berth nine of the last 20 seasons and just two of the last five years. Waynesburg won a WPIAL title in 1999 and suffered losses in the title game twice (2000, 2010). Waynesburg’s last playoff win came in the semifinals in 2010 against Laurel.

Streaking — Before their 5-1 loss at home to section foe Mount Pleasant, Waynesburg was riding a nine-game winning streak. In games decided by four runs or less, the Raiders are 4-3 this year.

Biggest Win of the Season — It was the battle of section unbeaten teams on April 19, but Waynesburg was able to edge Brownsville, 5-2, at home. Waynesburg scored all of its runs in the final three innings behind a 10-strikeout performance by Hunter Robinson.

Key Players — The top four batters in the Raiders’ line-up are so critical, and all four must set the tone for Waynesburg offensively. Brandon Turcheck is the leadoff hitter, and behind him are some capable bats in Luke Robinson, Hunter Robinson and Trey Rohanna.

—â¶Ä”

On a side note, I’m writing this week’s wrap-up story with a heavy heart. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly on Monday morning. He was an awesome grandfather and an even better man.

Even though he lived in West Virginia, he is originally from Greene County and was still a subscriber to the Messenger. He was one of my biggest fans, I think, and was always supportive.

I have so many sporting memories with my grandfather. From that one time, he tried to teach me how to fish (and trust me, I am the world’s worst fishermen) to visiting him every Sunday for years and he would always have NASCAR on the television.

One story I will always look back at fondly is why he hated baseball. In his younger days, he went to Forbes Field with his family for a doubleheader, and one of the games lasted 18 innings. After that day, he always told me he will never watch another baseball game again and was officially done with baseball.

Rest in Peace, Pappy!!