Section races heating up
Carmichaels' Gavin Pratt doubles to left field to lead off Friday's Section 1-AA game against Bentworth at Carmichaels High School.
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地 Carmichaels鈥� Matthew Barrish lays down a bunt in front of Bentworth catcher Jacob Maimone during Friday鈥檚 Section 1-AA game at Carmichaels High School.
It鈥檚 hard to believe this, but some Greene County baseball and softball teams just have a few section games left on their schedule as the postseason is nearing.
With so many postponements and rescheduling of games, squads are frantically trying to get their section games in before the May 9 and 10 deadline.
In some sections, the playoff picture is pretty clear. But in other sections, the race for the top four teams is a jumbled mess and there are a lot of critical games left this spring.
So with that being said, let鈥檚 look at each section involving a local team and see how things might shake out (as a side note, this story was written on April 24 so records and scenarios might have changed).
Section 2-A Baseball
Currently Greensburg Central Catholic sits in first place with an overall record of 6-2 and a 6-0 mark within the section. It looks like it鈥檚 the Centurions section to win, but they still have to play second-place Jeannette (6-1, 4-1) two times. The Jayhawks defeated GCC in last year鈥檚 Class A title game.
Jefferson-Morgan (5-2, 4-2) and Monessen (4-4, 3-3) round out the top four, and those teams have yet to square off against each other in 2018.
The Rockets hosts the Greyhounds on May 1, while J-M travels to Monessen on May 2.
West Greene (3-6, 2-4) and Mapletown (2-7, 2-5) are still in contention for a playoff spot, but must pull off a couple of upset wins over the top four teams to get in. Geibel Catholic (0-7, 0-6) sits in last place.
Section 1-AA Baseball
Carmichaels started the season with two straight losses, but now is currently riding a seven-game winning streak before games at Fort Cherry (Wednesday) and versus California (today).
In the seven-game unbeaten streak, they have outscored section foes by a 76-20 margin.
The Mikes鈥� top five hitters are really producing in the lineup, while the pitching staff is showcasing its depth with a number of kids stepping up on the mound.
Rounding out the section are Fort Cherry (6-2, 6-2), Chartiers-Houston (6-4, 5-3), California (6-4, 5-3), Beth-Center (4-4, 3-3), Burgettstown (4-5, 3-5), Frazier (2-6, 1-5) and Bentworth (1-9, 0-8).
Carmichaels has yet to play Chartiers-Houston and that could decide the section. The teams will meet on back-to-back days, May 1 (at C-H) and May 2 (at Carmichaels).
Section 3-AAA Baseball
This section is a muddled mess and things can get very interesting at the top and also in the middle to determine the playoff teams.
Waynesburg Central (5-2, 4-2) sits atop the section with the likes of Mount Pleasant (5-3, 5-2) and Brownsville (5-2, 4-2).
The rest of the teams are Charleroi (7-3, 4-3), Seton-LaSalle (5-5, 3-3), Washington (3-7, 3-3) and Southmoreland (0-10, 0-7).
The Raiders still has to face Brownsville twice, and will also try to avenge section losses to Charleroi (April 25) and Mount Pleasant (April 30) on the road.
Section 3-AAA Softball
It鈥檚 hard to believe, but the Lady Raiders have just four section games left: at Brownsville (April 24), vs. South Park (April 26), at Charleroi (May 1) and vs. McGuffey (May 3).
Waynesburg got off to a stellar start with a 4-0 mark, but have since dropped two straight section games, to South Park (7-2 on April 20) and Southmoreland (15-2 on April 23).
They are currently tied with the Lady Scotties for second place and are two games behind the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Raiders will try to avoid a sluggish second half of the section schedule, like in 2017 when they finished the section slate with a 0-6 mark. Waynesburg must get consistent play from within the circle and also at the plate offensively.
Section 2-A Softball
Just like the previous two seasons, it looks like the section title will run through Rogersville. West Greene is currently in first place with an overall record of 9-2 and a 6-0 mark in the section.
The Lady Pioneers were tentatively set to play second-place Monessen (8-1, 7-1) on Wednesday at home in a contest that could decide a lot for the top spot in Section 2-A.
The Lady Mikes (7-4, 4-2) are currently lurking in third place and have the potential to get hot at any time. Last year, Carmichaels finished the regular season with a 9-2 record.
Carmichaels has two critical section games left, at Monessen (May 1) and at West Greene (May 3).
Mapletown will look to snap its 10-year playoff drought as the Lady Maples stand in the fourth and final playoff spot in the section with an overall record of 5-3 and a 3-3 mark in section play.
The Lady Maples swept the season series with Jefferson-Morgan (18-11 on April 10 and 10-0 on April 23) and also beat California (4-3 on April 12). Mapletown traveled to California on April 25.
J-M (2-5, 1-5), Cal (1-7, 1-6) and Avella (0-7, 0-5) round out Section 2-A.