West Greene given top seed in softball
Defending WPIAL champion West Greene was made the No. 1 seed when the WPIAL released its softball playoff pairings last Thursday.
Three other Greene County teams joined the Lady Pioneers in finding out where and when they were to open the postseason.
Receiving first-round byes were No. 3 Waynesburg Central in Class AAA along with the Lady Pioneers in Class A.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to be a one seed,鈥� West Greene coach Bill Simms said. 鈥淏ut, like we told them today, we鈥檝e got to make sure we play like we鈥檙e a one seed whenever we get in a playoff game.鈥�
In Class AA, No. 10 Carmichaels was to meet No. 7 Burgettstown at Montour at 5 p.m. game on Wednesday. California defeated Bentworth in a preliminary round game on Monday at Waynesburg University to earn the No. 16 seed and a meeting with Ligonier Valley on May 24.
West Greene was to open its postseason on Thursday against the winner between No. 8 Jefferson-Morgan and No. 9 Bishop Canevin, who played a 4 p.m. first-round game at Waynesburg University on Tuesday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very familiar with the one opponent (section foe J-M),鈥� Simms said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know that much about Canevin. We鈥檙e rooting for the other Greene County school to get there with us.鈥�
When asked about the lost season of 2020, Simms feels everybody is in the same boat.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an equal playing field,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we lost a year, but nobody else did.鈥�
The Lady Pioneers will be shooting for a fifth consecutive WPIAL title.
鈥淲e have a standard and we expect them to meet that standard,鈥� Simms said. 鈥淎s of right now, no, we don鈥檛 have a lot of true playoff experience. We鈥檙e only returning two kids who played in a playoff game from 2019. We had a very nice team that we thought, quite frankly, could go the distance last year. We didn鈥檛 get to prove that on the field.
鈥淣ow we鈥檝e moved on. It鈥檚 these girls鈥� day in the sun. We hope they rise to the occasion.鈥�
Also in Class A, No. 7 Mapletown was slated to play a 2 p.m. game against No. 10 St. Joseph at West Mifflin on Tuesday.
In Class AAA, Waynesburg was lined up to meet either No. 6 Deer Lakes or No. 11 Ellwood City in the quarterfinals on Thursday.