May 10, 2015 5 min read

Winning 13 of the last 14 games, allowing one run or less nine times and capturing a ninth consecutive section title despite moving up in classification.

The résumé for Carmichaels’ softball team certainly seems fit for a top-four seed in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.

The Mikes, however, received the seventh seed and a potential matchup with second-ranked Mohawk in the quarterfinals.

Carmichaels head coach Dave Briggs did not know what to make of the seeding. Did the season-opening 11-1 loss to top-seeded Deer Lakes play a factor or were the Mikes collateral damage during the committee’s attempt to keep section rivals separated?

“I really thought we’d be the four or five seed,” Briggs said. “I was surprised by that. I know we had the loss to Deer Lakes, but it was the first game of the year, we were missing our catcher and we committed a ton of errors.”

The WPIAL Class AA bracket looked clear until Burgettstown (17-3) lost to South Side Beaver, 12-2, April 30 to share the Section 1 title. Now, the Blue Devils are the No. 6 seed and the Rams are No. 5.

Meanwhile, the Mikes (13-3) have defeated their last four opponents by a combined score of 21-3 and won the Section 2 title outright. They open the playoffs Wednesday against No. 10 Freeport (10-4), the third-place team from Section 3, at California University’s Lilley Field. First pitch is 2 p.m.

The slight may have stung initially, but the Mikes are entering the playoffs looking to prove they belong among the elite programs in Class AA.

“We’ve been overlooked all year. No one has really been talking about us,” Briggs said. “We’re eager to play. Being overlooked might be a good thing. The girls are relaxed.”

What is difficult to overlook is hard-throwing right-handed pitcher Erica Burns, a senior who has five shutouts and continues to strike out opposing hitters with regularity. The Mikes also have three other seniors with a wealth of playoff experience.

The senior class has played in two WPIAL title games and three state playoff games. As Carmichaels prepares for Freeport, which did not play a non-section opponent during the regular season, Briggs is hoping his players balance the emotions of a playoff game.

“They’ve been there. We have experience in the postseason and that helps,” Briggs said “I told the girls that you have to be emotional, but you have to control it. You can’t get so jacked up that you don’t do the things you normally do. I’m hoping that experience helps us.”

Carmichaels has not won a WPIAL title since 1998, when it also won the PIAA Class AA championship with a 7-4 victory over South Williamsport. Much has changed since then, except a burning love of softball in the small town.

“The girls we have at Carmichaels love to play softball,” Briggs said. “They play in the fall, the summer and they like these moments. They enjoy the playoffs with the challenge of trying to advance and they’re ready.”

Trinity riding high

Hours after the WPIAL playoff brackets were released Thursday, Trinity (14-4) defeated Class AAAA power Canon-McMillan, 8-4, in a non-section game.

The Hillers gained confidence both at the plate and in the circle, where junior pitcher Paige Galentine continued to improve.

The sixth-seeded Hillers will open the Class AAA playoffs Wednesday (2 p.m.) against Central Valley (10-5) at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township.

After losing to section rivals Belle Vernon, which earned the top seed after winning the section title, and Elizabeth Forward two weeks ago, Trinity was happy to see the two placed on the opposite side of the bracket.

“I’m really excited with where we are sitting in the bracket,” Trinity coach Shawn Gray said. “I don’t know too much about Central Valley, but I think we should match up very well against them and I’m glad we aren’t seeing the competition on the other side of the bracket that we struggled with. It will be nice to see them beat each other up.”

Trinity reached the WPIAL quarterfinals the past two seasons, but with eight seniors, including Pitt recruit Olivia Gray, Brooke Beck, Madison Hornak and Hali Justice, the Hillers believe they have a chance to win the program’s first WPIAL championship.

“We set up two goals this year: one was to make it back to the playoffs and the other was to go further than last year,” Shawn Gray said. “We are looking to build this team up so we can be contenders every year. We want to reach the WPIAL championship and we’re excited to try to get there.”

Bad-luck Blue Devils

Burgettstown was well on its way to a top-four seed in the Class AA until the loss to South Side Beaver. Though the Blue Devils have the sixth seed, they will face a very difficult and familiar opponent – Neshannock (8-6).

The Lancers defeated Burgettstown in both the WPIAL Class A semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals last year. The latest meeting is Wednesday (3 p.m.) at North Allegheny.

Bright future

West Greene (10-7) is back in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2012 and the seventh-seeded Pioneers play Greensburg Central Catholic Tuesday at Lilley Field (2 p.m.).

The best may be yet to come for the Pioneers, who have only one senior, a talented freshman class and one Class A’s top underclassman pitchers in Bailey Bennington.

West Greene’s last playoff win was in 2011 when it defeated Riverview, 6-4, in the first round before losing to Fort Cherry in the quarterfinals.

Raiders open playoffs

Waynesburg (8-11), which qualified for the Class AA playoffs despite losing six of seven games at midseason, is in the first playoff game today. The Raiders play South Allegheny (7-6) at Lilley Field (2 p.m.). The winner plays top-seeded Deer Lakes Wednesday at Hampton (5 p.m.).