Who’s in? Who needs to win?
One year ago, the Canon-McMillan High School baseball team was about to begin its run to the WPIAL and PIAA championships.
The Big Macs need a productive final week to even have an opportunity to repeat those feats.
Similar to a few area high school baseball and softball teams, Canon-McMillan is straddling the fine line of making or missing the playoffs. Another 23 area teams have already clinched postseason spots entering the last week of the regular season before the WPIAL playoffs begin May 13.
The baseball teams to already clinch a playoff spot are: Peters Township in Class 6A; Ringgold in Class 4A; Waynesburg, McGuffey and Beth-Center in Class 3A; Carmichaels, Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry in Class 2A; and California, Jefferson-Morgan, West Greene and Monessen in Class A.
The softball teams to already clinch a playoff spot are: Canon-McMillan in Class 6A; Trinity and South Fayette in Class 5A; Ringgold in Class 4A; Burgettstown, Chartiers-Houston and Carmichaels in Class 2A; and West Greene, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown and Monessen in Class A.
Canon-McMillan won’t waltz into the playoffs. After barely escaping a scare from winless Brashear Friday, the Big Macs have a pair of Class 6A Section 3 games against the two teams tied for first place – Bethel Park on Monday and Peters Township on Wednesday. To secure a spot, they need to either win both, split and have Mt. Lebanon, the team they are tied with for fourth place, win only one of its last two. If C-M and Mt. Lebanon lose both of their games, they both will advance to the postseason.
Defending WPIAL Class 4A champion South Fayette, which bumped up to Class 5A, needs to win one of its last two section games to clinch a berth. The Lions play Moon Monday and North Hills Tuesday.
In Class 5A Section 3, Trinity will need to end its six-game losing streak to guarantee the final spot. The Hillers play Montour Monday and Carrick Tuesday. Their last win came by forfeit when a pitcher from Chartiers Valley went over the pitch limit in a game April 17.
In Class 4A, Belle Vernon needs a win in one of its final two games to secure a berth.
In softball
Trinity and West Greene have already wrapped up outright section championships. For the Hillers, it was the first time they’ve won a section championship since 2013. It’s just becoming habitual that West Greene runs over its section. The Pioneers outscored their section opponents 144-2.
Canon-McMillan and Chartiers-Houston can play their way into section championships this week.
The Big Macs can clinch at least a share of the section by defeating Peters Township Monday and Allderdice Tuesday.
A section title has been elusive for the Bucs over the last several seasons, but with at least one win they can clinch a share and two victories would earn them the title outright. They also play Monday and Tuesday against McGuffey and Bentworth, respectively. It would be C-H’s first section championship since sharing the Class A Section 1 title with Jefferson-Morgan in 2015. The last time the Bucs won a section championship outright was in 2013. They finished the last three years in second place.
In Class 2A, the only way Fort Cherry can end its seven-year playoff drought is if Our Lady of Sacred Heart loses both of its final two section games, which would tie the Chargers and Rangers for fourth place.
Bentworth needs to win one of its final two games, either against Beth-Center Monday or Chartiers-Houston Tuesday, to clinch a playoff berth. McGuffey, which is currently in fifth place, needs a win over C-H Monday to have a good chance at qualifying for the postseason. If Bentworth loses its two games, then both teams would advance.