Five WPIAL baseball and softball teams win PIAA state championships

Five baseball and softball teams from the Pittsburgh area brought home hardware from Penn State University earlier this week after winning PIAA state championship titles.

Indiana goes back-to-back, beats Holy Ghost Prep 6-5 to win 4A baseball title

With a 6-5 win vs. Holy Ghost Prep on Thursday, Indiana became just the fifth baseball team from the WPIAL to win back-to-back state championships.

Indiana (22-4) held a 6-3 lead through 5 innings, holding on in bottom of the 7th to win the game and earn gold at Penn State University's Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Brady Oakes got the win on the mound for Indiana, striking out four batters while Charlie Manzi came into the game in a relief role, striking out five and getting the save.

"It was harder this year," Indiana coach Dan Petroff said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We got everybody's best effort every game and that made it more special. This feels like we ran a marathon and now we're done. We can breathe a little, I guess."  

Shaler Area with 5A softball title with 10-0 mercy rule win vs. Abington Heights

Shaler Area made it back to the top of the mountain for high school softball in Pennsylvania, beating Abington Heights on Friday with a mercy rule victory at Penn State's Nittany Lion Softball Park.

Bria Bosiljevac struck out eight batters on the mound for Shaler (24-1), shutting out Abington Heights while only allowing one hit.

Haley Machajewski ended the game in the 5th inning, hitting a walk-off grand slam to claim gold for Shaler.

"It really was everything. It's full circle since we started," Machajewski said. "Our freshman year winning silver, to come back and win gold and walk it off, especially as my last hit — this program has given me so much, and that was a great way to give back to it."

"I'm so excited for them," Shaler coach Tom Sorce said to the Post-Gazette. "All year, they wanted to get back here and do the job since we lost in 2023. I'm so happy for them."

Union beats Holy Cross 7-3 to win second straight 1A softball title

Union Area has gone back-to-back and won its second straight PIAA 1A softball championship.

With a 7-3 win against Holy Cross, Union (22-2) are now repeat champions.

The Scotties, who were playing in the 1A title game for a third straight season, scored early and often, jumping out to a 4-0 lead that they never gave back. 

Korynne Shannon had eight strikeouts on the mound for Union, allowing 7 hits in the complete game win. 

Laurel beats Chartiers-Houston 7-1 to win all-WPIAL 2A state title game

It was an all-WPIAL state championship game in Class 2A and Laurel came out on top, beating Chartiers-Houston 7-1 to claim the school's first softball championship.

Laurel (20-6) gave up a run in the opening inning but rallied from there and never looked back, scoring all 7 of their runs between the third and sixth innings.

"When we lost [in the WPIAL semifinals], we could either feel sorry for ourselves or we could go battle," Laurel coach Bill Garroway said. "This team, the seniors especially, are very resilient. We still had life. Whoever was in front of us, we were going to battle."

Riley Balcom got the win on the mound for Laurel, striking out five batters and allowing just four hits.

Hempfield wins 5th PIAA softball championship with 5-4 win over Owen J. Roberts

Hempfield has now won the most PIAA softball championships among all teams in the WPIAL.

With a 5-4 win vs. Owen J. Roberts, Hempfield (25-1) are in a class of their own when it comes to state championships among Pittsburgh-area softball teams.

Hempfield rallied from a 3-0 deficit, scoring five runs between the 4th and 5th innings, hanging on for victory after allowing Owen J. Roberts to draw back within one run in the top of the 7th. 

"It's super exciting to bring another PIAA title back to Hempfield," head coach Tina Skelly-Madison said to the Post-Gazette. "It's an awesome accomplishment.

Julia Carhola struck out seven batters in the win for Hempfield.