Mikes, Lady Mikes, Lady Pioneers eye up PIAA tournament
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
The Carmichaels and West Greene softball teams have already assured themselves of spots in the PIAA Class A playoffs and played a consolation game on Tuesday to determine where they will be placed in the bracket.
The lone baseball team still alive is Carmichaels and although their game with Avella on Wednesday was deemed a third-place consolation game with the winner gaining a PIAA berth and the loser going home for the season, some were giving the matchup a different title: WPIAL public school championship.
That’s how Mikes coach Dickie Krause saw it as well with his team and the Eagles having been eliminated by a pair of private schools in Bishop Canevin and Eden Christian Academy, respectively.
The private vs. public school debate has raged for years and Krause has always let his opinion be known on the issue.
“This is tough for me, and I know how hard Avella works,” Krause said. “I know what they try to do and what we do at Carmichaels and then we both get here and we’ve got to see those two teams.
“Our kids have dreams, too. Our kids would love to be in WPIAL finals. We’re playing with all of our kids within five or six miles of our schools. It’s just not even, it’s not a level playing field. I don’t understand it and my kids don’t understand it.”
The eighth-seeded Mikes (13-5) and sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6) were to meet at Ross Memorial Park on Wednesday. The Mikes won both regular-season meetings, 14-3 and 6-2, but the two finished in a three-way tie for second place in Section 1.
Fourth-seeded Bishop Canevin beat Carmichaels 7-1 and second-seeded Eden Christian knocked off Avella, 11-2, in the semifinals to set up a championship game between the Crusaders and Warriors that was to be played Tuesday at Wild Things Park.
Bishop Canevin has been a postseason roadblock for the Mikes before.
“This is the third time we’ve lost in the playoffs to Canevin, and you can tell me, ‘Go get better,’ well, I lose a guy, I can’t go get another kid that’s starter-ready,” Krause said.
“I love my kids. I wouldn’t trade my kids for anybody. They’re great kids. But they’re all from five or six miles away. Avella had the same thing happen to them. You go and play these schools and they’re so deep and they’ve got kids that are physically mature, and we get what comes out of our school district.”
Carmichaels defeated No. 9 Carlynton, 9-1, and top-seeded Union, 3-1, before falling to the Crusaders. Avella knocked off No. 11 Springdale and upended Section 1 champion and third-seeded Fort Cherry, 6-3, to reach the district final four for the first time in program history before losing to the Warriors.
The first game of the week involving county teams took place Tuesday when the Lady Mikes (15-2) and Lady Pioneers (13-8) met at Jefferson-Morgan to determine the third- and fourth-place teams out of the district.
Carmichaels received a first-round bye then topped South Side Beaver, 7-0, before falling to Chartiers-Houston in the semifinals, 3-2. West Greene knocked off Leechburg, 11-1, and Frazier, 13-5, before losing to No. 1 seeded Union, 10-0.
The Lady Mikes were co-champions with C-H in Section 2 while West Greene wound up in third place. Carmichaels won both regular-season meetings with the Lady Pioneers, 7-3 and 2-0.