Heading into action this week, only the Chartiers-Houston boys and girls as well as the Seton-La Salle Rebels had a firm lock on a WPIAL tournament berth.

Ranked No. 1 in Class AA, Seton-La Salle continued to steamroll over the competition in Section 2.

With a 7-1 victory over Northgate, the Rebels, who were WPIAL runners-up last season, remained unbeaten at 9-0 in the league. They improved to 12-0 overall with an 8-3 win over Fort Cherry.

Helping the Rebels remain perfect this season also have been Derek Law and Andrew Jackson. Both are 4-0 on the mound with Law leading in strikeouts with 54 Ks. In an outing against North Catholic, Law fanned 15 en route to a 6-1 victory. He recorded a save in relief of Evan Ross against Fort Cherry.

Law is also one of the team's top hitters with an average close to .470.

Meanwhile, Andy Petras has the CH boys' positioned to battle for the Class A title. At the start of the week's action, Petras and company were 11-2 overall and 10-0 in Section 2.

Despite nearly missing the season because of emergency surgery last fall, Petras ranks in the top 20 of the WPIAL in batting with a .529 average. He was tied for third in home runs with four and second in RBIs with 27. In fact, in one game, he drove in 10 runs. A pitcher, he is undefeated.

Earlier, he propelled CH to a 7-1 win over Clairton.

The senior smacked a home run and a double. He drove in two. Zack Podrasky stroked a two-run double for the Bucs. Paris also tagged a two-bagger.

Petras picked up the win on the mound, his sixth of the season. He maintains a 2.00 ERA. In 33 innings, he has struck out 38.

Most recently, the Bucs put distance between themselves and second-place Avella (6-3, 8-5) with a 7-4 win over the Eagles.

In the key section showdown, CH exploded for three runs in the seventh stanza to seal the victory.

Matt Paris and Derek McIlvaine each doubled for the Bucs, who scored their other four runs in the second inning.

In addition to Petras, Ryan Parker, with a .500-plus batting average, paces CH on offense as do Jason Paris, Podrasky and McIlvaine. Parker, Paris and McIlvaine are all double-digits in RBIs. Paris leads in runs.

Though tied with Fort Cherry with 10-2 slates for the Section 1-A title, the Lady Bucs have clinched a playoff berth. CH, which is the defending Class A champions, is 14-3 overall.

Meanwhile, the other races for section titles and playoff berths remain tight for area clubs.

Canon-McMillan, Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon shared the lead in baseball's Section 4 in Quad-A. All had 7-3 records with five games remaining. At the top of the week, CM came in with a 12-3 overall mark while BP and Lebo followed at 9-4 and 8-6.

However, Peters Township, the defending WPIAL champion, followed at 5-5 in the division and 10-5 overall after a big week that featured shutouts over Upper St. Clair, 9-0, and Trinity, 11-0, and a 10-1 upset of Canon-McMillan.

Against the Big Macs, Nick Merich scattered three hits, walked two and struck out eight. He is 5-1 overall for the Indians with 33 strikeouts.

At the plate, Merich tagged a two-run double as well as a two-run homer.

Austin Hancock also drilled a two-run double. Pete Ross had a double as well.

Jordan Jankowski smacked two hits. He was walked intentionally twice.

Jankowski was the hero for PT against USC.

Making only his second start, the senior tossed a two-hitter. He struck out 12.

At the plate, Jankowski smacked a two-run homer. The roundtripper was his eighth of the season and leads the WPIAL.

Jim Rider and James Stratico both doubled in the win. Stratico collected three hits and drove in three. Ross smashed four hits and drove in three.

Jankowski is pivotal to PT's success as are Ross and Stratico, both of whom maintain batting averages well over .450. Again, Jankowski ranks among the WPIAL's top hitters with a batting average close to .550. He ranks fourth in RBIs and first in home runs. His teammate, Will McClure, a freshman, follows in the home run and RBI category.

Meanwhile, Canon-McMillan, which recently edged Bethel Park, 4-3, boasts its share of leaders in the WPIAL.

Against BP, Matt Pierpont drilled two hits as did Phil Stabb. Pierpont drove in a run as did Charles Murphy, Hull and Jeff Lauterbach.

Pierpont picked up the win on the mound while Chris Douglas earned a save in relief.

Previously, in an 11-1 loss to Peters Township, Hull tagged two hits, including a double.

While Pierpont is CM's top hitter at .500 and RBI guy, Chris Dittmar gets the job done at the plate and on the mound. He is the team's top pitcher in victories. Plus, he bats over .450 and leads the club in runs scored.

In Class AAA, Chartiers Valley (5-2, 8-3) is battling West Allegheny (7-1, 10-2) for the Section 3 title. Before the two meet, May 5, in Imperial, the Colts were scheduled to face Moon and Montour, who follow in the standings at 5-2 and 5-3 respectively.

Finally, back to softball, pitching has put Mt. Lebanon, Keystone Oaks and Peters Township in the positions they are this season.

Geena Badolato has tossed the Blue Devils to the top of the Section 4 standings. At the start of the week, Lebo led the division with an 8-2 record and a 12-2 mark.

Most recently, Badolato hurled a one-hitter and blanked Baldwin, 2-0. The sophomore pitcher fanned 15.

Badolato recorded another 2-0 shutout against Ringgold. She struck out seven, walked none and scattered four hits.

Although the Lady Indians suffered a terrible loss when Shaylee Ianno suffered a season-ending knee injury, they remain in playoff contention. PT started the week in third place with a 6-3 league record and 12-3 overall mark after a 12-5 win against Keystone Oaks.

In the triumph, Amanda Heitmeier pounded out three hits, including a double. Kelsey Cunningham tripled and Morgan Meadows doubles to back Olivia Bovalina's efforts on the mound.

Despite the defeat, KO remained atop the Section 3-AAA standings with an 11-1 record. The Golden Eagles are 12-3 overall.