The Plum varsity softball team again will be a part of the WPIAL Quad-A playoffs.
The pairings are expected to be released Thursday.
But head coach Jim McGrath said the focus at the start of the week wasn't on the postseason.
The Mustangs clinched a spot in the WPIAL playoffs with last week's 7-3 victory over Franklin Regional.
The win not only gave the Panthers their first loss in Section 2 play after nine victories, it also kept Plum alive for a share of the section title.
“Beating Franklin Regional was one of our goals,” Plum head coach Jim McGrath said. “It's always good competition and a good rivalry. We didn't want them to go undefeated in the section. The girls really played well. They were up for that game and did what they needed to do.”
The final section scenarios that were to play out Tuesday, weather permitting, had Plum (9-2) traveling to Fox Chapel (8-3) with Gateway (7-4) visiting Franklin Regional (10-1).
The Mustangs needed to win and have the Gators topple the Panthers to clinch a tie for the title. Plum had beaten Fox Chapel, 4-3, in the teams' first meeting April 14.
Tuesday's games were to be contested past the deadline for this week's edition.
“Our goal is always to win the section,” McGrath said.
“The race was very competitive like we expected it to be. There were a couple of games we wish we could have had back.”
Those games McGrath is referring to include the first meeting with Franklin Regional on April 15 when the Mustangs led 4-0 in the fourth inning before the Panthers rallied.
Plum also suffered a close 6-4 loss to Gateway on April 5. The Mustangs avenged that setback with a 5-3 win over the Gators on April 26.
Plum scored its first-ever playoff victory in 2014, and McGrath hopes his team can produce more playoff wins this year.
He said it won't be easy as several good teams and matchups await the Mustangs.
“We will end up facing someone tough, that's for sure,” McGrath said. “We know we can be competitive. You never know what can happen in the playoffs. The girls will be up for that challenge.”
The Section 2 all-star teams were voted on May 1, and several Plum players made the list.
Senior Hannah Adamski and junior Michaela Palmieri made the first team, while freshman Abbey Froehlich was voted to the second team.
Honorable-mention picks were junior Amanda Dynoske, freshman Gabby Fischetti and junior Delenn Poe.
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-388-5825 or at mlove@tribweb.com.
