The last obstacle standing in Seneca Valley’s way of a third consecutive WPIAL baseball title is a familiar foe.

The Raiders (18-3) will face arch-rival North Allegheny (19-4) for the Class AAAA crown at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Consol Energy Park in Washington.

“Getting the three-peat has obviously been a goal for us this season,” said Raider coach Eric Semega, “but we had to take it one game at a time. We have given ourselves the opportunity, but we’re not satisfied with that. We want to capitalize on it.”

Both teams reached the final with shutout wins last Tuesday. The Raiders beat Pine-Richland 6-0 while NA blanked Hempfield 3-0.

The Tigers have gone 15-2 in their last 17 games, with both defeats coming against Seneca Valley by identical 3-2 scores April 11th and 25th.

Those outcomes helped SV win the Section 1 title with an unblemished record of 10-0. The Tigers finished in second place at 7-3.

“Seneca beat us both times this year and they have also taken six straight from us overall,” said Tiger coach Andy Maddix. “They are a very talented team. On the other hand, we know we can compete with them. Both games this season were decided by just one run.”

Raider junior Connor Coward pitched a complete game for the win in both cases. His totals from both games included just four earned runs allowed on 13 hits to go with 16 strikeouts and six walks. His season record is a perfect 7-0.

Semega is not definitive about who will start against NA, though he did say, “There’s a pretty good chance it will be Connor. The other option would be Zach Spangler (5-0).”

“I would be shocked if we didn’t see him (Coward) on Wednesday,” Maddix said. “He is very good and will be fully rested.

“We need to do a better job of moving runners and getting them in,” added Maddix. “In the first game against Seneca, we left seven runners on base. Coward gets a lot of the credit for that. When guys reach base against him, he becomes even tougher to face.”

Maddix is unsure of his starter as well, though he knows it will be one of two juniors, Mitch Machi (6-0) or Jason Monper (5-1). The latter took the loss in the first game against the Raiders, while Machi got a no-decision in the rematch two weeks later.

Both pitchers lead a formidable staff for the Tigers, who are in the WPIAL final for the first time since 2010, when they lost to Pine-Richland.

“We have a solid all-around team, but our pitching has been especially good,” said Maddix. “Our team ERA is 1.49.”

Offensively, NA is led by its No. 2 and 3 hitters, third baseman James Meeker and first baseman Matt Waugaman, who are hitting .447 and .420, respectively. Waugaman leads the team with 25 RBI.

Seneca Valley has offensive stars of its own. Among them, Jason Martin has five home runs this season and leadoff hitter Jonathan Dorogy is hitting .420.

“He’s progressed every year,” Semega said of Dorogy, a three-year starter. “Every season, he’s gotten better with his average and on-base percentage.”

Six of Seneca’s eight runs in the playoffs have come with two outs. And the production has been spread out. Gianpaul Gonzalez has a pair of two-out RBI, while the other four have come from Carson Kessler, Alex Hajduk, Brad Gresock and Dorogy.

“Toward the end of the regular season, we weren’t getting the big hits,” said Semega, “but in the playoffs, we seem to be doing better with runners in scoring position.”

A singular focus helped bring a district title to Seneca Valley each of the last two seasons. Now on the brink of a third championship, Semega wants his team’s mindset to remain the same.

“NA is a solid team,” he said, “but we have to worry about what we can control. If we do that, hopefully we can put ourselves in position to win.”