Peters Township won the WPIAL Class AAAA baseball championship a year ago, but Seneca Valley came on and won the PIAA title.

Both teams have the makings of championship teams again.

Peters Township and Seneca Valley have a number of returning starters from last year's teams. They both feature players who are considered among the best in the WPIAL, and the two teams are ranked 1-2 in the first Post-Gazette rankings of the season.

It's hard to pick a No. 1 team between the two. They could be 1 and 1A. But Peters Township is the top-ranked team and Seneca Valley No. 2.

"A lot of our parents are saying, 'You guys are favored to do this and do that,' " said Peters Township coach Joe Maize. "But I keep telling people Seneca Valley has almost all of their players back and an excellent coach. I keep trying to get away from all the postseason talk. Our section is so tough, all we're shooting for is to get in the top three and make the playoffs."

Peters Township has two seniors who made the 10-player Post-Gazette All-Area team a year ago in catcher Jordan Jankowski and shortstop Jim Rider. Jankowski is one of the best power hitters in the WPIAL in recent years. Last season, he had 14 home runs, including four in one game. He also had 45 RBIs and a 1.083 slugging percentage. Jankowski also pitches.

Shortstop Jim Rider is excellent defensively and hit .435 last year. Rider has signed with Kent State and Jankowski with Miami (Ohio).

Also back for Peters Township is pitcher Nick Merich (9-2 a year ago), second baseman Pete Ross, center fielder Mike DiVella, left fielder Pat Gallagher and pitcher Jim Stratico.

"One of the things I'm excited about is you're only as strong as your defense up the middle, and we have a real experienced group there," Maize said. "But the point we're trying to make to our team is that if they don't take it one game at a time, they have a real strong possibility of not even getting out of the section."

Seneca Valley features pitcher Cory Mazzoni, the 2007 Post-Gazette Player of the Year. Mazzoni, who has signed with North Carolina State, was 11-0 last season with a 1.01 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 78 innings. He also hit .391.

Seneca Valley also has a strong No. 2 pitcher in Kyle Helisek, a Villanova recruit who was 7-0 a year ago.

Seneca Valley returns its entire infield from a year ago -- third baseman Tyler Bream, shortstop Kenny Walrond, second baseman Shane Patsilevas, first baseman Dan Jergel and catcher Ryan Turner. Phil Double is a returning starter in the outfield, and Andrew Fornadel is back as designated hitter.

Here is a look at the rest of the WPIAL and City League.

Plum has four players who made all-section last year -- shortstop-pitcher Scott McGough, catcher Tony DeFabio, first baseman Clint White and pitcher Troy Besterci. McGough has signed with the University of Oregon.

Mt. Lebanon shortstop Jordan Steranka is one of the best infielders in the WPIAL. Outfielder Eric Isler was all-section and hit .460.

Franklin Regional has some starters back from last year's WPIAL playoff team, including first baseman-pitcher Mike Pelekanos. Outfielder Steve Franceshelli was all-section.

Central Catholic and Bethel Park are two other teams to watch. Central Catholic pitcher Dan DeCaria was 5-1 with a 1.83 ERA.

No. 1-ranked West Allegheny seems to be everyone's favorite to win a second consecutive WPIAL title. The Indians won last year's championship with a perfect record, but lost in the PIAA playoffs.

Zak Sinclair was 7-1 last year for West Allegheny and also batted .375. Shortstop-pitcher Derrik Zeroski, second baseman Mark Diskin and center fielder Tyler Savisky made all-section, and Ricky Deveraux is a talented catcher.

Blackhawk is a team to watch after losing to West Allegheny in the WPIAL final last year and also making it to the PIAA semifinals. Tim Lipp returns at shortstop, and Nick McCowin is a pitcher with potential.

Hampton's Cory McGinnis made all-section as an outfielder and pitcher. He hit .389 and was 5-2 as a pitcher.

Laurel Highlands features sophomore pitcher Ethan Mildren, who was 7-1 as a freshman.

Seton-LaSalle made it to the WPIAL final a year ago. Patric Capatolla was 6-3 as a pitcher and also hit .422.

Burrell lost standout pitcher Coley Taylor, but Seth Naperkowski was 5-0 last season with a .380 batting average.

Beaver has two returning all-section players in Manny Cutlip and outfielder Alex George.

Springdale won the WPIAL title a year ago, and the Dynamos

have one of Class A's best all-around players in Mike Devine. A senior pitcher-shortstop, he was 7-1 as a pitcher with 71 strikeouts in 51 innings. He also batted .429 with 32 RBIs.

Overall, this classification seems fairly deep with a number of teams capable of making noise. Fifth-ranked Serra could make history. The Eagles already have won WPIAL football and basketball titles. No school in WPIAL history has won football, basketball and baseball titles in the same school year.

Allderdice is ranked No. 1 and has a slew of returning lettermen. Junior J.R. Leonardi was all-City as a pitcher and infielder a year ago.

Carrick has pitcher Ted Fricke, who pitched a no-hitter in the City League semifinals a year ago and a two-hitter in the title game.