The Sto-Rox High School softball team needs two victories to become the most successful team in WPIAL history.

Sto-Rox and Baldwin currently share that honor. Each school has won 10 WPIAL titles.

The Vikings enter today's WPIAL Class AA semifinal game against Greensburg Central Catholic with a chance to earn their 14th berth in the championship game.

"Our goal every season is to win a WPIAL title," Sto-Rox coach Bill Palermo said. "The girls automatically expect to get into the championship game. Most importantly, they know how much hard work it takes to reach that goal."

Sto-Rox (17-4) earned its 24th consecutive WPIAL playoff spot by placing second in Section 1-AA. The Vikings are seeded No. 3 in the 16-team bracket and advanced to the semifinals with wins against Mount Pleasant, 2-1, in the first round, and McGuffey, 5-1, in the quarterfinals.

"Sto-Rox has one of the most successful programs in WPIAL history," Greensburg C.C. coach Gary Ciarimboli said. "Facing them in the semifinals will be a big challenge for us. The girls are really looking forward to the game."

Greensburg Central Catholic (13-5) earned its 11th consecutive WPIAL playoff berth by placing second in Section 4-AA. The unseeded Centurions advanced to the semifinals with victories against No. 7 Burrell, 5-1, in the first round, and No. 2 Mohawk, 9-7, in the quarterfinals.

"We've never made it to the finals," said Ciarimboli, in his fifth season as head coach. "The closest we've got to the finals was in 2005, when we lost to [eventual champion] Waynesburg in the semifinals."

Greensburg Central has recorded nine consecutive victories since a 10-3 section loss to South Allegheny.

"That loss really woke us up," Ciarimboli said. "We regrouped after that game and got back to the fundamentals. Things have clicked since then and we've been scoring a lot of runs."

The Centurions have averaged 8.9 runs per game during their nine-game winning streak.

"Our offense has been a very pleasant surprise during this stretch," Ciarimboli said. "I was especially impressed with our performance against Mohawk in the quarterfinals. We scored nine runs against one heck of a pitcher."

An injury to sophomore catcher Erin McBane midway through the season forced Palermo to make several position changes, which have surprisingly made the Vikings a better team.

"Erin suffered a rotator cuff injury, so I had to move freshman shortstop Talia Smarra behind the plate," Palermo said. "I then moved sophomore center fielder Chelcie Washington to shortstop, and sophomore Vicky Vuljanic from right to center field."

McBane recently returned to the lineup. To make room, Palermo moved sophomore Danielle Priddy from second base to right field and inserted McBane at second.

Sto-Rox is led by senior pitcher Kristen Olejar, who has a 17-4 record, a 1.28 ERA, and 137 strikeouts in 131 innings. The Vikings have four hitters with averages of .400 or better -- Washington (.439), Smarra (.431), and senior third baseman Kerry Connolly (.414) and junior first baseman Alexa Golling (.400).

"We don't have a dominant pitcher like Sto-Rox, but this is one of the most talented teams I've ever coached," Ciarimboli said. "If we play all phases of the game well, we're capable of beating any team."

Greensburg Central has used three pitchers this year, but senior Emily Nowicki (7-3) has seen the most action. Junior Jamie Perz and her younger sister, freshman Alie Perz, have also pitched. Nowicki was on the mound for both playoff victories.

Nowicki, a University of Pittsburgh recruit, leads the team with a .490 average. Others with a .400 or better average are catcher Katie Ferdarko (.469), center fielder Emily Adisey (.438) and Alie Perz (.400).