When the Shaler and Mt. Lebanon softball teams faced off March 20 in the season opener, both coaches figured they'd cross paths again.

"We both had a feeling that we would be meeting again," said Shaler coach Skip Palmer, including Mt. Lebanon coach Nicole Fajtak in the intuitive thought process. "So it's no surprise that we are playing Mt. Lebanon again."

But this matchup has much more significance than the 1-0 victory by Shaler. The two squads face off today in the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals with a title berth on the line. The game will be played at 4 p.m. at Fairhaven Park.

"Shaler gave us our only loss," Fajtak said. "Facing them in the playoffs is no surprise. We both expected it."

Mt. Lebanon, seeded No. 2 in the 12-team Class AAAA bracket, enters the game with a 16-1 record. Shaler, the No. 6 seed, has a 12-4 record. The Blue Devils won the Section 4-AAAA title; the Titans finished second in Section 3-AAAA.

"Shaler has a great tradition in the playoffs," Fajtak said. "They know what it takes to win."

Shaler is making its fifth semifinal appearance in six years. The Titans tied for third place in 2004, won the WPIAL title in 2005 and placed second in 2006 and last year.

"Latrobe beat us twice last year," Palmer said of the two-time defending WPIAL champions. "We lost, 1-0, in the WPIAL title game, then faced them again in the PIAA quarterfinals and lost, 2-0."

Mt. Lebanon also lost, 3-0, to Latrobe last year in the WPIAL semifinals.

"We were a very young team last year," said Fajtak, referring to the fact that last year's playoff appearance ended a three-year drought. "That was the first playoff experience for them. This year, we came into the playoffs knowing what to expect."

Mt. Lebanon has all but one starter back from last year's team, while Shaler has a completely different squad after eight starters graduated.

"I'm a little surprised that we made it this far when you consider how young this team is," Palmer said. "We have five juniors, one sophomore and three freshmen in our starting lineup. I knew we could have a good season if the girls matured quickly, but didn't know how they would handle playoff competition."

Shaler earned its semifinal berth with a 5-3 win against Latrobe, the No. 3 seed, in the quarterfinals.

"It was a sweet win for us," Palmer said. "It was payback for our two losses to them last year."

Junior center fielder Gina Goss smacked a bases-loaded triple in the second inning. Freshman catcher Lauren Hackett added three singles and drove in the other two runs.

"Lauren is already one of the best catchers in the WPIAL and she's only a freshman," Palmer said. "I haven't seen a catcher better than her in the playoffs thus far."

Mt. Lebanon earned its semifinal berth with a 1-0 victory in 10 innings against Butler in the quarterfinals.

"We were coming off a 21/2 week break," Fajtak said. "It's hard to keep up your intensity when you have a layoff that long. Butler gave us all we could handle and more. Fortunately, we were able to pull out a victory."

Alexa Hagenbrock drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 10th inning. Geena Badolato pitched the shutout.

Badolato has compiled impressive numbers for Mt. Lebanon. She finished the regular season with a 15-1 record, a 0.33 earned-run average, 154 strikeouts, and opponents have an .081 batting average against her. She also has a .360 average at the plate.

Mt. Lebanon's top two hitters shortstop Tess Apke, who has a .460 average, 19 RBIs, and seven home runs, and Jen Bahm, who has a .440 average and 18 RBIs.

Shaler counters with junior Abby Nichter, who has a 12-4 record and 94 strikouts.

"Abby has pitched all of our games," Palmer said. "She's not a fireballer, but she hits her spots when she needs to."

Shaler's top hitter is junior shortstop Chelsea Siar, who boasts a .468 average. Hackett has a .330 average as the Titans' cleanup hitter.

The winner will face either Hempfield or Connellsville May 28 in the title game at California University. Unseeded Hempfield earned its semifinal berth with a 3-2 upset of top-seed North Allegheny in the quarterfinals.

Connellsville, the No. 4 seed, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2 win against Bethel Park. Connellsville beat Hempfield twice in Section 1-AAAA with both games decided by one run.