Local Sports

Lucarelli Strikes Out 11, Panthers Cruise By Fairview In PIAA Quarterfinals

Christian Lucarelli and the Riverside Panthers had everything working on Thursday, winning big over Fairview 9-3 at Jack Critchfield Park on the campus of Slippery Rock University. Lucarelli struck out 11 batters across his five innings of work while allowing only four hits and one earned run and the Panther offense came to life quicker in the quarterfinal victory. Just days after having to scratch out two late runs in its come from behind victory over Tyrone, Riverside used a four run first inning to quickly jump ahead and stay ahead in advancing to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals. In…


PHOTOS: Riverside Mounts Another Comeback, Downs Tyrone 3-2 In PIAA Opening Round

No stranger to one run deficits, the Riverside Panthers mounted yet another late inning comeback Monday in earning a PIAA opening round victory over visiting Tyrone. One week after overcoming a one run deficit in its WPIAL Championship contest, the Panthers were faced yet again with a one run obstacle on its home turf against the Golden Eagles and found a somewhat unusual way of overcoming the deficit. Trailing 2-1 entering the home half of the sixth inning, the Panthers scratched out the tying run courtesy of a Darren McDade RBI single scoring Hunter Garvin and used a balk to…


Riverside To Host Tyrone In PIAA Opening Round

The District 7 WPIAL Champion Riverside Baseball Team will host its opening round game in the 2023 PIAA Class-3A Baseball State Championships. The Panthers will host the Tyrone Golden Eagles on Monday, June 5, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. at Riverside. Tyrone High School, the 2021 3A PIAA State Champions, will travel two and half hours from Blair County and will enter as District 6 runner-up after they were defeated 1-0 by Philipsburg-Osceola on Monday. Tyrone (12-11 Overall) had three pitchers twirl a two hit performance in their district championship game, but an unearnred run turned out to be the difference…


CHAMPS! Panthers Beat Neshannock, Claim Class-3A WPIAL Crown

Riverside used a big sixth inning Wednesday afternoon at Wild Things Park in Washington, PA to claim the Class-3A WPIAL Championship with a 6-1 victory over Neshannock. The Panthers score five times in the frame, batting around the order to break open the 1-1 contest. Five singles started the inning with the biggest coming off the bat of Mitch Garvin as he delivered a two run single to put Riverside ahead 3-1. After a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly netted two more runs, Evan Burry collected a single to put Riverside ahead 6-1. After four scoreless innings started the…


Justin Hand Named CSC Academic All District

Former Riverside golf standout and junior at Tiffin University, Justin Hand (pictured left), was among two athletes to been named CSC Academic All-District. The 2023 Academic All-District® Men’s At-Large Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second, and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 21. The 6’0″ righthanded…


VIDEO: Joseph Roth Named 2023 Coaches Roundtable Male Athlete Of The Year

Ellwood City junior multi-sport standout Joseph Roth was named the 2023 Coaches Roundtable Male Athlete of the Year this week. The Coaches Roundtable program, airing on the Armstrong Neighborhood Channel, features coaches Ed Codi, Albert Campman and George Abraham discussing area sports. As a 3-sport athlete, Roth excelled in basketball, swimming, and baseball this school year. Notable accomplishments are as follows: Basketball: Scored his 1000th career point against Western Beaver Career point total stands at 1,403 Scored 601 points in the 2022-23 season Collected 293 rebounds this year … Career rebounds, 789 Named to All team WPIAL First team First…


Fox Drives In Five, Panthers Advance To WPIAL Championship Game

Riverside has advanced to the WPIAL Class-3A Championship game. The #1 seeded Panthers pounded East Allegheny 11-2 Tuesday afternoon at Pullman Park in Butler thanks largely in part to Drake Fox who drove in five on two hits. The sophomore designated hitter broke the game open with a bases clearing double in the sixth frame, part of a six run frame for Riverside. The Panthers offense got things moving quickly in the first inning when Mitch Garvin singled on a 2-1 count, scoring the game’s first run. In the third inning, Fox drove in two runs on a single to…


Big Fifth Inning Propels Riverside Over Freeport

Riverside put up five runs in the fifth inning to race away to its way to a 9-1 victory over Freeport on Monday in WPIAL Class-3A quarterfinals action. The top seeded Panthers advance to play #4 seed East Allegheny at Pullman Park in Butler today (Tuesday) at 2:00 p.m. with a championship game berth on the line. On Monday, Ashton Schlosser, Hunter Garvin, and Mitch Garvin each had RBIs in the big inning that quickly made a four run game a 9-0 advantage. Riverside opened up its scoring in the second inning when Evan Burry singled on a 2-1 count,…


Two Panthers Team Up In Opening Round Shutout Victory Against Valley

Riverside defeated Valley 8-0 on Thursday in the opening round of the WPIAL Class-AA Playoffs as two pitchers combined in a 16-strikeout shutout performance. Ronnie Harper earned the victory for the Panthers. Harper surrendered zero runs on two hits over five innings, striking out ten. Sophomore Cristian Lucarelli threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen, striking out the side in each inning. Riverside scored three runs in the fifth inning including an RBI triple by Bo Fornataro that stretched out the margin of victory.  The Panthers opening up the scoring with two runs in the third frame. Riverside…


Several Local Athletes Shine In WPIAL Championships, Qualify For PIAA

Riverside standout Joe Reed headlined a group of Panthers who qualified for the PIAA Track and Field Championships with their individual performances Wednesday at the 2023 WPIAL Individual Championships at Slippery Rock University. [VIEW FULL RESULTS] Reed placed 1st overall in the javelin with a toss of 180’8″, a mark over 16-foot longer than the second place finisher. Ellwood City’s Delaney Sturgeon, who placed 2nd overall in the girls high jump with a mark of 5’2″, was among the two individual athletes and relay team from Ellwood City to qualify for states. The following athletes won medals and advanced to…