Senior Braden Bentel hit the WPIAL-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Riverside clinched the WPIAL title from Neshannock in a 1-0 game.
Riverside and Neshannock stood toe-to-toe for an extended nine-inning game as pitchers Michael Boswell and Frank Fraschetti dueled. In the bottom of the ninth, senior Kolby Wolf got on base on a throwing error. Wolf advanced to second on a sacrificial bunt by sophomore Austin Dambach.
In the game’s grand finale, Bentel stood up to the plate with two outs in the inning and hit a single that drove Wolf home.
Riverside’s win was their third victory over Neshannock. The team is now 21-2 overall. Most impressively, all four WPIAL playoff games were shutouts. Boswell pitched the wins against Neshannock, Keystone Oaks and New Brighton and junior Adam Jeannette pitched a no-hitter against Steel Valley.
This is the fourth WPIAL win for head coach Dan Oliastro and 600th game win overall.
Video submitted.
It’s sad to see that this is all that Ellwood City would put in about Riverside’s big win! I graduated from Riverside many years ago and have lived in Ellwood for many years! Surly you could have done better than this!