SPORTS ROUND-UP: Ellwood Defeats South Park, Riverside Beats Mohawk; RHS Baseball Downs Laurel

Both area softball teams were victorious in action on Thursday with Ellwood City blasting South Park early on its way to a 12-3 victory while the Riverside Panthers clinched the program’s first winning season since 2014 by defeating Mohawk 9-8 at home on Thursday.  The Riverside baseball team overcame an early deficit to also win Thursday, defeating Laurel 10-9 at home.

Wolverines Blast South Park Early, Win 12-3

What a difference one game makes. On Saturday, the Wolverines were on the wrong end of a 16-4 loss. On Thursday evening at South Park, Ellwood City scored 10 runs in the first inning and cruised to a 12-3 victory over the Eagles.

Amazingly, the Wolverines did all of their damage with two outs in the first inning.

Aliya Garroway reached on an error and Maria Ioanilli brought her in with a 230 foot bomb over the wall in right center field. After back to back walks to Mollie Street and Julia Nardone, Makinley Magill cleared the bases with a double into the right center field gap. Katelyn Wehman was hit by a pitch and Keira Rozanski singled to load the bases. Kyla Servick plated Magill and Wehman with a single to right. Angie Nardone drove in Rozanski and Servick with a single to center. Garroway followed with a run scoring triple into the right field corner and scored the inning’s 10th run on a single to center by Ioanilli.

South Park got three runs back in the home half of the first with a walk, a fielder’s choice grounder, a double and a single.

Ellwood City stretched the lead to 11-3 in the fourth as Ioanilli was intentionally walked and scored on a double by Street.

The Wolverines concluded the scoring in the fifth as Servick reached on a two base throwing error by the third baseman. Angie Nardone followed by lacing a single up the middle to bring home Servick.
Seven players combined for eleven hits on the day. Angie Nardone led the way with three singles. Ioanilli homered and singled while Garroway tripled and singled. Street and Magill added doubles. Servick and Rozanski contributed singles.

Julia Nardone notched her 10th win of the season as she tossed 7 innings of 3 hit ball. All three runs were earned as the defense was busy and committed just one error. She struck out 4 and walked 3.

The Wolverines, now 10-3 on the year and 5-3 in the section, will travel to Beaver Falls on Tuesday for a 4:15 start with the Tigers.

Riverside Holds Off Mohawk, Winning 9-8 To Clinch First Winning Season Since 2014

Despite seeing its seven-run lead whittled down by game’s end, Riverside still held off Mohawk Area for a 9-8 victory on Thursday.

Mohawk scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning in its comeback attempt. The Warriors scored on a single by McGreal, a error, a single by Nulph, a single by Shiberly, and a single by Walters that tightened up the contest.

The host Panthers got on the board in the first inning when Aliya Ottaviani hit into a fielder’s choice scoring the game’s first run. Riverside notched five runs in the fifth inning with the aid of the free pass. Walks by Braley Zappia and Mia Williams, a single by Taryn Schmitt, and a double by Sydney Hale that plated the Panther runs that stretched their lead to an 8-1 advantage.

Ottaviani led things off in the pitcher’s circle for Riverside, allowing seven hits and eight runs over six and two-thirds innings, striking out nine. Sam Rosenberger finished the game with a 1/3 of an inning in relief to thwart the Mohawk rally.

Riverside saw the ball well today, racking up ten hits in the game. Hale, Schmitt, and Williams (1 2b, 1 3b) all managed multiple hits for the Panthers. Hale went 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles to lead the offensive charge.

Mohawk Area tallied seven hits on the day. Walters and Nulph all had multiple hits for Mohawk Area.

The Riverside Panthers (7-4 overall) next host the Laurel Spartans on Monday afternoon at Riverside with a 4:00 p.m. first pitch.

Riverside Baseball Claims Lead In Sixth Inning To Defeat Laurel

After trailing 8-3, the Panthers snagged a late lead and held on to defeat Laurel 10-9 on Thursday.

Sam Barber singled on a 2-1 count, scoring two runs, to push the host Panthers ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Laurel scored five runs in the second inning to race out to its early lead. The Spartans offensive onslaught was led by Logan Ayers and Landin Esposito, all driving in runs in the frame.

After Laurel scored two more runs in the top of the fourth, Riverside answered with two of their own. Seth Kristophel singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring one run for the Panthers.

Riverside then tallied four runs in the fifth inning. The Panthers big inning was driven by a single by Mitchell Garvin, an error on a ball put in play by Curtis Johnston, and a double by Bo Fornataro.

Madden Boehm earned the win for Riverside. Boehm lasted six innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs while striking out eight. Ron Harper started the game for Riverside. The southpaw allowed one hit and two runs over one inning, walking one.

Riverside collected nine hits on the day. Fornataro and Garvin all had multiple hits for the Panthers. Slugger Aaron Falk was issued two free passes and scored twice for the Panther offense.

Laurel also racked up nine hits. Esposito and Cameron Caldararo each collected multiple hits for Laurel. Esposito had a game-high 3 hits (3-4, 4 RBIs) at the plate to lead Laurel.

Riverside (9-5 overall) next hosts Shenango on Monday, May 10th at Riverside High School with a 4:00 p.m. first pitch scheduled.