Junior Darren McDade broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning Monday as Riverside rallied again to collect a 8-5 victory over Punxsutawney in the Class-3A PIAA semifinals at Jack Critchfield Park on the campus of Slippery Rock University.
Punxsutawney jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning behind RBIs by Carter Savage and Zeke Bennett and held Riverside scoreless through four innings, but the Panthers – no stranger to late inning rallies – put up three runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning to tie the game behind an unlikely source.
After a single and a walk, pinch-hitter Zach Hare knocked in two runs with a single to put Riverside on the board. Evan Burry then doubled on a 1-2 count, scoring one more to knot up the contest after five innings.
In the pivotal sixth, Bo Fornataro singled to start the frame. Hunter Garvin was then hit by a pitch and after a sacrifice and an intentional walk, McDade delivered his two-run double.
Daren McDade delivers. The junior gives Riverside its first lead of the day with a huge double. After once trailing 3-0, the Panthers are now ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth. pic.twitter.com/YKpZQlR1t4
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) June 12, 2023
Sam Barber followed with an RBI triple and Sean Hayes brought in Barber with a single to quickly make it 8-3 Riverside.
Punxsutawney scored two in the seventh, but it wasnt enough as Riverside becomes the first team in WPIAL history to reach a PIAA state final with a perfect record (24-0 Overall).
Christian Lucarelli tossed 5.1 innings of one-hit scoreless relief to settle things down after Punxsutawney ran out to its early lead off Panther starter Ronnie Harper. Lucarelli struck out six batters. Drake Fox threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen to earn the save for Riverside.
The bottom third of the Panthers lineup carried to load on Monday as the 7-8-9 hitters combined to collect six of the Panthers 10 hits on the afternoon and knocked in seven of the eight runs offensively. McDade and Barber each had two hits, two RBIs, and scored twice for Riverside.
Jake Sikora took the loss for Punxsutawney (20-3 Overall). Sikora allowed six hits and three runs over four and a third innings, striking out three.
The second Class-3A semifinal game between Camp Hill and Saucon Valley scheduled for Monday was rained out and will be rescheduled for Tuesday 6/13. The winner Tuesday will meet Riverside in the Class-3A Championship at Medlar Field @ Lubrano Park on the campus of Penn State University on Thursday, June 15th at 1:30 p.m.
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