Local Sports

Riverside Ousts South Park In 12 Innings, Advances To WPIAL Championship

In a monumental pitching dual, the Riverside Panthers outlasted South Park in extra innings Friday evening to advance to the WPIAL Class 3A Championship Game for a third consecutive year. The Panthers earned a 1-0 walk-off victory compliments of a Jackson Barber single in the bottom of the 12th inning. In the 12th inning, Hunter Garvin and Zach Hare walked before a ground ball by Drake Fox forced an error and loaded the bases with no outs. South Park was able to settle down and get two outs before Barber singled to right field for the game winning RBI. For…


Riverside Cruises Past Burrell, Ellwood City Knocked Off By Mohawk

There will be no Riv-Ell WPIAL Championship game in 2025 as Ellwood City was knocked off by #11 seed Mohawk in the WPIAL Class 3A Quarterfinals on Tuesday. Top-seeded Riverside cruised to an 11-0 victory over Burrell advancing to the semifinals to face South Park on Wednesday at Plum High School at 4:00 p.m. RIVERSIDE 11 BURRELL 0 Hunter Garvin drove in five runs on two hits to lead Riverside past the Burrell Bucs 11-0 on Tuesday. Hunter Garvin hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, scoring four runs, and doubled in the fourth inning, scoring one. Zack Hare…


#11 Seed Riverside Turns The Table, Stuns Laurel In WPIAL Quarterfinals

Panther Freshman right fielder Ava Cummings collected three hits in four at bats as the #11 seeded Riverside Lady Panthers defeated #3 seed Laurel Varsity Spartans 11-1 on Monday in the WPIAL Class 2A Quarterfinals. The upset victory avenged a pair of lopsided losses to the Spartans during the regular season. Cummings singled in the fifth inning, doubled in the seventh inning, and singled in the fourth inning to power the offense. Older sister, Joci Cummings, earned the win for Riverside. The starting pitcher surrendered seven hits and one run (zero earned) over seven innings, striking out two and walking…


Ellwood City Softball Set To Play McGuffey At Montour HS; Riverside Plays Laurel

The 3-seeded Ellwood City Lady Wolverines will open up their WPIAL Class 3A Playoff run with their quarterfinal contest against #6 seed McGuffey on Monday, May 19th. Ellwood City, who was idle last week and finished the regular season 10-8 Overall, will play at 5:00 p.m. at Montour High School. McGuffey picked up a 5-1 opening round victory over Ligonier Valley on Thursday. [VIEW FULL CLASS 3A SOFTBALL BRACKET] Joci Cummings tossed five innings, striking out three batters to help lead the Lady Panthers to its opening round 14-4 victory last week. Riverside plays #3 Laurel in the quarterfinals on…


BC3 Golf Team Wins Again, To Contend For National Championship

Apollo, PA – Butler County Community College men’s golfer Jacob Marquardt on Tuesday became the lowest-scoring Region 20 medalist in program history, and the undefeated Pioneers qualified for the national championship tournament in western New York with a postseason victory against three teams. BC3 (8-0) captured its seventh National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 crown with the 36-hole tournament win against the Community College of Allegheny County, Westmoreland County Community College and Pennsylvania Highlands Community College at the Links at Spring Church in Apollo. As the Region 20 champion, the Pioneers earned an automatic berth to the…


Ellwood City Baseball, Riverside Baseball/Softball Teams Each Advance In WPIAL Playoffs

Both Ellwood City and Riverside baseball teams picked up opening round victories on Thursday to advance in the WPIAL Class 3A Playoffs. The Lady Panthers softball team also picked up an opening round victory in the WPIAL Class 2A Playoffs on Thursday. CLASS 3A BASEBALL Riverside survived a scare in its comeback 4-3 victory over #16 seed Shady Side Academy at Seneca Valley. Zach Hare relieved starter Christian Lucarelli in the second and offered 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. After falling behind early, Riverside tied the score at three…


Sturgeon, Emrick With Notable Efforts In WPIAL Track & Field Championships, Qualifying For PIAA

Several local athletes performed at the 2025 WPIAL Track & Field Championships on Wednesday at the William C. Lennox Track at Slippery Rock University, with some qualifying for the PIAA Championships Ellwood City senior Delaney Sturgeon qualified for two events while Kaden Doccio and the boys relay team will each advance to the PIAA. Sturgeon finished 3rd in the 100 hurdles (15.73) and 2nd in the high jump (5-6) on Wednesday.  Sturgeon previously earned four top-10 finishes in the MAC Championships last month. Kaden Doccio finished 6th in the 110m boys hurdles (16.52) The Ellwood City boys relay team (Bradley…


BC3 Golf Team Undefeated As Region 20 Championship Tournament begins Monday

The undefeated Butler County Community College men’s golf team is one victory away from competing for a national championship for a seventh time. The Pioneers (7-0) will battle Monday and Tuesday for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 20 title at The Links at Spring Church in Apollo. The winner of the 36-hole competition earns an automatic berth to the 72-hole NJCAA Division III national championship tournament in June in Chautauqua, where the individual golfers on the team that captures the Region 20 crown would also vie for All-American awards. BC3 will face in the Region 20…


PLAYOFFS! All Four Local Teams Qualify For Baseball/Softball WPIAL Playoffs

CLASS 3A BASEBALL Top overall seed Riverside (13-2, 9-1 Section 1) will look to collect yet another WPIAL title behind winningest coach in WPIAL history, Dan Oliastro, with its opening round game Tuesday at Seneca Valley HS. The Panthers await the winner of #16 Shady Side Academy and #17 McGuffey who play Monday. The top seeded Panthers are led by a trio of outstanding pitchers, Zach Hare (5-0, 1.41 ERA, 61 strikeouts), Christian Lucarelli (4-1, 1.41, 54 strikeouts) and Hunter Garvin, and an offense that averaged over nine runs per game. Hare is also hitting .423 to go along with…


Covert Shoots Lowest Score Of Spring, Leads BC3 Golf Team to 7-0 Start

Butler, PA – Lincoln High School graduate, Mitchell Covert, shot his lowest score of the spring Friday and won medalist honor for the second time in his past three matches as the Butler County Community College men’s golf team defeated the Community College of Allegheny County and moved to 7-0. Covert birdied four of six consecutive holes on the front nine and finished with a 3-over 75 at Lake Arthur Golf Club. The Pioneers also posted their lowest team score of the spring in their 319-383 victory. The four lowest individual scores are added to determine the team score. BC3’s…