Local Sports

STATE CHAMPS! Unbeaten Riverside Captures PIAA Class-3A Championship

A pair of brothers and a sophomore sensation helped the Riverside Panthers lay claim to a record setting year on Thursday, defeating Camp Hill 4-0 to earn its PIAA Class-3A Championship. Brothers Mitch and Hunter Garvin accounted for all four RBIs in the victory while sophomore pitcher Christian Lucarelli fired 6.2 innings of two hit baseball for the unbeaten Panthers. Riverside becomes the first team WPIAL team, at any classification level, to win a PIAA championship with an undefeated record (25-0 Overall).  The baseball program now holds five state championships Hunter Garvin broke a scoreless game in the bottom of…


Four Area Athletes To Be Represented In Penn Ohio All-Star Game

Four area athletes will be represented at the annual Penn Ohio All-Star Game next Thursday. Riverside announced that three members of their 2022 football team have been selected to play in a notable game while Ellwood City will send one athlete from their 2022 team. The 44th Annual Penn Ohio All-Star Game will be Played on Thursday, June 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at Salem’s Sebo Stadium in Salem, Ohio. It will match the PA All Stars (MAC Coaches Association) and the Ohio All Stars (Quad County Coaches Association) with four area seniors participating. Sam Hughes, Riverside – 6’0″ 185 –…


PHOTOS: McDade Delivers, Riverside Advances To PIAA Class-3A Championship Game

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…


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…