Local Sports

Hermitage Crowned Champion of Ellwood City 8U Firecracker Classic

Hermitage Area was crowned champion of the Ellwood City 8U Firecracker Classic this past weekend. The three day tournament featured area teams, including Ellwood City and Riverside 8U teams, competing across two fields in Ellwood City. Hermitage downed Central Valley 8-6 on Sunday to wrap up its championship run. Riverside earned three victories in the tournament before falling 6-5 to Central Valley in the semifinals on Sunday. Riverside opened up its tournament with an impressive 17-1 victory over crosstown rival Ellwood City on Friday. Riverside added on another rout Saturday, besting Shenango 21-2, and defeated Beaver Falls 7-4 on Sunday…


Wolves Down Moose 11-1 To Win Ellwood City Little League Championship

The Wolves downed the Moose, 11-1, to capture the in-house Ellwood City Little League Championship at Freidhoff Field on Tuesday night. Joe Zito powered the Wolves to the title with his arm and his bat. Zito fired a two-hitter and fanned 15 batters on the mound and rapped a triple and two doubles at the plate. The Wolves, managed by Justine Zona, went undefeated in the double-elimination playoff with a 3-0 record. After the Moose failed to score in the top of the first inning, the Wolves erupted for six runs in the bottom of the inning. Luca Zito led…


PART ONE: Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival Series: 10k Race Has New Name, Organizer

In our annual series spotlighting the annual Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival, we look at a series of subjects, people, and entertainers who will help the festival make its mark this 4th of July holiday season. PART ONE: Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food & Entertainment Festival Series: 10k Race Has New Name, Organizer The annual beloved 10k race will be held on Saturday, June 29, at 9 a.m. This year’s race has a different name and a new organizer, but runners and the community can expect the same great race that has been around for decades. There…


Panthers Fall To Punxsutawney In Opening Round Of PIAA Playoffs

The Riverside Panthers fell to Punxsutawney 3-0 Monday afternoon in the first round of the PIAA Playoffs. Parker Stahlman twirled a complete-game four hitter to stymie the Panthers offense and bounced the defending PIAA champions from the 2024 tournament. The sophomore hurler struck out eight and did not issue a walk in his performance that pitted two teams who had squared off just last June in the PIAA semifinals.  Riverside rallied late to knocked off Punxsutawney on its way to its 2023 PIAA Championship. However, Monday afternoon in Dubois, PA, the Panthers fell behind early and could not recover. The…


Avonworth Dethrones Riverside In Epic WPIAL Championship

Avonworth dethroned the defending Class 3A champion Panthers Tuesday afternoon in extra innings at Wild Things Park in Washington, PA. The 7-seeded Antelopes scratched out a run in the top of the 14th inning and held on for the historic 4-3 victory. The WPIAL Championship game was the longest ever recorded at Wild Things Park and the longest game since 1940. The marathon game lasted over four hours. Avonworth’s Luke Zelinko lined an RBI single to plate Mason Metz in the 14th inning and sophomore pitcher Cooper Scharding closed the door on the Panthers hopes of repeating. Scharding entered the…


Nine Local Athletes Competing In PIAA Track & Field Championships

The relay team of Nick Wise, Bradley Custer, Drew Steffler, and Colten Crizer will be four of the six Ellwood City athletes competing in the PIAA Track & Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at the Seth Grove Stadium at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA. The 4×800 Meter relay team will be joined by WPIAL 300m hurdle champion Nick Franitti and female high jumper Delaney Sturgeon. The Wolverine relay team shattered their own school record by 12 seconds last week at the WPIAL Championships, finishing in 2nd place with a time of 8:01.75. For Riverside, runner Lexi Fluharty and field…


Colton Crizer Receives Jack Ferrante Delmar Golf Course Scholarship

The membership at Delmar Golf Course is pleased to announce that Lincoln High School Senior Colten Crizer has been chosen to receive the 2024 Jack Ferrante Delmar Golf Course Scholarship. “It is with great satisfaction that we recognize the efforts of Colten Crizer both inside and outside of the classroom. Colten is currently a member and employee of Delmar Golf Course and we are proud of all of his accomplishments. He has made an impact inside and outside of LHS. We are excited to watch him continue to do so as member of the Slippery Rock University track and field…


Hare Leads Panthers Past South Allegheny, Advancing to WPIAL Championship

The Panthers are one step closer to repeating, thanks in large part to Zach Hare. The 6’3″ junior struck out 11 batters across six scoreless innings to lead Riverside past South Allegheny 2-0 on Tuesday in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals.  The top-seeded Panthers (16-1 Overall) advance to the WPIAL Class 3A Championship game against #7 seed Avonworth who defeated #14 Burrell 2-1 in 8 innings on Tuesday at North Allegheny. On Tuesday, Hare paced the offense as well, reaching base in all three plate appearance with a walk, single, and double. Riverside got on the board with two outs…


Bottom Of Lineup Carries Riverside Past South Park In WPIAL Quarterfinals

The bottom of the lineup helped Riverside cruise to a 11-1 mercy rule victory over South Park in the WPIAL Class 3A Quarterfinals on Monday at Neshannock High School. Sam Barber, Sean Hayes, and Christian Lucarelli combined for six of the Panthers’ 10 hits in the victory. The trio combined for three RBIs and two runs scored. Lucarelli also earned the victory on the mound for Riverside, going the full five innings, allowing one earned run and striking out seven batters.  He walked four and allowed only two hits. Riverside got on the board in the bottom of the first…


Franitti, Sullivan Earn Top Finishes At WPIAL Track & Field Championships

Top place finishes by two local athletes spotlighted the individual achievements at the 2024 WPIAL Boys’ & Girls’ Track & Field Championships on Wednesday at the William C. Lennox Track on the campus of Slippery Rock University. Ellwood City sprinter Nick Franitti took home a 1st place WPIAL Championship in the WPIAL Class 2A Boys 300m Hurdles. Franitti posted a mark of 39.39 to take home gold. Franitti also posted a personal best in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.85, good for 2nd place. 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐖𝐏𝐈𝐀𝐋 / @UPMCSportsMed 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟐𝐀 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬’ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 & 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝟑𝟎𝟎-𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬…