wpial baseball

Lucarelli Signs With Duke University

Riverside Panther standout pitcher Christian Lucarelli officially signed his commitment to pitch at Duke University on Wednesday afternoon. The 6′ 3″ 215-pound senior is ranked the #3 player in the Pennsylvania 2025 class (111 nationally). The right-hander started and led the Panthers to a WPIAL Championship and PIAA Class 3A title in 2023. Lucarelli struck out seven batters across 3 2/3 innings in May but the Panthers could not repeat as WPIAL Champions, falling to Avonworth in an epic 14-inning championship game. The Panthers then fell to Punxsutawney in the first round of the 2024 PIAA Playoffs. Duke University baseball…


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…


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…


Wolverines Outlast Shenango In 13 Innings; Hare Strikes Out 10, Homers For Panthers

In two pivotal playoff implicating match-ups on Monday, both local teams came out with big victories, putting more focus on Tuesday’s Class 3A-1 section games. Needing two victories over the Wildcats this week to earn a playoff berth, Ellwood City outlasted Shenango 6-3 in 13 innings Monday to earn the first victory in the two-game series. After a 3-3 game fell silent for five extra innings, Ellwood City used four consecutive singles, including two-run single by Jordan Keller in the top half of the 13th inning to pull away from the Wildcats. Wolverines starter Will Nardone helped his own cause…


Riverside Defeats Shenango 7-1, Oliastro Collects 700th Career Victory

Riverside Panthers coach Dan Oliastro collected his 700th career coaching victory as the Panthers defeated Shenango 7-1 on the road Monday afternoon. Darren McDade finished with four RBIs to lead the Panthers offense and batterymate Christian Lucarelli collected the win on the mound. McDade smacked a bases clearing double in the third inning to break open the 1-0 contest and walked in the sixth inning to bring home yet another run for Riverside. Hunter Garvin opened up the scoring in the third inning with an RBI double scoring Bo Fornataro before McDade did his run scoring damage. Lucarelli combined with…


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…


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…


Big Fifth Inning Propels Riverside Over Freeport

Riverside put up five runs in the fifth inning to race away to its way to a 9-1 victory over Freeport on Monday in WPIAL Class-3A quarterfinals action. The top seeded Panthers advance to play #4 seed East Allegheny at Pullman Park in Butler today (Tuesday) at 2:00 p.m. with a championship game berth on the line. On Monday, Ashton Schlosser, Hunter Garvin, and Mitch Garvin each had RBIs in the big inning that quickly made a four run game a 9-0 advantage. Riverside opened up its scoring in the second inning when Evan Burry singled on a 2-1 count,…


Panthers Sweep Mohawk, Earn Undefeated Section Championship

Riverside used a stellar performance by sophomore Christian Lucarelli Tuesday to wrap up a two game sweep of Mohawk and to collect its undefeated section championship. The Panthers (17-0 Overall, 12-0 Section 1-3A) pounced on the Warriors early Tuesday, putting up six runs in the first inning behind RBIs by Hunter Garvin, Mitch Garvin, Sam Barber, and Sean Hayes. Riverside added two runs in the fifth and sixth innings to wrap up the 10-0 victory. Lucarelli, a Duke University commit, tossed a one-hitter, striking out 13 batters in his six inning performance. Lucarelli now has double-digit strikeouts in his last…