There will be no three-peat for Riverside atop the WPIAL, as the Panthers fell to Brownsville 6-5 in the Class 3A semifinals.
WASHINGTON — Riverside won’t win its third consecutive WPIAL title.
But the Panthers insist they’re far from done.
Riverside’s reign atop the WPIAL came to an end Tuesday with a 6-5 loss to Brownsville in the Class 3A semifinals at Ross Memorial Park. The Panthers will play section foe South Side in the consolation game next week for a spot in the state playoffs.
“We’re not done,” Riverside coach Dan Oliastro said. “We still have goals in mind. So we’ll be back.”
Riverside has been in this position before. The Panthers won the state title in 2005 and 2012 after losing in the WPIAL championship game. Oliastro expects his team to bounce back.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Oliastro said. “A lot of these guys are seniors, the captains on this team know what’s at stake. Anybody can win the state title.”
Still, Tuesday’s loss to Brownsville saw a number of streaks come to an end for the Panthers. It was Riverside’s first loss since the season opener against Knoch.
Riverside hadn’t given up more than four runs in a game all season, only to see Brownsville score four in the first inning. Riverside starter Danny Fox allowed the first four batters to reach as Brownsville built a 2-0 lead. He struck out the next two, but Rocco Frisco lined a single to center to push Brownsville’s lead to 4-0.
“He didn’t have good command,” Oliastro said. “He had trouble with the curveball. An unlikely start for him, because he’s been very good.”
Riverside responded in the bottom of the inning. Austin Dambach and Fox walked while Drew Speicher was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brian Macmurdo reached on an error that scored Dambach and Ethan Ziegler hit a two-run single to bring in Fox and Speicher.
“I knew we’d come back. It was just a matter of time,” Oliastro said. “But as you see on the scoreboard, we only had two hits. We hit the ball hard, but everything we hit was right at somebody.”
Brownsville chased Fox with two singles to lead off the second. Nic Ottaviani came in, and while a run on a wild pitch made it 5-3, the junior lefty got Dylan Brosky to ground into a double play to end the inning.
Riverside tied the game in the fifth thanks to a couple of Brownsville mistakes. Ty Thellman reached on a walk and Gunnar Boehm reached on an error by the third baseman. They took off on a double steal and the pickoff throw went wide of third, which allowed them to score on Speicher’s two-out single.
“Drew’s worked his tail off as a catcher,” Oliastro said. “I think he’s the best catcher I’ve seen all year. And now he’s hitting, so that’s a plus.”
In the seventh, Ottaviani got the first two batters out before Brody Bagwell reached on an error. Riverside chose to walk D.J. Zimcosky, a lefty who had two hits in the game, to face Brosky who hadn’t had a hit. Brosky lined a single to left to give Brownsville the go-ahead run.
Riverside and South Side will play in the consolation game either Tuesday or Wednesday next week, likely back at Ross Memorial Park in Washington.