It’s inevitable that Zach Hare will give up another hit in his baseball career, but considering the dominant streak he’s on now, it might be difficult to argue with someone suggesting otherwise.
Hare held another team without a hit Thursday, tossing a no-hitter and striking out 13 to power WPIAL champion Riverside into the PIAA semifinals following a 6-0 win against WPIAL fourth-place finisher Mohawk in a Class 3A quarterfinal at Seneca Valley.
“I’m still at a loss for words,” Hare said. “More so the aspect of getting another no-hitter. It doesn’t seem real. I’m just really grateful that we get to play another game.”
Hare, a senior right-hander and Slippery Rock recruit, has pitched 31⅓ consecutive hitless innings this postseason. He was pitching for the first time since firing a perfect game in the WPIAL championship. Teammate Christian Lucarelli tossed a three-hitter in Monday’s PIAA first-round win against Huntingdon. In five playoff appearances, Hare is 4-0 and has 55 strikeouts. He’s walked eight in addition to not giving up any hits. Hare is 9-0 on the season and has surrendered just 14 hits in 66 innings.
“I don’t want it to become one of those things that I have to live up to because I’ve already accepted the fact that it’s baseball, somebody is going to hit the ball,” Hare said. “So much happens so I’ve just accepted the fact that someone is going to hit the ball and I’m just going to play my game.”
It was the 10th straight win for Riverside (19-2), which will play in the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Two seasons ago, the Panthers became the first WPIAL team to win a PIAA title with an unbeaten record. This Riverside team isn’t undefeated, but they are very good, and on Thursday they defeated Section 1 rival Mohawk (13-12) for the third time this season after topping the Warriors by scores of 8-2 and 8-0 in the regular season. Mohawk was coming off its first-ever PIAA win.
Pitching against Mohawk for the second time this season (he gave up two hits and struck out 14 in six scoreless innings on April 11), Hare walked three and hit a batter, but the Warriors were unable to notch a hit. He threw 93 pitches, 65 for strikes.
“I went fastball, curveball,” Hare said when asked what was working for him Thursday. “I was able to start a lot off with curveballs. That kind of threw them off. I throw kind of harder, so they were probably thinking, ‘This dude is just going to want to throw it past us.’”
Hunter Garvin’s RBI double in the third gave Riverside a 1-0 lead and was all the offense the Panthers needed. They added three more runs in the fourth and two in the seventh. Sean Hayes had an RBI single and John Bowser an RBI double in the fourth while Dylan Meyer delivered a two-run single in the seventh. Meyer had three hits and reached base four times. Hayes, Bowser and Jackson Barber each had two hits.
On Friday, Hare and his classmates will graduate. And on Monday, Hare and his teammates will try to move on to the PIAA final when they face South Park for the second time this postseason. Riverside beat South Park, 1-0, in 12 innings in the WPIAL semifinals. Hare started that game and struck out 10 in seven innings.
Said Hare, “We’re going to have to come out with our A-game from the start.”
Other Class 3A
• AC Miller’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh allowed WPIAL third-place finisher South Park (17-7) to rally from three runs down in its final at-bat to defeat WPIAL runner-up Quaker Valley (16-8), 6-5, at Plum. Quaker Valley had taken a 5-1 lead in the sixth courtesy of Ryan Finamore’s grand slam. South Park then got one back in the bottom of the inning before scoring four in the seventh to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2017. Bryce Berzansky had two hits and earned the win after pitching the final three innings.
Class 6A
• District 3 runner-up Cedar Cliff (19-6) used a six-run second and a 10-hit attack to take down WPIAL champion Seneca Valley (18-7), 12-7, at Veterans Field in Altoona. Seneca Valley scored two runs in the fifth to cut its deficit to 9-7 before Cedar Cliff tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh. Cedar Cliff’s Bennett Secrest went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Danny Drennan, Ryan Piekutoski and Nathan Lemke each had two hits for Seneca Valley. Piekutoski hit a solo home run in the first. Piekutoski and Wes Conville both knocked in a pair of runs.
Class 5A
• WPIAL champion Shaler (19-6) scored three runs on a misplayed fly ball in the top of the first inning and went on to capture a 6-3 win against WPIAL third-place finisher Bethel Park (20-6) at Gateway. Kaleb Jockel added a two-run single in the fourth for Shaler, which is trying to win a second PIAA title in three years. Bethel Park scored all of its runs in the fourth. Nick Rillo hit an RBI single, and Jack Bruckner a two-run double. Shaler added another run via error in the seventh. Winning pitcher Dante Deleonibus went the distance, allowing seven hits and striking out eight.
• District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg (21-5) scored five runs in the fourth to take a six-run lead and held on to defeat WPIAL runner-up Pine-Richland (21-5), 9-6, at Mount Aloysius College. Pine-Richland starter Keegan Deihl was handed the first loss of his career after allowing eight runs, seven hits and three walks in 3⅓ innings. He finished the season 10-1 and his career 20-1. Anthony Mengine and Anthony Annichine both had two hits and two RBIs for the Rams, who were trying to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2010.
Class 4A
• Sully VanHoose gave up two hits and struck out six in four innings and teamed with three other pitchers to help WPIAL champion Indiana (24-1) shut out WPIAL third-place finisher Central Valley (14-12), 8-0, at Plum. Brady Oakes, Greg Minnick and Mark Collinger also pitched for the Indians, a finalist a season ago. Minnick picked up the win. He helped Indiana get out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. Indiana scored four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Charlie Manzi had three hits and an RBI, and Will Olsen knocked in a pair of runs.
• Unbeaten District 3 champion East Pennsboro (23-0) racked up 18 hits and used a six-run fourth to roll to a 14-4 six-inning win against WPIAL runner-up Elizabeth Forward (17-5) at Mount Aloysius College. Steel Bayer and Chase Deibler both had four hits and three RBIs for East Pennsboro, which lost to Indiana in last year’s quarterfinals. Elizabeth Forward, which was held to three hits, scored two runs in both the first and fourth innings. Cy Herchelroath and J.B Crovak had RBI singles. The Warriors were seeking their first semifinal berth since 2011.
Class 2A
• Anthony Taddeo scored on an error in the eighth to help WPIAL champion Freedom (17-7) rally for a 7-6 walk-off win against District 9 champion Redbank Valley (15-8) at Slippery Rock University. Freedom, which claimed its first-ever PIAA win in the first round, trailed Redbank Valley, 6-1, before scoring two runs in the fourth and three in the seventh to tie the score. Ryan Fessler and Taddeo had RBI singles in the fourth while Xavier Robbins notched a two-run single and Zach Kuntz an RBI single in the seventh. Taddeo and Nick Fessler each had two hits.
Class 1A
• Brady Hull’s three-run home run highlighted a five-RBI day that propelled WPIAL third-place finisher Eden Christian (18-5) to a 16-6 five-inning win against District 6 champ Homer-Center (20-6) at Gateway. Eden Christian, the runner-up a season ago, collected nine hits and drew 10 walks. Hull and Brett Feldman each scored three runs. Jacob Janicki had two hits and reached base five times. Josh Tilden’s three-run double was the big hit during an eight-run fourth for the Warriors, who also scored four in the first, three in the second and one in the fifth.
• District 9 runner-up Clarion (16-6) collected 14 hits, drew 10 walks and benefited from four errors to topple WPIAL fourth-place finisher Greensburg Central Catholic (18-5), 15-5, at Slippery Rock University. Billy Kahle had four hits and five RBIs for Clarion, which broke what was a 5-5 tie through three innings by scoring 10 unanswered runs over the last four innings. Bobby Smithnosky had three of Greensburg C.C.’s 12 hits and Jackson McMullen and Blase Bugosh had two each. Tyler Samide drove in a pair of runs.
Scores
Class 6A quarterfinals
Cedar Cliff 12, Seneca Valley 7
Class 5A quarterfinals
Lampeter-Strasburg 9, Pine-Richland 6
Shaler 6, Bethel Park 3
Class 4A quarterfinals
East Pennsboro 14, Elizabeth Forward 4 (6)
Indiana 8, Central Valley 0
Class 3A quarterfinals
Riverside 6, Mohawk 0
South Park 6, Quaker Valley 5
Class 2A quarterfinals
Freedom 7, Redbank Valley 6 (8)
Class 1A quarterfinals
Clarion 15, Greensburg Central Catholic 5
Eden Christian 16, Homer-Center 6 (5)
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.