2025 TribLive HSSN Baseball Player of the Year: Riverside’s Zach Hare
By:
Thursday, June 26, 2025 | 1:16 AM
Riverside pitcher Zach Hare pumps his fist after getting a strikeout to end a Mount Carmel threat during the PIAA Class 3A state championship game June 12 at Penn State.
TribLive HSSN Baseball Player of the Year
Zach Hare
Riverside, sr., P/1B
Zach Hare realized he was on a crazy run after he pitched 5⅓ no-hit innings in Riverside’s playoff opener, threw a five-inning no-hitter in the quarterfinals and added seven more no-hit innings in the semifinals.
If that weren’t enough, Hare then pitched the first perfect game in WPIAL championship history and threw another no-hitter in the state quarterfinals. His incredible postseason streak eventually reached 34 consecutive no-hit innings – stretching across six outings — before Hare gave up a hit in the state finals.
“I was grateful to have the opportunity to do something crazy as that,” Hare said. “I’m still trying to comprehend that kind of run.”
In a year when WPIAL baseball seemed especially deep in talented pitchers, the 6-foot-4 right-hander stood out. Along with his streak, he pitched Riverside to victories in both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A finals.
The Slippery Rock recruit went 10-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 72⅓ innings. He was also one of Riverside’s top hitters with a .405 batting average and 26 RBIs.
As a result, Hare is the TribLive HSSN Baseball Player of the Year.
A third-inning single in the state finals snapped his no-hit streak, but that was one of only two he allowed in 6⅓ innings as Riverside defeated Mount Carmel, 4-2, in the PIAA Class 3A final. Hare struck out 11.
“I wasn’t expecting to have a no-hitter in the state championship,” he said. “Even against Quaker Valley, I couldn’t believe I threw a no-hitter, let alone a perfect game. Those teams are really good, really competitive, and they hit one through nine.”
Winning titles was his ultimate goal, and he was determined to not let the streak become a distraction from that mission.
“I didn’t want to have that run mess up a really good season just because I’m trying to do too much out there on the mound to keep that going,” Hare said. “But I was embracing it and grateful that it was happening.”
Hare discussed his season with TribLive HSSN’s Don Rebel on the Rebel Yell podcast.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Riverside
More Baseball
• Fox Chapel’s Elias George sharpens skills with Swedish 18U baseball team• Bushy Run American Legion team wins state title
• Bristol defeats Bushy Run in American Legion tournament
• Bushy Run stays unbeaten, qualifies for Mid-Atlantic Regional
• ‘Where the story ended’: Knoch pitcher Zane Pacek commits to Central Michigan
