Breakthrough season leads Quaker Valley all the way to WPIAL baseball finals
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Sunday, June 8, 2025 | 11:01 AM
Quaker Valley’s talented baseball team finished as the WPIAL Class 3A runner-up.
The Quakers zipped through the district playoffs before losing to No. 1 seed Riverside, 1-0, in the championship game May 28 at EQT Park in Washington.
“We were extremely excited at having the opportunity to test ourselves in the WPIAL finals at EQT Park,” QV coach Rich Garbee said. “Though we were on the short end of a 1-0 loss, we use every game as a learning experience.
“I am very, very proud of this team. Our work ethic, energy and willingness to adapt and learn has been a joy to see. We have peaked at the right time. Since our game against Moon in early May, the team has been playing at a very high level in all areas; hence, that has led to some nice ‘bonus baseball’ in the playoffs.”
The Panthers improved to 17-2 overall. QV, which ended up 4-13 last season, saw its record go to 15-7.
“I think we have come a long way as a team this year,” said senior Oscar Roig, QV’s shortstop and leadoff batter. “We turned our record around and shocked a ton of people in the WPIAL and even shocked ourselves with what we could accomplish as a team.
“No one thought we would be making it this far and making the WPIAL finals with a team like Riverside, so to be in that game was a great feeling. Beating teams like Ellwood City and Mohawk in the regular season really gave us hope on what we could accomplish. From there on out, we knew we could make a WPIAL playoff run.”
Riverside’s senior pitcher Zach Hare tossed a perfect game with 15 strikeouts against QV. A Slippery Rock recruit, Hare improved to 8-0 with a 0.83 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 59 innings.
“Zach is an outstanding pitcher and was the best we’ve faced. We’ve seen him three times this year,” Garbee said. “He has outstanding control of all his pitches. He will be quite an asset for The Rock. I would expect him to contribute immediately. And he’s a really nice young man, I might add.”
The 6-foot-4 right-hander did not allow a hit in almost two weeks and extended his no-hit streak in the playoffs to 24 1/3 innings.
“Hare was definitely the best pitcher we faced this year,” said Roig, a four-year varsity player. “He had great command of his fastball and off-speed (pitches), which made him able to hit his spots really well.
“He also threw harder than all the pitchers we faced in the WPIAL, besides (Riverside’s) Christian Lucarelli, which made it harder to catch up to and get a good swing off (his pitches). He didn’t give us any free chances to get on base either, which makes it really hard to get something going as a team.”
Hare pitched a five-inning no-hitter in the WPIAL quarterfinals and threw seven no-hit innings in a semifinal that lasted 12 innings.
Riverside scored the only run in the championship game in the sixth inning on an infield singled by outfielder Jackson Barber.
The Panthers also defeated QV by scores of 4-1 and 8-4 in section play. Riverside won the Section 1 title in 2025 and reached the WPIAL finals for the third year in a row.
QV received the WPIAL’s seventh seed and beat No. 10 Ligonier Valley, 4-1, No. 2 Avonworth, 1-0, and No. 11 Mohawk, 5-2, and, like Riverside, took a seven-game winning streak into the championship game.
“Going into the Avonworth game, we knew we could beat them,” Roig said. “We knew it was the game where we could prove that even though we don’t have the best talent in the WPIAL, we can compete with every team.
“We just kept stacking wins, and the team morale was high. Everyone was focused and determined and we wanted to be that underdog team that surprises everyone. Although it wasn’t the outcome we wanted (against Riverside), making it this far and still having a state championship to look forward to gives us some hope.”
QV senior Nolan Wagoner pitched 4 2/3 innings and struck out five against Riverside. Ryan Finamore, also a senior, tossed 1 1/3 innings in relief.
“The season has been a good step up from last year,” Wagoner said. “Everyone bought in from the start, and we have played as a team the whole way. Don’t let the Quakers get hot.”
The three-year starter applauded his counterpart’s performance on the mound.
“Zach Hare was great,” Wagoner said. “He was hitting his spots and wasn’t missing by much when he did. He’s definitely the best we have seen all year.”
The Quakers’ lineup consisted of Roig, junior LF/CF Henry Zupanc, CF/P Finamore, junior 3B/LF Todd Kagle, P/3B Wagoner, senior 2B Jack Cindrich, sophomore RF Kolton Johnson, junior C Brad Semonik and senior DH Kyle Rader or freshman 1B Mike Semonik.
“I’m so proud of the team and all we have accomplished and how well we’ve been playing,” Roig said. “I wouldn’t want to be on this journey with a different group of guys. (We’re) very fortunate to have a great coaching staff who believes in us
“We expect to start fresh and make a state playoff run. We haven’t ever won a state final, I believe, and we have the team to do it. We want to win it all and hang a banner. We have to take it one step at a time and just keep it simple, keep playing the clean, fundamental baseball we’ve been playing the whole year.”
Prior to the PIAA playoffs, Finamore (.490), Kagle (.443), Roig (.377) and Zupanc (.303) were the Panthers’ leading hitters. Finamore also had a .623 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases.
“I’m very happy with our performance this season,” said Finamore, a fourth-year starter. “We definitely competed very well in the WPIAL playoffs although we came up just short of our goal. This is without a doubt the most well-bonded and competitive team we have had in the last four years.”
Kagle was No. 1 on the club in slugging percentage (.852), RBIs (33) and home runs (4). Roig led in runs scored with 38.
Cindrich had a 5-1 pitching record and Johnson was 3-1 followed by Wagoner (3-2), freshman Holden Kirkham (2-0) and Finamore (2-1), who had a team-leading 1.47 ERA. Cindrich was a third-year starter this spring.
“I was really impressed with our (WPIAL) playoff performance,” Cindrich said. “I thought we came together as a team and played good, clean baseball. Our pitchers did a great job being efficient and shutting down some good hitting teams.
“I thought Hare was the best arm we faced this season. He throws hard and doesn’t walk anyone. He was also effective throwing his off-speed pitch for a strike.”
The WPIAL championship was Riverside’s seventh in school history and second in three seasons, all under Dan Oliastro, the team’s field boss for 57 years.
Oliastro is the first coach with seven district baseball titles.
Tags: Quaker Valley
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