WPIAL Class 2A baseball championship preview: Fort Cherry vs. Neshannock

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 25, 2026 | 11:07 PM

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WPIAL Class 2A baseball final

No. 1 Fort Cherry vs. No. 2 Neshannock

4 p.m. Tuesday, EQT Park, Washington

On the air: Audio: Trib HSSN; Video: NFHS Network

WPIAL titles: Fort Cherry 1 (1986), Neshannock 6 (2015, 2012, 2011, 2004, 2002, 1991)

Fort Cherry (18-1)

Coach: Bob Sawhill

Semifinal lineup

14, Landan Trnavsky, CF, jr.

28, Colton Temple, C, jr.

7, Ben Demascal, SS, jr.

2, Ryan Huey, P, jr.

16, Blake Sweder, 1B, sr.

11, Tyler Wolfe, 3B, jr.

5, Dylan Lueck, DH, jr.

(15, Kolton Smith, 2B, so.)

12, Blake Merckle, RF, jr.

4, Nathan Wolfe, LF, jr.

How they got here: After a first-round bye, Fort Cherry defeated No. 8 California, 11-7, in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Riverview, 4-1, in the semifinals

Notable: Fort Cherry won its first 16 games before a loss to Burgettstown in the Section 1 finale, which also closed out the regular season. Fort Cherry’s 11 runs in the quarterfinals was better than its 10.3 season average. The Rangers offensive hopes to return to form after being limited to three hits in last Wednesday’s 4-1 semifinal victory over Riverview. Ryan Huey was also dealing as he came within one out of a complete game against the Raiders. He struck out six while surrendering three hits. Fort Cherry’s three runs in the bottom of the first inning held up. Huey helped himself with an RBI single in the win. The Rangers hope to add a second WPIAL title as they also celebrate the 40th anniversary of their 1986 championship. Four players in the lineup — Temple (.500), Sweder (.460), Trnavsky (.442), and Demascal (.400) — are hitting at or better than .400 this season. Temple leads the way with 33 RBIs and 17 extra base hits, including 10 home runs. Temple and Trnavsky each have scored 34 runs. Huey, Temple, and Lueck lead a strong pitching rotation.

Neshannock (18-3)

Coach: John Quahliero

Semifinal lineup

8, Cole Hutchinson, CF, sr.

1, Luca Pagley, 2B, so.

34, Nathan Rickel, SS, so.

12, Ryan Cameron, 3B, jr.

3, Anthony Eakin, RF, sr.

11, Joseph DiMucciio, DH, fr.

(33, Dennis Joseph, P, sr.)

22, Mason Moroz, 1B, so.

28, Hayden Tatterson, C, sr.

9, Kevin Gierlach, LF, jr.

How they got here: After a first-round bye, Neshannock defeated No. 7 Apollo-Ridge, 10-0 (six innings), and No. 3 South Side, 1-0, in the semifinals.

Notable: Neshannock was the No. 1 seed for last year’s Class 2A tournament but was stopped by Freedom in the quarterfinals. The Lancers are tied with three other teams — California, Mt. Lebanon and Pine-Richland — with six WPIAL titles. Neshannock won three of its WPIAL titles in a five-year span from 2011-2015. The Lancers’ two WPIAL-playoff shutouts were the fourth and fifth this season. Neshannock, the Section 2 champion, is averaging nine runs a game, and it has lowered its run defense to 3.3 a contest. Rickel is one of the more powerful hitters in the WPIAL. He is batting .548 (34 for 62) through the semifinal victory with 20 RBIs, 25 runs scored and 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, five triples, three home runs). Joseph improved to 5-1 on the mound as he struck out eight, walked none and scattered six hits over 6⅔ innings against South Side to lower his ERA to 2.51. Hutchinson is 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA over 34 innings.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Fort Cherry, Neshannock