Spurred by a record-breaking pitching performance and led by one of the longest-tenured coaches in the nation,
Riverside (Ellwood City) captured Pennsylvania's Class 3A state championship and finished No. 1 in the Small Town Top 25 high school baseball rankings.
Riverside received a historic pitching effort by senior
Zach Hare, who threw 34 consecutive no-hit innings in the postseason (36.1 innings including the regular season) with three straight no-hitters. Although his no-hit streak ended in the state final against
Mount Carmel, Hare got his 10th win of the season to hand Riverside its sixth state championship in school history.
Hare was named the MaxPreps Player of the Year in Pennsylvania.
Riverside celebrates its sixth state championship in the last 20 years after beating Mount Carmel 4-2 in Pennsylvania's Class 3A title game. (PHOTO: Paul Burdick)
Dan Oliastro, now in his 57th year as head coach at Riverside, has won all six of his state championships since 2005 (2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2023 and 2025). The Panthers also finished No. 1 in the Small Town Top 25 in 2023 after going 25-0. Oliastro earned Small Town National Coach of the Year honors that year. He has a career record of 731-446.
Riverside claimed the No. 1 spot in the Small Town Top 25 based on its MaxPreps computer rating. With a rating of 33.7, Riverside edges
East Rutherford (Bostic, N.C.) at 33.4 and
Holmes County (Bonifay, Fla.) at 33.0.
East Rutherford defeated
South Lenoir (Deep Run) for the North Carolina Class 2A state championship. The Cavaliers finished 30-1 behind the play of Rutherford County Player of the Year and all-state selection
Jacob Lee.
Holmes County captured the Rural championship in Florida with a 2-1 win over
Lafayette (Mayo), finishing 26-4. Pitcher
Bradley Garrett earned Rural POY honors after going 9-2 with a 1.14 ERA and 110 strikeouts.
The Small Town Top 25 includes schools with an enrollment of under 1,000 students in towns with a population of under 10,000.
Past Small Town Top 25 No. 1s
2023 —
Riverside (Ellwood City, Pa.)2024 —
Sumrall (Miss.)Final Small Town Top 25
1.
Riverside (Ellwood City, Pa.), 21-2, 33.7
2.
East Rutherford (Bostic, N.C.), 30-1, 33.4
3.
Holmes County (Bonifay, Fla.), 26-4, 33.0
4.
West Lauderdale (Collinsville, Miss.), 32-5, 32.8
5.
Hiland (Berlin, Ohio), 31-1, 31.6
6.
Saltillo (Miss.), 27-5, 31.1
7.
Southern Fulton (Warfordsburg, Pa.), 25-1, 30.9
8.
Wall (Texas), 31-6, 30.66
9.
Blanchard (Okla.), 36-1, 30.63
10.
Purvis (Miss.), 29-8, 30.1
11.
Rockmart (Ga.), 33-5, 29.6
12.
East Union (Blue Springs, Miss.), 35-5, 29.4
13.
Waynedale (Apple Creek, Ohio), 29-4, 29.1
14.
Spotswood (Penn Laird, Va.), 24-4, 28.2
15.
Deshler (Tuscumbia, Ala.), 34-11, 27.5
16.
China Spring (Texas), 35-6, 27.2
17.
Brock (Texas), 30-5, 27.2
18.
Collinsville (Texas), 31-4, 27.1
19.
Fort Scott (Kan.), 28-3, 26.65
20.
Auburn (Riner, Va.), 26-1-1, 26.60
21.
Abingdon (Va.), 24-5, 26.4
22.
Fayetteville (Texas), 19-4, 26.1
23.
Sumrall (Miss.), 25-9, 25.9
