MONROEVILLE — Longtime Riverside head coach Dan Oliastro knew that his squad was going to be in for a fight against No. 15 South Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 3A high school baseball quarterfinals.
In a game where hits were hard to come by, an error after the game’s first run scored was all that No. 7 Riverside to break through, with Matt Santillo helping his own cause to drive in the game’s deciding run as the Panthers knocked off South Allegheny 3-0 on Tuesday, May 19 at Gateway High School.
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“We knew it was going to be tough and thought their pitcher was going to be good,” longtime Riverside head coach Dan Oliastro said. “We got our hits at the right time and played good defense behind Matt [Santillo].”
Through the first two innings, Riverside (12-7) was via the strikeout, with junior shortstop Dylan Meyer accounting for the team’s lone base runner, working a two-out walk in the bottom of the first.
But fast-forward to the third inning, and Riverside started to break through on South Allegheny (10-10) pitcher Adam Jackowski.
Following a leadoff single by No. 9-hitter Brock James, Logan Young and Meyer worked a pair of one-out walks.
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With the clean-up hitter Santillo up, the junior southpaw lined a single into left field to drive in James and an error by the South Allegheny left fielder allowed both Young and Meyer to score.
“We tried to get his [Adam Jankowski’s] pitch count up and wanted to see a lot of pitches,” Santillo said. “Once we got into the third inning, we started to see that he was getting a little wild. I wanted to get a fastball, I got it and once I saw it get by the left fielder, I was gone.”
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Along with a timely hit at the plate, Santillo continued to show why he has been one of the top pitchers in the Beaver Valley during his senior season.
Coming into the game, the left-handed pitcher had just a 0.64 ERA, allowing just five earned runs, posting 69 strikeouts and allowing just 10 walks.
The trend of efficient pitching continued in the quarterfinals, with the junior pitching a complete game shutout, allowing two hits, one walk while striking out eight.
“I have been trying to be as consistent as I can with my control,” Santillo said. “The biggest issue that I have had in years past has been walking guys. I have a great defense behind me, my fastball, curveball and slider were all working well and I worked on controlling them the best I could.”
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With the win over South Allegheny, Riverside will advance to the WPIAL semifinals for the fifth-straight season. The Panthers will face the winner of Ellwood City and Burrell at a site and time to be determined on Thursday, May 21.
Ethan Morrison is the sports reporter for the Beaver County Times. Contact him at emorrison@usatodayco.com and follow him at EthanMorrison26 on X.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Riverside defeats South Allegheny in WPIAL 3A baseball quarterfinals
