John D'Abruzzo's feature on the Riverside baseball team:

"Some teams might immediately hang their head after losing in a WPIAL championship game; the Riverside baseball team did anything but that last year.

After losing a tough 9-7 decision in the WPIAL Class AA title game to backyard rival and section-foe Ellwood City, the Panthers thrived in the PIAA playoffs and ended up capturing the program's fourth state championship.

"We lost that [WPIAL title] game, but the kids learned from it," longtime Riverside coach Dan Oliastro said. "We made mistakes in that game, so the kids went on and corrected those mistakes and they didn't make any the rest of the year. We might have lost that game, but we benefited from it in the end.""

(Photo: Second baseman Devin Kelosky is one of many experienced seniors returning for Riverside this season. Matt Freed/Post-Gazette.)

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