Trib HSSN baseball team of the week – Neshannock Lancers
Coaches: John Quahliero (fifth season)
Records: Neshannock finished tied for first place with Shenango in Section 2-2A with a record of 9-3, one game in front of Freedom. The Lancers finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-4 with seven straight wins.
#Earned: Neshannock is tied for the third-most WPIAL championships and following another successful regular season, the Lancers are the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. They hope to end a district title drought that is about to reach 10 years. The Lancers began the final week of the regular season with a huge section series against New Brighton. In the opener Monday, after falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Neshannock exploded for three runs in each of the second and third innings, one in the fourth and four more in the fifth to walk off a five-inning win, 11-1. The second game at New Brighton was much closer Tuesday. Again the Lions scored first with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Lancers answered with two runs in the top of the sixth inning then held up as Neshannock clinched a share of the section championship with the win, 2-1. In the final game of the regular season Friday, Neshannock jumped on top with two runs in the first and again in the second inning, then leading by one, scored two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat District 10 Hickory, 6-3.
Standout performers: In the victory over New Brighton on Monday, senior Hunter Wilson and sophomore Ryan Cameron each had two hits, freshman Nathan Rickel drove in three runs while Cameron and senior Dom Cubellis each drove home two. Senior pitcher Jake Rynd allowed one run on only one hit while striking out eight in the five-inning complete game. The next day in New Brighton, the Lancers were limited to four singles, by junior Anthony Eakin, Rynd, Cubellis and Wilson, but they edged the Lions thanks in part to the pitching of junior Cole Hutchinson, Wilson and Cameron. The trio scattered six hits and struck out nine in the section-sealing victory. In the win at Hickory, Eakin and Wilson led the way with two hits each as those two along with senior Jackson Biondi Cameron each doubled and drove in one. Senior Thomas Morelli and junior Denny Joseph combined to strike out 12 Hornets. Cubellis just recently returned to the Lancers lineup after he was injured in a preseason scrimmage, and he is already hitting .533.
Last year: During this offseason, Neshannock came down to Class 2A from 3A with realignment. The Lancers finished in third place in Section 1-3A, three games behind Riverside and two games in back of Mohawk. The team started the season slow at 1-4 but picked it up and had a season-long five-game winning streak in mid-April. The Lancers were the No. 11 seed in the 2024 Class 3A playoffs and upended No. 6 Waynesburg in the first round, 6-1. The season came to an end in the quarterfinals after being blanked by No. 14 Burrell, 1-0. Neshannock finished the season at 12-10.
Remember when: This is the 10th anniversary of the sixth and most recent WPIAL baseball championship for Neshannock. A year after being the top seed in the 2014 Class 2A playoff and losing a nine-inning heartbreaker in the district quarterfinals to Seton LaSalle, the Lancers shared a share of the Section 5-2A title with Riverside and Shenango at 8-2. The team finished the regular season with a 12-5 overall record. In the 2A playoffs, Neshannock had a “zero” tolerance policy that paid off big. The Lancers blanked Waynesburg in the first round, 7-0, shut out Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals, 10-0, and then eliminated defending champion Steel Valley in the semifinals, 10-2. In the 2015 WPIAL championship game, Neshannock picked up its third postseason shutout in four games by whitewashing Quaker Valley, 4-0. It was the sixth and final district title for former coach Mike “Bub” Kirkwood, who retired after the 2019 season. The shutouts continued in the state playoffs as Neshannock blanked Bellwood-Antis in the PIAA first round in 10 innings, 1-0, rolled past Steel Valley, 13-3, beat Quaker Valley again in the semifinals, 7-2, and then shut out Neumann-Goretti in the 2A state title game behind Frank Fraschetti, 12-0. It was the program’s second and most recent state baseball championship.
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